Internal Biofilm Heterogeneities Enhance Solute Mixing and Chemical Reactions in Porous Media
Internal Biofilm Heterogeneities Enhance Solute Mixing and Chemical Reactions in Porous Media
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DOI：
10.1021/acs.est.2c09082
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发表时间：
2023-05-19
影响因子：
11.4
通讯作者：
Jimenez-Martinez，Joaquin
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Markale，Ishaan;Carrel，Maxence;Jimenez-Martinez，Joaquin
细菌生物膜可以在多孔介质中形成，其在从医疗植入物到生物过滤器的工业应用以及在环境应用（例如原位地下水修复，其中它们可以是生物化学反应的关键位置）中是感兴趣的。生物膜的存在通过堵塞孔隙改变多孔介质的拓扑结构和流体动力学，从而改变溶质的传输和反应动力学。在多孔介质中发现的高度不均匀的流场和微生物行为（包括生物膜生长）之间的相互作用导致多孔介质中的空间不均匀的生物膜分布以及跨生物膜厚度的内部不均匀性。我们的研究利用高分辨率的三维X射线计算机微断层扫描图像的细菌生物膜在管式反应器中，通过考虑多个等效随机生成的内部渗透性领域的生物膜数值计算孔尺度的流体流动和溶质运移。我们发现，内部的非均匀渗透性主要影响中间速度相比，均匀的生物膜渗透性。虽然生物膜的等效内部渗透性场不影响流体-流体混合，但它们显著地控制快速反应。对于生物驱动的反应，例如生物膜吸收营养物或污染物，其内部渗透性场控制过程的效率。这项研究强调了考虑生物膜内部异质性的重要性，以更好地预测工业和环境生物堵塞多孔系统的反应性。
Bacterial biofilms can form in porous media that are of interest in industrial applications ranging from medical implants to biofilters as well as in environmental applications such as in situ groundwater remediation, where they can be critical locations for biogeochemical reactions. The presence of biofilms modifies porous media topology and hydrodynamics by clogging pores and consequently solutes transport and reactions kinetics. The interplay between highly heterogeneous flow fields found in porous media and microbial behavior, including biofilm growth, results in a spatially heterogeneous biofilm distribution in the porous media as well as internal heterogeneity across the thickness of the biofilm. Our study leverages highly resolved three-dimensional X-ray computed microtomography images of bacterial biofilms in a tubular reactor to numerically compute pore-scale fluid flow and solute transport by considering multiple equivalent stochastically generated internal permeability fields for the biofilm. We show that the internal heterogeneous permeability mainly impacts intermediate velocities when compared with homogeneous biofilm permeability. While the equivalent internal permeability fields of the biofilm do not impact fluid–fluid mixing, they significantly control a fast reaction. For biologically driven reactions such as nutrient or contaminant uptake by the biofilm, its internal permeability field controls the efficiency of the process. This study highlights the importance of considering the internal heterogeneity of biofilms to better predict reactivity in industrial and environmental bioclogged porous systems.