Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2025
10:26
Transport of Surface-modified Carbon Nanotubes through a Soil Column
Published on: April 2, 2015
9.5K
Colloid Transport in Bicontinuous Nanoporous Media
Aoyan Liang1, Chang Liu1, Paulo S Branicio1
1Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0242, United States.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|May 17, 2024
Summary
Colloid transport in nanoporous media is governed by straining and trapping. Higher colloid concentration and attraction to media increase retention, potentially causing clogging.
Area of Science:
- Earth Science
- Nanotechnology
- Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Colloid transport and retention are crucial in Earth science applications like groundwater remediation and oil recovery.
- Nanoporous media present unique challenges due to boundary layer effects and nanoconfinement altering colloid behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To simulate colloid transport and retention in bicontinuous nanoporous (BNP) media using particle dynamics models.
- To elucidate colloid retention mechanisms and investigate the influence of key factors on colloid transport.
Main Methods:
- Utilized particle dynamics models to simulate colloid transport in BNP media under pressure gradients.
- Tracked individual colloid movement to identify retention mechanisms and analyzed breakthrough curves.
Main Results:
- Identified physical straining and trapping in low-flow zones as primary retention mechanisms under unfavorable conditions.
- Higher colloid volume fraction (d), lower pressure difference (ΔP), and strong colloid-media attraction (Ec-p) increase retention, leading to clogging.
- Colloid-colloid interactions (Ec-c) showed minimal impact due to confined nanoporous channels.
Conclusions:
- Fundamental factors governing colloid transport and retention in stochastic nanoporous materials have been identified.
- Understanding these factors is critical for optimizing processes in groundwater remediation and enhanced oil recovery.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport
431
Pore transport and ion-pair formation are critical mechanisms for the absorption and distribution of drugs in the body.
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct...
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct...
431
01:17Colloids and Suspensions
1.8K
Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles visible to the naked eye or seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. The suspended particles in a suspension settle out after some time of mixing. The separation of particles from a suspension is...
1.8K
01:23Transcellular Transport of Solutes
3.5K
Transcellular transport of solutes is the movement of substances like monosaccharides and amino acids through polarized cells. This transport mechanism is primarily seen in epithelial and endothelial cells aided by membrane transport proteins such as channels and transporters. The tight junctions between these cells confine the membrane proteins to the two sides of the cell. The epithelial cells have distinct apical and basolateral domains. In contrast, the endothelial cells show the luminal...
3.5K
01:16Facilitated Diffusion
450
The plasma membrane, a critical structure in cellular biology, houses an array of transporters, or carrier proteins, interspersed within its lipid bilayer. These proteins play a crucial role in solute transport through facilitated diffusion, a form of passive diffusion that uses transporters to move the molecules across the membrane.
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
450
01:23Mechanisms of Drug Absorption: Paracellular, Transcellular, and Vesicular Transport
513
Drugs need to permeate cell membranes to reach their target sites after administration. Orally administered drugs must transcend intestinal epithelial membrane barriers to infiltrate the systemic circulation. Drugs with a molecular weight of less than 500 Daltons diffuse through gaps between neighboring cells, called paracellular pathways.
However, most drugs use the transcellular route, traversing directly through the cell membranes via two mechanisms: passive and active transport. Passive...
However, most drugs use the transcellular route, traversing directly through the cell membranes via two mechanisms: passive and active transport. Passive...
513
03:22Colloids
17.4K
Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles that are visible to the naked eye or can be seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. On the other hand, a solution is a homogeneous mixture in which no settling occurs and in which the dissolved...
17.4K