Professor Sangwoo Shin has received funding from NSF for studying the transport of colloidal particles in porous media

Assistant Professor Sangwoo Shin has received a grant of $320,238 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support a project entitled “Colloid Dynamics in Porous Media Induced by Fluid Flow and Solute Transport”. The goal of the project is to identify how the motion of colloidal particles in a porous medium is affected by fluid flow and the presence of dissolved solutes in the fluid. Variations in solute concentrations can influence the motion of the colloidal particles through a random network of pores or channels. This project will use microfluidic experiments to explore the mechanisms by which solute concentration gradients affect the motion of colloidal particles, which can lead to accumulation of the particles and blockage of certain channels within the porous matrix. The results of this research will be directly relevant to important industrial and naturally-occurring processes such as chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Chemical EOR processes, including surfactant flooding, polymer flooding, and low-salinity water flooding, have significantly enhanced production from oil reservoirs in the US. EOR often involves flow of colloidal suspensions through a porous subsurface containing variations in chemical concentrations of various solutes. The non-uniform chemical environment in the porous medium may cause the colloidal particles to undergo a strong directed motion, which may lead to unexpected colloid dynamics and may influence EOR performance and efficiency.

 

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