Research interests:

• Reactive and adsorptive solute transport in variably- saturated porous media

• Developing pore-network numerical modeling for upscaling and optimization

• Porosity-permeability evolution under CO2 sequestration conditions

• Relative permeability and solute dispersion under variably-saturated conditions

• Multi-phase flow and solute transport including mass transfer through interfaces

Current Projects and activities:

• NWO Veni award: This award provides me with three-year funding to do research on the topic: "Bridging the gap between the pore and macro scales: the missing link in modelling solute transport through the unsaturated zone"

• NanoRem (Taking Nanotechnological Remediation Processes from Lab Scale to End User Applications for the Restoration of a Clean Environment). A research European project, funded through the European Commission FP7.

• HPT NAM Project (lead by Prof. C. Spiers). work package: Spatial upscaling of laboratory data on fault friction properties.

• Sustainability Strategic Theme: Sustainability is a strategic theme where the sub-theme Energy & Resources is a collaborative effort between the Faculty of Geosciences and the Faculty of Science in Utrecht University, which will create an entirely new range of opportunities and insights into flow and transport in porous materials.

Research Team:

PDs

• Mojtaba Ghareh Mahmoodlu – January 2015 – Dec 2018, (supervisor)

• Pierre Le Fur – April 2015 – Dec 2016, (supervisor)

PhDs

• Enno de Vries (UU), Multiscale modelling reactive/adsorptive transport in porous media. Oct. 2016 – expected Oct.2020, (supervisor)

• Priyanka Agrawal (UU), upscaling of dissolution processes from pore scale to the field scale. May 2016 – May 2020 (Co-supervisor; Supervisor: Mariëtte Wolthers)

• Janou Koskamp (UU), Computing the dynamics of mineral dissolution and growth at the atomic-to-field scale in carbonate rocks. May 2016 – May 2020 (Co-supervisor; Supervisor: Mariëtte Wolthers)

• Yin Xiaoguang (UU), advanced theories for flow of discontinuous fluid phases in porous media. 2014- expected 2017, (Co-supervisor; Supervisor: Majid Hassanizadeh)

• Jan van Lopik (UU), infiltration through fast high volume infiltration (FHVI), 2014-expected 2018, (Co-supervisor; Supervisor: Ruud Schotting)

• Hossein Fathi (Mechanical Engineering, Kerman University, Iran) pore scale modeling the catalyst layer in fuel cells, 2013-expected 2017, (Co-supervisor; Supervisor: Hossein Nasseri)

• Tim Wolterbeek (UU - HPT Lab) chemical degradation of well-bore cement. 2011-expected Oct. 2016, (Co-promotor; Supervisor: Chris Spiers)

• Seetha Narayanan (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore), Modeling adsorptive transport in porous media including potential energy and hydrodynamic effects. 2011-Dec 2015, (External collaborator; Supervisor: Mohan Kumar)

• Mojtaba Ghareh Mahmoodlu, Oxidation of volatile organic vapours, VOCs, using potassium permanganate. 2010-2014, (UU Collaborator; Supervisor: Majid Hassanizadeh)

Pore-scale modeling provides opportunities to study transport phenomena in fundamental ways because detailed information is available at the micro (pore) scale. This offers the best hope for bridging the traditional gap that exists between pore scale and macro (core) scale description of the process. As a result, consistent upscaling relations can be performed, based on physical processes defined at the appropriate scale.

We develop numerical formulations to study various processes in earth materials such as fluid flow, reactive/adsorptive solute transport, dissolution and kinetic processes, density dependent flow, electro-kinetic driven flow, etc.