Chapter 8 - Fluid-Biofilm Interactions in Porous Media

Abstract

Improved understanding and quantification of fluid-biofilm interactions are of essential importance in unraveling the mechanisms of biofilm formation and migration in porous materials. In this chapter, the development of microbial biofilms in porous media is reviewed in depth, with emphasis on the processes occurring at the pore-scale and by including both experimental and modeling aspects. Furthermore, a computer-aided simulator is presented for the prediction of the pattern of evolution and the rate of growth of heterogeneous biofilms within the pore space of porous materials. The simulator combines continuum-based descriptions of fluid flow and solute transport with particle-based descriptions of biofilm growth and detachment. As a case study, the interactions between fluid flow and growing biofilms are examined in the context of biological clogging of various porous structures (single pore, granular 2D core, consolidated 3D core) and under different flow regimes (constant flow rate versus constant pressure drop).