Reactive Media Research Articles

The Influence of Salinity on the Removal of Ni and Zn by Sorption onto Iron Oxide- and Manganese Oxide-Coated Sand

The influence of salinity on the single and binary sorption of Ni and Zn onto iron oxide- and manganese oxide-coated sand (IOCS and MOCS) was investigated at pH = 5. The single sorption experimental data were fitted to Freundlich, Langmuir, Dubinin–Radushkevich, and Sips models, and a nonlinear sorption isotherm was observed (NF = 0.309–0.567). The higher Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area (ABET) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of MOCS contributed to the higher maximum sorption capacities (qmL) of Ni and Zn than that of IOCS. The Ni sorption capacities in the single sorption were higher than that in the binary sorption, while the Zn sorption capacities in the single sorption were less than that in the binary sorption. The single and binary sorptions onto both IOCS and MOCS were affected by the salinity, as indicated by the decrease in sorption capacities. Satisfactory predictions were shown by the binary sorption model fitting including P-factor, ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST)–Freundlich, IAST–Langmuir, and IAST–Sips; among these, the P-factor model showed the best fitting results in predicting the influence of salinity of Ni and Zn in the binary sorption system onto IOCS and MOCS. IOCS and MOCS offer a sustainable reactive media in a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) for removing Ni and Zn in the presence of salinity.

Multiscale structural characterization of biocompatible poly(trimethylene carbonate) networks photo-cross-linked in a solvent

Poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) polymeric networks are biocompatible materials with potential biomedical applications. By combining Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and tensile testing, it was possible to fully characterize the inner structure and its relationship with the macroscopic properties of photo-crosslinked PTMC materials in a solvent medium. PTMC prepared from macromer with various molecular weights (3 kg/mol, 18 kg/mol, and 32 kg/mol) and with various polymer concentrations within the reactive media were analyzed, with the variation of thermomechanical properties and NMR signal decay characterized as a function of both aforementioned synthesis parameters. DMA and solid state Double Quantum (DQ) 1H NMR investigations demonstrated that the network crosslink density is directly related to the macromer molar mass and polymer concentration. More interestingly, tensile tests confirmed that mechanical behavior depended on the materials’ inner structure, notably their crosslink density. Specifically for the 18 kg/mol PTMC networks, dangling and free chains reinforced the network, exemplified by higher Young’s modulus E values. This multiscale investigation provides a promising and precise approach to tailor the macroscopic behavior of PTMC materials, by controlling their specific inner network structural morphologies during synthesis.

Optimization of Washing Processes in Solvothermal Synthesis of Nickel-Based MOF-74.

Solvothermal synthesis is the most preferable preparation technique of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) that consists of reactants mixing, ultrasonication, solvothermal reaction, product washing, and solvent evacuation. Owing to fast reaction kinetics in solvothermal reaction, this technique allows for production of uniform MOF particles with high crystallinity, high phase purity, and small particle sizes. However, it exhibits some difficulties of washing processes that may involve the blockage of pores due to incomplete removal of reactive medium from MOF products. The present study proposes an improvement of washing processes by introducing centrifugal separations with optimized parameters at two different stages: after reaction and after product washing. Nickel-based MOF-74 was synthesized as the experimental material for this purpose. The quality of the produced sample was evaluated by gas adsorption performance using CO2 at 1 bar and 25 °C. The final sample of the optimized synthesis routes was able to adsorb 5.80 mmol/g of CO2 uptake, which was competitive with literature data and significantly higher than the sample of the basic synthesis. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis revealed that the sample displayed much higher crystallinity structure and was clean from impurities after centrifugations. The outcome indicated the success of separation between MOF products and reactive medium during washing processes, leading to the effective pore activation of MOFs.

An experimental study on reactive filter bed for aluminium removal from water

AbstractIn this study, batch and column experiments were conducted to adsorb Aluminium (Al3+) from aqueous solution. The study examined the possibility of using proposed reactive filter bed media (packed with hematite or hematite sand mixture) for contaminated water treatment. Batch experiments were carried out at pH 7 ± 0.5 and initial Al3+ concentration of 1.5 mg/L. Adsorption equilibrium was achieved in more than 2 hours for hematite and 1 hour for hematite coated sand while conducting batch experiment and the maximum adsorption qm was found to be 3.38 mg/g for hematite mixture sand. From column experiment, the maximum Al adsorption capacity from four different columns was calculated to be approximately 2.2 mg/g and it was found in columns 1 and 3 packed with hematite sand mixture particles. The results indicated that both electrostatic attraction and chemical sorption could be the mechanism for Al3+ removal by hematite sand mixture particles from aqueous solution. Redox values (250 to 300 mV) inside column 3 suggested oxidizing condition during column operation. The continuous changes in redox potential (Eh) and pH indicated the occurrence of redox reactions between Al3+ and reactive media under the prevailing experimental conditions.

Long-term removals of organic micro-pollutants in reactive media of horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland treating landfill leachate

In this work, the removals of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs), i.e. DEP, DBP, 2,6-DTBP, BHT, and DEHP in sand, clay and iron powder mixed media of horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland (HSSF) from landfill leachate were investigated over 3 years period. The biodegradation was mainly responsible for the removals of DEP, DBP, 2,6-DTBP and BHT whereas DEHP was initially removed through adsorption and formation of iron-organic complex and then subsequently biodegraded during long-term operation as OMP degrading microbial consortium attached to the reactive media was enriched. This study demonstrates that an application of reactive HSSF system can be a viable option for advanced landfill leachate treatment to meet ecological safety level.

Mathematical modelling of the agglomeration in a reactive porous medium with variable permeability

When processing low-grade fuels, such as waste and biomass, the problems associated with bed agglomeration often arise. In this work, one of the variants of the agglomeration model is proposed, in which local permeability decreases as a result of the physicochemical process caused by heating, and the agglomeration centers (particles of the melting material) are randomly distributed in a two-dimensional porous medium. A relatively simple model allows the study of the development of thermohydrodynamic inhomogeneities in the fixed granular bed and evaluation of its hydraulic resistance at different fractions of melting material.

4395 alpha-Synuclein Induced Reactive Gliosis

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Reactive gliosis is a hallmark of neurodegenerative disease and is characterized by the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and physiologic changes to glial cells. Our work identifies a novel inflammatory glial-glial cell interaction and role for mGluR5 that has the potential to provide novel insight into the mechanisms of neurodegeneration. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Cell Culture: Mouse primary astrocytes and microglia were isolated from P0-P3 C57BL/6 or Cx3cr1GFP/+ mice.1Treatment: Glia were treated with oligomeric α-synuclein 1μg/mL or mGluR5 agonist CHPG 100 μM.2,3ELISA: Glia culture media was collected and analyzed according to the manufacturer. qRT-PCR: TaqMan™ probes were used according to manufacturer on extracted glia mRNA. ICC: Microglia were labeled with 1:750 Rb x Iba1 (Wako) and 1:500 Alexa Fluor 488 Gt x Rb. Phagocytosis Assay: Primary glia were treated with α-synuclein or astrocyte-conditioned culture media for 24-48hrs. For treatment of microglia with conditioned media, astrocytes were washed with PBS and fresh media was added to prevent carry over of α-synuclein to microglia. The number of fluorescent microbeads per microglia was quantified. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Mouse primary cortical astrocytes simulated with α-synuclein aggregates adopt a reactive A1 phenotype independent of microglial stimulation. This A1 phenotype is characterized by release of pro-inflammatory cytokines including Complement Component 3 and the monocyte chemoattractant CCL2. Reactive astrocyte media induces a phagocytic phenotype in primary mouse microglia. Along with this, α-synuclein-directed microglial phagocytosis was attenuated with the addition of the mGluR5 agonist CHPG. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Our findings suggest that oligomeric α-synuclein is capable of inducing a reactive phenotype in astrocytes independent of microglia and implicate crosstalk between glia as an important mediator of inflammation and microglial phagocytosis in synucleinopathies.

Field Demonstration of the Horizontal Treatment Well (HRX Well®) for Passive In Situ Remediation

AbstractThe horizontal reactive media treatment well (HRX Well®) uses directionally drilled horizontal wells filled with a treatment media to induce flow‐focusing behavior created by the well‐to‐aquifer permeability contrast to passively capture proportionally large volumes of groundwater. Groundwater is treated in situ as it flows through the HRX Well and downgradient portions of the aquifer are cleaned via elution as these zones are flushed with clean water discharging from the HRX Well. The HRX Well concept is particularly well suited for sites where long‐term mass discharge control is a primary performance objective. This concept is appropriate for recalcitrant and difficult‐to‐treat constituents, including chlorinated solvents, per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), 1,4‐dioxane, and metals. A full‐scale HRX Well was installed and operated to treat trichloroethene (TCE) with zero valent iron (ZVI). The model‐predicted enhanced flow through the HRX Well (compared to the flow in and equivalent cross‐sectional area orthogonal to flow in the natural formation before HRX Well installation) and treatment zone width was consistent with flows and widths estimated independently by point velocity probe (PVP) testing, HRX Well tracer testing, and observed treatment in downgradient monitoring wells. The actual average capture zone width was estimated to be between 45 and 69 feet. Total TCE mass discharge reduction was maintained through the duration of the performance monitoring period and exceeded 99.99% (%). Decreases in TCE concentrations were observed at all four downgradient monitoring wells within the treatment zone (ranging from 50 to 74% at day 436), and the first arrival of treated water was consistent with model predictions. The field demonstration confirmed the HRX Well technology is best suited for long‐term mass discharge control, can be installed under active infrastructure, requires limited ongoing operation and maintenance, and has low life cycle energy and water requirements.

Surface Modification of Cured Inorganic Foams with Cationic Cellulose Nanocrystals and Their Use as Reactive Filter Media for Anionic Dye Removal.

In this work, a surface cationized inorganic–organic hybrid foam was produced from porous geopolymer (GP) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). GPs were synthesized from alkali-activated metakaolin using H2O2 as a blowing agent and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a surfactant. These highly porous GPs were combined at pH 7.5 with cationic CNCs that had been synthesized from dissolving pulp through periodate oxidation followed by cationization in a deep eutectic solvent. The GP-CNC hybrid foams were employed as reactive filters in the removal of the anionic dye, methyl orange (MO; 5–10 mg/L, pH 7). The effects of a mild acid wash and thermal treatments on the structure, properties, and adsorption capacity of the GPs with CNCs and MO were investigated. The CNCs aligned as films and filaments on the surfaces of the neutralized GPs and the addition of CNCs improved MO removal by up to 84% compared with the reference sample. In addition, CTAB was found to disrupt the attachment of CNCs on the pores and improve adsorption of MO in the GPs with and without CNCs.

Adsorption of cadmium using modified zeolite-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron composites as a reactive material for PRBs

The main challenge in utilizing permeable reactive barriers (PRB) for remediation of metals-contaminated groundwater is determination of a proper low-cost reactive medium that can remove the desired contaminants simultaneously. In this study, the performance of different zeolite materials and nZVI-based adsorbents for cadmium (Cd) removal was compared. Further, a composite of the best nZVI and zeolite samples was synthesized with the removal efficiency of 20.6 g/kg and selected as the proposed adsorbent. Moreover, the characteristics of the composite were analyzed through different techniques (BET, XRF, XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM and EDX). In addition, through kinetic and thermodynamic studies, the effect of temperature, pH, ionic strength and presence of other metal ions on Cd removal efficiency was investigated. According to the results, since sodium zeolite (NaZ) provides a large number of specific ion-exchange sites for decoration with nZVI, stabilizes nZVI, and prevents its aggregation and further leaching in the harsh environment, the NaZ-nZVI composite is capable of removing Cd by adsorption and is applicable in PRBs, and thus it seems that the aforementioned composite is a proper candidate for groundwater remediation from a wide range of metal ions.

Efficient and stable photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline wastewater by 3D Polyaniline/Perylene diimide organic heterojunction under visible light irradiation

Polyaniline/Perylene diimide organic heterojunction photocatalyst with three-dimensional structure (3D PANI/PDI) has been successfully prepared via an in-situ growth process. 3D PANI/PDIexhibited efficient performance in the degradation of tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation. The degradation rate of TC by 3D 20%-PANI/PDIis 15.3 times and 17.0 times that of pure PDI and PANI in static system, respectively. Moreover, 3D PDI/PANI showed outstanding stability and could continuously degrade TC for up to 75 h in a dynamic system. The enhanced photocatalytic performance and stability of 3D PANI/PDI mainly comes from the following three aspects: (i) The introduction of PANI polymer backbone reinforced the strength of the PDI hydrogel, thereby improved the catalytic stability of the system; (ii) The three-dimensional network structure provided more reactive sites and medium transport channels; (iii) Larger delocalized π-electron conjugated system and energy-matched heterojunction structure were established through π-π interactions between PANI and PDI, which improved the efficiency of the migration and separation of photo-generated carriers. Finally, the mechanism and mineralization pathways of TC were systematically studied. Superoxide radical (O2−), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hole (h+) were the main reactive species (RSs) for the degradation of TC. Under the attack of RSs, the TC under hydroxylation, dealkylation, aromatization, and ring-opening processes, eventually leading to complete mineralization. This work provides a new promising approach for improving the photocatalytic performance of organic catalysts and indicates that 3D PANI/PDI organic heterojunction photocatalyst can be efficiently applied for the water environmental remediation.

Fused Filament Fabrication 3‐D Printing of Reactive Porous Media

AbstractUnderstanding the impacts of porous media properties on geochemical reactions is challenging due to the highly heterogeneous nature of natural samples. This work explores the use of 3‐D printing to create synthetic rock samples with reactive properties mimicking those of natural samples. Here, X‐ray Computed Tomography and 3‐D printing were used to recreate the pore network structure and reactive properties of a Paluxy sandstone. Novel, reactive filaments for 3‐D printing synthetic rock samples were constructed from mixtures of high impact polystyrene and calcite. The distribution and accessible calcite surface area of printed samples were evaluated and compared to values for the real rock sample. Only a small fraction of the total calcite was on the surface of the printed sample, but the accessible calcite surface area was comparable to real samples such that 3‐D printing may be a feasible means of fabricating reactive porous media samples.

Sustainable Use of Concrete Demolition Waste as Reactive Material in Permeable Barrier for Remediation of Groundwater: Batch and Continuous Study

AbstractThis study investigated the possibility of using granules of crushed concrete demolition waste (CCDW) as a reactive medium in a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) to remediate groundwater con...

CO2-cofed catalytic pyrolysis of tea waste over Ni/SiO2 for the enhanced formation of syngas

To valorize tea waste (TW), catalytic pyrolysis was done as a practical measure for recovering energy as a form of syngas. Considering CO2 as a reactive gas medium in place of conventional pyrolysis gas, a sustainable pyrolysis platform was established. In addition, mechanistic effectiveness of CO2 on TW pyrolysis was examined. In the presence of CO2, homogeneous reaction with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) derived from TW pyrolysis contributed to CO formation. To enhance the formation of syngas at low pyrolysis temperature, catalytic pyrolysis over a Ni/SiO2 was investigated. The synergistic effects of Ni/SiO2 catalyst and CO2 promoted thermal cracking of VOCs and further homogeneous reaction with CO2, thereby resulting in the substantial enhancement (28 times more) of H2 and CO production than non-catalytic pyrolysis. It was also confirmed that CO2 could be considered a reactive gas medium to produce biochar (34–35 wt.% yield), having competitive porosity and surface area, in comparison to that from pyrolysis in N2. Therefore, CO2 can be employed to build a sustainable waste conversion platform for energy and biochar production through pyrolysis instead of using N2.

Copper removal from contaminated soil through electrokinetic process with reactive filter media

Electrokinetic (EK) remediation has been used in the removal of metal ions from contaminated soil. This study focused on integrating the EK technique with different reactive filter media (RFM) of activated carbon (AC) and biochar (BC) for the first time without adding chemicals to facilitate the removal of copper ions from the contaminated kaolinite soil. Tests based on EK, EK coupled with AC (EK-AC), and EK combined with BC (EK-BC) were performed under an electric potential of 10 V, and the overall removal efficiency of copper ions decreased as EK-BC > EK-AC > EK. The results show that 27% of copper in the soil was captured by BC, compared with only 10% by AC. Additional EK-BC test performed under a constant current (20 mA) revealed that the acid front swept across the soil, resulting in 70.6–95.0% copper removal from soil sections 4 to 1 close to the anode region with more copper accumulation in section 5. Similar to the EK-BC test under a fixed voltage, 26% of copper in the soil was captured by BC during EK-BC treatment under a constant current although with a higher energy consumption. Moreover, RFM was regenerated by flushing with an acid solution, achieving 99.3% of copper recovery in BC and 78.4% in AC. Although the permeability of AC-RFM was higher than that of BC-RFM, copper contaminant was more easily leached out from the BC-RFM. The findings demonstrated the feasibility of contaminant entrapment in BC-RFM and recovery by acid leaching, with potential for sustainable soil remediation.

Syngas Production From the Reforming of Typical Biogas Compositions in an Inert Porous Media Reactor.

Syngas production by inert porous media combustion of rich biogas–air mixtures was studied experimentally, focusing on carbon dioxide utilization and process efficiency. Different gas mixtures of natural gas and carbon dioxide, which simulated a typical biogas composition of 100:0, 70:30, 55:45, and 40:60 (CH4:CO2), were comparatively analyzed considering combustion waves temperatures and velocities, and chemical concentrations products, at high equivalence ratios of φ = 1.5 and φ = 2.0. Different CO2 concentrations on biogas composition showed higher H2 productions than on pure methane (100:0), mainly due to CO2 reforming reactions. Also, syngas production, hydrogen yields, and process efficiency by means of biogas filtration combustion were higher than under methane filtration combustion. Results of the thermochemical conversion of biogas show an alternative and promising non-catalytic technique to CO2 utilization.

Research kinetics of the monochloroacetic acid esterification

Esterification of carboxylic acids has vast academic applications in organic synthesis and finds industrial uses as well; for instance, reactions involving esterification of monochloroacetic acid with alcohols are widespread in the pharmaceutical industry. Traditionally esterification has been performed using liquid mineral acid catalysts, such as H 2 SO 4 , H 3 PO 4 , HF, etc. Since reactivity of esters is higher than that of carboxylic acids, they are more applicable for organic synthesis. Particularly, high reactivity of C‒Cl bonds in monochloroacetic and 3-chloropropionic acids is used in many syntheses. Monochloroacetic and 3-chloropropionic acid esters are widely used as alkylation agents for nucleophilic atoms, such as Sulfur, Nitrogen, and Oxygen, at standard conditions. The purpose of this work was to investigate patterns of the esterification reaction between monochloroacetic acid and butan-1-ol in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid. Materials and methods. Starting reagents were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Boiling points were determined using conventional distillation at atmospheric pressure. Bruker Alpha spectrophotometer was used to obtain IR spectra in the wavenumber range of 7500–400 cm -1 using a technique of placing a liquid onto the film. Agilent 7890B gas chromatography system coupled with Agilent 5977B mass spectrometry detector was used for the separation of the compounds, while NIST14 library was used for compound identification by mass spectra. Results. In the investigation of the esterification reaction, samples were drawn from the reactive medium at 20, 40, 90, 120, 160, 200, 240, 360 minutes of the reaction and analyzed by gas chromatography. Analysis of the chromatograms showed that monochloroacetic acid migrates into the aqueous phase completely, and it is not observed in the organic phase. Mainly two peaks were present on chromatograms, which were identified by mass spectra as butan-1-ol and butyl monochloroacetate. Reaction rate constants were evaluated using a second-order kinetic model following the graphical method, which uses the slope of the best-fit line. The activation energy (Е act. ) was calculated using the plot of ln k the inverse of absolute temperature, and the obtained value was in agreement with the literature data available for esterification reactions. Conclusions. Mainly two peaks were observed on the chromatograms, which correspond to butan-1-ol and butyl monochloroacetate, as identified by mass spectra. Based on the obtained results, it may be established that temperature increase from 100 ℃ to 120 ℃ leads to the decrease of the reaction rate constant, and the reaction progresses by one order faster. The activation energy (Е act. ) of the esterification reaction equals 165 kJ/mol. The analysis of a mass spectrum of butyl monochloroacetate revealed that butyl monochloroacetate molecules are fragmented into monochloroacetic acid fragments, (CH 3 CO) + ions, butyl radical particles, and (Cl-CH 2 CO) + ions. IR spectrum contains absorption bands characteristic to esters, specifically: νC = О, С-С-О, CH 3 , CH 2 , O-CH 2 -C, C-Cl.

Grain Size Analysis and Permeametry for Estimating Hydraulic Conductivity in Engineered Porous Media

AbstractGrain size analysis and permeametry are common methods for estimating the hydraulic conductivity (K) of porous media. It is well known that these methods have limited accuracy when they are used to characterize natural sediments. However, hydrogeological research has increasingly introduced technologies dependent on engineered porous media that may be less problematic because complex geologic structures are eliminated in the lab and field‐scale packings. The recently introduced Horizontal Reactive Media Treatment Wells (HRX® Wells), for in situ, passive remediation of groundwater is one such example. The HRX Well passively collects groundwater and directs it through a horizontal pipe packed with an engineered porous medium. In this project, grain size analysis was conducted for sand and sand‐iron mixtures to estimate K using the 16 algorithms provided in the HydrogeoSieveXL2.3.2 software. The results were compared to K determined by permeametry and a field‐scale column, 30 cm long and 25 cm in diameter, representing an HRX Well. The best comparability of K estimates from grain size analysis and permeametry were obtained using the USBR, Slichter, and Shepherd K estimation methods. These also showed good agreement between lab‐scale and field‐scale K estimations, with reproducibility within the range ±20%. This study shows that laboratory K estimations can be representative across various relevant scales, including the field‐scale, for engineered porous media. This finding extends to filter packs, and other engineered porous media design methods by emphasizing and demonstrating one case of accuracy in lab‐scale permeability estimation for field‐scale implementations.

Influences of pH on transport of arsenate (As5+) through different reactive media using column experiments and transport modeling

This research aims to evaluate the effects of pH, including both acidic and neutral conditions to simulate an acid mine environment, on the sorption and transport of As(V) in contaminated groundwater through different reactive materials by using column experiments and mathematical modeling. Six saturated columns were set up to evaluate the migration and removal efficiency of As(V) with three different materials acting as permeable reactive barrier (PRB) media under different pH conditions (pH 4 and pH 7). The reactive materials consisted of pure sand (control column), iron oxide-coated sand (IOCS) and a combination of IOCS and zero-valent iron-coated sand (ZVICS) (ZVICS + IOCS). According to the column experiments, the descending order of removal capacity (mg As/g) for ZVICS + IOCS, IOCS and sand was 0.452 > 0.062 > 0.0027 mg As/g at pH 4 and 0.117 > 0.0077 > 0.0022 mg As/g, respectively, at pH 7. The column experiments showed that the removal and retardation factor (RF) of As(V) generally increased with decreasing pH. The SEM images and the corresponding EDX spectra of acid-washed natural sand, IOCS and ZVICS + IOCS from the columns showed that the peak of As was detectable on the reactive materials. The mechanism of As(V) sorption onto sand at pH 4 and pH 7 corresponded to the uniform (equilibrium) solute transport model, whereas the IOCS and ZVICS + IOCS columns corresponded to the two-site model (TSM) with the Freundlich isotherm. The fraction of instantaneous sites (f) for As(V) sorption onto IOCS and ZVICS + IOCS appeared to decrease with increasing pH, especially for ZVICS + IOCS, which indicates that nonequilibrium sorption/desorption mainly dominated during As(V) migration.

Permeability measurements using oscillatory flows

We describe a versatile apparatus for measuring the permeability of porous materials using oscillatory flows. The permeabilities are measured by an original spectral analysis of the pressure and fluid-displacement signals. The measurements are shown to be in very good agreement with classical drainage experiments performed on the same device. Our apparatus and methodology will be useful if small fluid displacements are required, for example in reactive porous media.