Transport, Growth, Decay and Sorption of Microorganisms and Nutrients through Porous Media: A Simulation with COMSOL

D. Lopez-Falcon, M. Diaz-Viera, and A. Ortiz-Tapia
Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, México D.F., Mexico
Published in 2008

Transport of microorganisms through porous media governs many phenomena in bioremediation of environmental pollution problems and microbial enhanced oil recovery. The aim of this work is to investigate the effects of some transport parameters on breakthrough curves as well as on spatial distribution of components transported through a porous medium by a fluid phase.

Using COMSOL Multiphysics and the Earth Science Module, we derive a very complete model which can be used to analyze some phenomena involved in transport of microorganisms and nutrients through porous media.