Department of Reactive Transport
In the Reactive Transport Department we study the heterogeneity of material surface reactivity, including sorption and dissolution reactions and material degradation. We use experimental and numerical methods to quantify and predict surface reaction rates using rate maps. Transport in complex porous materials is another important aspect of our work. We develop conservative and reactive radionuclide tracers using our cyclotron laboratory and apply positron emission tomography (PET). We use and develop numerical methods for transport analysis at the pore scale and above. Our research is motivated and driven by applications in nuclear safety research and we provide critical links to earth, environmental and materials sciences.
Latest Publication
Numerical modeling and simulation of microbially induced calcite precipitation on a cement surface at the pore scale
Yuan, T.(1); Cherkouk, A.(2); Fischer, C.(3)
Abstract
Accurate estimation of contaminant transport in cementitious material using numerical tools plays a key role in the risk assessments of nuclear waste disposal. At the pore scale, the increase of microbial activity, such as microbially induced calcite precipitation on cementitious material, causes changes in solid surface topography, pore network geometry, and pore water chemistry, which affect contaminant transport at the core scale and beyond. Consequently, a meaningful estimation of contaminant migration in the subsurface requires a pore-scale investigation of the influence of microbial activity on transport processes. In this study, a pore-scale reactive transport model is presented to simulate the physicochemical processes resulting from microbially induced calcite precipitation on a cement surface. Numerical investigations focus on modeling the reactive transport in a two-dimensional flow-through cell. The model results are validated by experimental data showing an increase in pH and a decrease in calcium concentration due to microbially induced calcite precipitation. Our results show heterogeneous calcite precipitation under transport-limited conditions and homogeneous calcite precipitation under reaction-limited conditions, resulting in non-uniform and uniform changes in the material surface topography. Moreover, power spectral density analysis of the surface data demonstrates that microbially induced calcite precipitation affects the surface topography via both general changes over the entire frequency and local modifications in the high-frequency region. The sensitivity studies provide a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of surface topography due to the microbially induced calcite precipitation at the pore scale, thus contributing to an improved predictability of contaminant transport at the core scale and beyond.
Keywords: microbial-induced calcite precipitation; pore-scale reactive transport modeling; contaminant transport; cementitious material; nuclear waste disposal
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Advances in Water Resources (2024), 104761
DOI: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2024.104761(4)
Team
Reactive Transport
Head/ Administration | |||||
Name | Bld./Office | +49 351 260 | Position/Tasks | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fischer Prof. Dr., Cornelius | L9.3/212 | 4660 | c.fischerhzdr.de | Head of Department | |
Gerstner, Katrin | L9.3/217 | 4601 | k.gerstnerhzdr.de | Secretary Reactive Transport / Neuroradiopharmaceuticals Research Site Leipzig | |
Pedrosa Gil, Nadja | L9.3/221 | 4690 | n.pedrosa-gilhzdr.de | Business administration Reactive Transport Business administration Neuroradiopharmaceuticals | |
Employees | |||||
Name | Bld./Office | +49 351 260 | Position/Tasks | ||
Becker, Alexandra | L9.3/211 | 4692 | a.beckerhzdr.de | PhD student | |
Eren, Ismail | i.erenhzdr.de | PhD Student | |||
Gouatieu Dongmo, Elvira | e.gouatieu-dongmohzdr.de | PhD Student | |||
Kulenkampff Dr., Johannes | L9.3/202 | 4663 | j.kulenkampffhzdr.de | Research Scientist | |
Lindemann Dr., Marcel | L9.3/318 | 4671 | m.lindemannhzdr.de | ||
Lippold Dr. habil., Holger | L9.3/401 | 4672 | h.lippoldhzdr.de | Research Scientist | |
Lösel, Dagmar | L9.3/402 | 4673 | d.loeselhzdr.de | Laboratory technician | |
Schöngart, Jann | L9.3/222 | 4658 | j.schoengarthzdr.de | PhD Student | |
Schößler, Claudia | L9.3/402 | 4674 | c.schoesslerhzdr.de | Chemical laboratory technician | |
Zhou, Wenyu | L9.3/211 | w.zhouhzdr.de | Doktorand | ||
Other employees | |||||
Name | Bld./Office | +49 351 260 | Position/Tasks | ||
Franke Dr., Karsten | L9.3/318 | 4629 | k.frankehzdr.de | Research scientist |
Address
Department of Reactive Transport
Institute of Resource Ecology
Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e. V. (HZDR)
Forschungsstelle Leipzig(6)
Permoserstr. 15
04318 Leipzig
Germany
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URL of this article
https://www.hzdr.de/db/Cms?pOid=29967