Transport of non-newtonian suspensions of highly concentrated micro- and nanoscale iron particles in porous media: a modeling approach

The use of zerovalent iron micro- and nanoparticles (MZVI and NZVI) for groundwater remediation is hindered by colloidal instability, causing aggregation (for NZVI) and sedimentation (for MZVI) of the particles. Transportability of MZVI and NZVI in porous media was previously shown to be significantly increased if viscous shear-thinning fluids (xanthan gum solutions) are used as carrier fluids. In this work, a novel modeling approach is proposed and applied for the simulation of 1D flow and transport of highly concentrated (20 g/L) non-newtonian suspensions of MZVI and NZVI, amended with xanthan gum (3 g/L). The coupled model is able to simulate the flow of a shear thinning fluid including the variable apparent viscosity arising from changes in xanthan and suspended iron particle concentrations. The transport of iron particles is modeled using a dual-site approach accounting for straining and physicochemical deposition/release phenomena. A general formulation for reversible deposition is herein proposed, that includes all commonly applied dynamics (linear attachment, blocking, ripening). Clogging of the porous medium due to deposition of iron particles is modeled by tying porosity and permeability to deposited iron particles. The numerical model proved to adequately fit the transport tests conducted using both MZVI and NZVI and can develop into a powerful tool for the design and the implementation of full scale zerovalent iron applications.