a Faculty of Applied Sciences, Department of Biotechnology , Delft University of Technology , Delft , The Netherlands .
Biofouling. 2013;29(9):1069-86. doi: 10.1080/08927014.2013.828284. Epub 2013 Sep 13.
A two-dimensional pore-scale numerical model was developed to evaluate the dynamics of preferential flow paths in porous media caused by bioclogging. The liquid flow and solute transport through the pore network were coupled with a biofilm model including biomass attachment, growth, decay, lysis, and detachment. Blocking of all but one flow path was obtained under constant liquid inlet flow rate and biomass detachment caused by shear forces only. The stable flow path formed when biofilm detachment balances growth, even with biomass weakened by decay. However, shear forces combined with biomass lysis upon starvation could produce an intermittently shifting location of flow channels. Dynamic flow pathways may also occur when combined liquid shear and pressure forces act on the biofilm. In spite of repeated clogging and unclogging of interconnected pore spaces, the average permeability reached a quasi-constant value. Oscillations in the medium permeability were more pronounced for weaker biofilms.
开发了二维孔隙尺度数值模型来评估生物堵塞引起的多孔介质中优先流动路径的动力学。通过包含生物量附着、生长、衰减、裂解和脱落的生物膜模型来耦合液体在孔隙网络中的流动和溶质传输。在恒定液体入口流速和仅由剪切力引起的生物量脱落的情况下，获得了除一条流动路径之外的所有流动路径的堵塞。当生物膜脱落与生长平衡时，即使生物量因衰减而减弱，也会形成稳定的流动路径。然而，在饥饿时剪切力与生物量裂解相结合可能会导致流道位置间歇性地发生变化。当液体剪切力和压力联合作用于生物膜时，也可能会出现动态流动途径。尽管连通孔隙空间反复堵塞和疏通，但平均渗透率达到了准恒定值。对于较弱的生物膜，介质渗透率的波动更为明显。
