Abstract

When chemical reactions modify a physical property of a fluid like its density, they can actively influence or even trigger convective instabilities such as density fingering.  Similarly, a precipitation reaction can locally change the permeability of a porous medium and initiate pattern forming hydrodynamic instabilities. In our talk, we will review our recent progresses in the experimental and theoretical characterization of such chemo-hydrodynamic patterns and instabilities. Emphasis will be put on the application of such chemo-hydrodynamic instabilities in CO₂ sequestration and mineralization.

Bio

Anne De Wit is Full Professor in the Chemistry Department of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and head of the Nonlinear Physical Chemistry Research Unit. Her expertise is in the modeling of reaction-diffusion patterns and chemo-hydrodynamic instabilities in porous media. Her research group focuses on analyzing by combined experimental and theoretical approaches which spatiotemporal dynamics and patterns can develop when chemical reactions and hydrodynamic instabilities interplay. Her objective is to achieve a chemical control of convective flows with applications in carbon dioxide sequestration or oil recovery to name a few. 

Talk