Microfluidics for controlling multiphase and species transport towards clean energy systems in the subsurface – GeoMIME

Multiphase flow in porous media is important in several environmental and industrial subsurface applications such as the sequestration and storage of CO2 in geological formations or soil remediation. Predictive capabilities of multiphase systems, however, must be improved. GéoMIME aims at examining the underlying mechanisms that control residual and solubility trapping in porous media. We posit that the accurate prediction of multiphase flow and mass transport in the subsurface can only be achieved by developing a deep understanding of the processes at the pore-scale, i.e. at the scale of a single pore and of a network of pores. GéoMIME relies on novel experimental and computational microfluidics to reveal the complex dynamics of capillary and dissolution trapping in order to improve our estimation of reservoir storage capacity, reduce the footprint required to sequester CO2, and to assess the long-term stored CO2 behavior.