Modeling of Biofilm Growth in Porous Media at the Pore Scale and Up-Scaling

Abstract

Biofilms are a new method for controlling pollution in aquifers. The bacteria may either consume the contaminant or form biobarriers to limit its spread. In order to simulate the growth of thick biofilms at the pore-scale, we solve the Navier-Stokes equations for the flow, the advection diffusion equation for the transport, together with equations for the biofilm growth. All these equations are coupled together. The results are scaled up using network techniques, in order to obtain relations between the amount and distribution of the biomass, and macroscopic properties of the medium such as permeability and porosity. Results are presented.