Dual Transport Process for Targeted Delivery in Porous Media

Abstract:

The targeted delivery in porous media is a promising technology to encapsulate the solute (i.e., the cargo) in colloid-like microcapsules (i.e., the carriers), transport the microcapsules in the targeted location in porous media, and then release the solute. While extensive literatures and applications about the drug delivery in human and animal bodies exist, the targeted delivery using similar delivery carriers in subsurface porous media is not well understood. The dual transport process study is an explorative study for the targeted delivery in porous media. While the colloid transport is dominated by the advection process and the solute transport is dominated by the advection-dispersion, the dual transport process is the process with the first step of carrier transport, which is dominated by advection, and then after the release of cargo, the transport of cargo is dominated by advection-dispersion. By applying the random walk particle tracking (RWPT) approach, we investigate how the carriers transport in porous media and how the cargo release mechanisms affect the cargo distribution for the targeted delivery in various patterns of porous media. The RWPT numerical model will be verified against the experimental results of dual transport process in packed-disk 2D micromodels. The understanding of the mechanism of dual transport process is crucial to achieve the potential applications of targeted delivery in improved oil and gas recovery, CO₂ sequestration, environmental remediation, and soil biomediation.