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 percolation and homogenization 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 will be presented.

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Confinement and Remediation of Environmental Hazards

1999-2000 Reactive Flow and Transport Phenomena