Pore-scale simulation of multicomponent multiphase reactive transport with dissolution and precipitation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a lattice Boltzmann method-based pore-scale model for simulating multicomponent multiphase reactive transport with dissolution and precipitation, capturing complex physicochemical interactions in energy and environment systems.

Contribution

It develops a comprehensive pore-scale model integrating multiphase flow, multicomponent transport, and dissolution-precipitation reactions, enabling detailed analysis of complex reactive systems.

Findings

The model accurately predicts coupled physicochemical processes.

Application to shale gas/oil systems demonstrates detailed pore-scale interactions.

Reveals effects of reaction rate disparities on transport phenomena.

Abstract

Multicomponent multiphase reactive transport processes with dissolution-precipitation are widely encountered in energy and environment systems. A pore-scale two-phase multi-mixture model based on the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is developed for such complex transport processes, where each phase is considered as a mixture of miscible components in it. The liquid-gas fluid flow with large density ratio is simulated using the multicomponent multiphase pseudo-potential LB model; the transport of certain solute in the corresponding solvent is solved using the mass transport LB model; and the dynamic evolutions of the liquid-solid interface due to dissolution-precipitation are captured by an interface tracking scheme. The model developed can predict coupled multiple physicochemical processes including multiphase flow, multicomponent mass transport, homogeneous reactions in the bulk fluid and heterogeneous dissolution-precipitation reactions at the fluid-solid interface, and dynamic evolution of the solid matrix geometries at the pore-scale. The model is then applied to a physicochemical system encountered in shale gas/oil industry involving multiphase flow, multicomponent reactive transport and dissolution-precipitation, with several reactions whose rates can be several orders of magnitude different at a given temperature. The pore-scale phenomena and complex interaction between different sub-processes are investigated and discussed in detail.