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Application of PFG–NMR to Study the Impact of Colloidal Deposition on Hydrodynamic Dispersion in a Porous Medium

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Abstract

Colloidal particulate deposition affects the performance of industrial equipment, reverse osmosis membranes and sub-surface contaminant transport. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, i.e. diffusion, diffraction and velocity imaging, are used to study the effect deposited colloidal particulate have on the fluid dynamics of water inside a model porous medium. Specially prepared oil-filled hard-sphere particles allow monitoring of particulate accumulation via NMR spectroscopy. Evidence of preferential spatial deposition is observed after the initial colloidal particulate deposition. Loss of spatial homogeneity is observed through NMR diffraction, while observations of the probability distributions of displacement (propagators) indicate the formation of back-bone type flow. This paper presents unique dynamic NMR data for the non-invasive non-destructive investigation of fluid transport in opaque porous media experiencing colloidal deposition.

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Acknowledgments

JDS acknowledges funding from NSF CTS-0348076 and SLC funding from NSF CBET-0642328. JDS and SLC thank the M.J. Murdoch Charitable Trust and NSF MRI program for equipment funding. EOF acknowledges funding from UWA ECR-RCA

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Einar O. Fridjonsson

  2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Montana State University, 306 Cobleigh Hall, Bozeman, MT, 59715, USA

    Einar O. Fridjonsson & Joseph D. Seymour

  3. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Montana State University, 220 Roberts Hall, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA

    Sarah L. Codd

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  1. Einar O. Fridjonsson
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  2. Sarah L. Codd
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Correspondence to Einar O. Fridjonsson.

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Fridjonsson, E.O., Codd, S.L. & Seymour, J.D. Application of PFG–NMR to Study the Impact of Colloidal Deposition on Hydrodynamic Dispersion in a Porous Medium. Transp Porous Med 103, 117–130 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-014-0290-y

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