Measuring Gas-Fluid Interfacial Area in Porous Media with the Chemical Reaction Method.

Measuring Gas-fluid Interfacial Area in Porous Media with the Chemical Reaction Method

Ying Lyu ^1,2, Jon Mainhagu ² Mark L. Brusseau ^2*,

¹Institute of Water Resources and Environmental, Jilin University, Changchun 130026, P.R. China.

^2.Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Arizona, 429 Shantz Building #38, P.O. Box 210038, Tucson, AZ, USA.

 

Interfacial partitioning tracer tests and pore-scale imaging methods are the two current means by which to measure fluid-fluid interfacial area in porous media. A chemical-reaction based method used in Chemical Engineering to quantify fluid-fluid interface in reactor systems is adapted herein for application to porous-media systems. The method is based on carbon dioxide absorption from the gas phase and subsequent reaction with NaOH in aqueous solution. Concentration profiles of the reactants are monitored during injection into a column packed with the selected porous medium. The data are used to determine reaction parameters such as absorption rate and effective gas-liquid interfacial area. Effects of media grain size, reaction conditions, and liquid and gas volumetric flow rates on the effective interfacial area were investigated. The measured interfacial areas are compared to values obtained from partitioning tracer tests and microtomographic imaging.