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At least 73 records · Page 4

Reactive Transport Modeling of Anthropogenic Carbon Mineralization in Stacked Columbia River Basalt Reservoirs

Numerical simulation of CO2 storage in basalts and related reactive lithologies requires modeling complex, coupled hydrologic and chemical processes, including multi-phase flow and transport, partitioning of CO2 into the aqueous phase, and chemical interactions with aqueous fluids and rock minerals. We conducted reactive transport simulations of the Wallula pilot-scale CO2 injection into the flow tops of the Grande Ronde Basalt using our PNNL STOMP-CO2 simulator with the ECKEChem reactive module. Our mineralization simulation of the ~1,000 tons of injected CO2 into the interflow zones was based on the hydrologic transport model we previously developed. For this work, the simulations considered geochemical reactions involving the basalt components, precipitates, formation brine, and injected CO2. In our benchmark case, carbonate minerals precipitated, resulting in ~20% of the CO2 being mineralized in 10 years. Increasing the reaction rate of a single primary mineral phase (clinopyroxene) by an order of magnitude resulted in a carbon mineralization reaction extent of ~90% over the same time interval. Based on these initial sensitivity analysis results, it is clear that a thorough understanding of primary mineral dissolution rates is required for accurately predicting long-term fate and transport of injected CO2 into basalt formations. Our reactive transport numerical simulations will be key components of commercial-scale CO2 storage operation permitting, de-risking, and optimization in mafic and ultramafic reservoirs.

Cao, Ruoshi↗

Resolving dynamic mineral-organic interactions in the rhizosphere by combining in-situ microsensors with plant-soil reactive transport modeling

Associations between minerals and organic matter represent one of the most important carbon storage mechanisms in soils. Plant roots are major sources of soil carbon, and resolving the dynamics and dominance of microbial consumption versus mineral sorption of root-derived carbon is critical to understanding soil carbon storage. Here we integrate in-situ rhizosphere microsensor and plant physiological measurements with a 3-D plant-soil reactive transport model to explore the fate of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the rhizosphere, particularly its microbial consumption and interaction with Fe oxide minerals. Over several days, a microdialysis probe sampling pore water at the root-soil interface of growing Vicia faba roots in live soil, revealed clear diel patterns of DOC concentration. Daytime DOC spikes coincided with peaks in leaf-level photosynthesis rates and were accompanied by declining redox potential and dissolved oxygen as well as increasing pH in the rhizosphere. Incorporating microsensor data into our modeling framework showed that the measured rapid loss of DOC after each mid-day spike could not be explained by consumption via aerobic respiration, nor via anaerobic respiration dominated by Fe oxide reduction. Rather, in the model, a large fraction of rhizosphere DOC was rapidly immobilized each day by adsorption to Fe oxides. Further, modeled microbial Fe reduction (fueled by DOC) did not mobilize significant organic carbon from Fe oxides during the day. Instead, the model predicted equilibrium desorption of organic carbon from Fe oxides at night. This new mechanistic modeling framework, which couples aboveground plant physiological measurements with non-destructive high-resolution monitoring of rhizosphere processes, has great potential for exploring the dynamics and balance of the various microbial reactions and mineral interactions controlling carbon transformations and storage in soils.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Reactive-transport modeling of fracture flow to quantify the changes in flow pathways from matrix thermal contraction and mineral precipitation and dissolution; influence of grid resolution

A series of reactive-transport models of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) were constructed using the reactive transport code PFLOTRAN to examine the effect of matrix thermal contraction and mineral dissolution/precipitation on fracture flow in the context of grid cell size and model complexity. It was found that for thermal drawdown at production well, the impact of fracture zone grid cell size is negligible.

Gatz-Miller, Hannah Sarah↗

Reactive Transport Modeling of Shale–Fluid Interactions after Imbibition of Fracturing Fluids

Injection of hydraulic fracturing fluid (HFF) into shale formations for unconventional oil/gas production results in chemical reactions in the shale matrix. Our recent experimental study determined the depths to which different types of reactions between the shale matrix and the HFF extended. In the present study, we built continuum-scale reactive transport models to understand the coupling of chemical reactions and the transport of aqueous species in these shale–HFF systems. Calibration of the model with our previous experimental results reveals that it takes hours to months for the shale matrix to completely neutralize the imbibed acids, depending primarily upon the carbonate content of the shale. Both the HFF pH and pore pH affect the location of barite precipitation, resulting in unique barite precipitation profiles extending millimeters into calcite-rich Eagle Ford shale but only tens of micrometers into low-carbonate Marcellus shale. In addition, dissolved oxygen and extracted bitumen are key to reproducing the experimental observation of Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxide formation in the shale matrix as a result of pyrite dissolution in the shales. A comparison between the modeling results of porosity in the present study to experimentally measured permeabilities in our previous study suggests that chemical reactions occurring at a greater depth than the observable reaction zone might have impacted permeability. Our model serves as a benchmark for efficiently modeling water–rock interactions in similar systems where bulk rock samples react with a solution in batch reactors. Important reactive transport processes were ascertained via modeling, which allows for quantitative prediction of shale–HFF interactions in shale matrices given the shale and HFF compositions.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Quantifying heavy quark transport coefficients with an improved transport model

We report that the heavy-flavor transport coefficients contain important information on the strong interaction at finite temperatures. The extraction of these numbers from experimental data requires dynamical modeling of heavy-flavor transport that is coupled to realistic medium evolution. Furthermore, meaningful extractions necessitate both a faithful implementation of the physical inputs to be tested and the quantification of model uncertainty. For these purposes, we have developed a partonic transport model LIDO. It has an improved treatment of in-medium parton bremsstrahlung, which has been calibrated to theoretical calculations in a simple medium to reduce modeling uncertainty. Regarding the interaction between heavy quark and the medium, few-body perturbative scatterings are applied to large-momentum transfer (q) processes, while a diffusion equation models the dynamics of small-q processes. Such a separation restricts the explicit use of medium quasi-particles to large-q processes only. Another advantage is that deviations from the leading-order probe-medium coupling can be parametrized as an additional contribution to the diffusion constant. The heavy quark transport coefficients are then extracted with uncertainty estimation from a Bayesian analysis including both the RHIC and the LHC data. The results are found to be consistent with earlier extraction of the light-quark transport coefficients at high momentum and be comparable with lattice calculations of the heavy-flavor diffusion constant in the static limit at low momentum.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Coupling flux balance analysis with reactive transport modeling through machine learning for rapid and stable simulation of microbial metabolic switching

Integrating genome-scale metabolic networks with reactive transport models (RTMs) provides a detailed description of the dynamic changes in microbial growth and metabolism. Despite promising demonstrations in the past, computational inefficiency has been pointed out as a critical issue to overcome because it requires repeated application of linear programming (LP) to obtain flux balance analysis (FBA) solutions in every time step and spatial grid. To address this challenge, we propose a new simulation method where we train and validate artificial neural networks (ANNs) using randomly sampled FBA solutions and incorporate the resulting surrogate FBA model (represented as algebraic equations) into RTMs as source/sink terms. We demonstrate the efficiency of our method via a case study of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. During aerobic growth on lactate, S. oneidensis produces metabolic byproducts (such as pyruvate and acetate), which are subsequently consumed as alternative carbon sources when the preferred nutrients are depleted. To effectively simulate these complex dynamics, we used a cybernetic approach that models metabolic switches as the outcome of dynamic competition among multiple growth options. In both zero-dimensional batch and one-dimensional column configurations, the ANN-based surrogate models achieved substantial reduction of computational time by several orders of magnitude compared to the original LP-based FBA models. Moreover, the ANN models produced robust solutions without any special measures to prevent numerical instability. These developments significantly promote our ability to utilize genome-scale networks in complex, multi-physics, and multi-dimensional ecosystem modeling.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Reactive Transport Modeling with Physics-Informed Machine Learning for Critical Minerals Applications

This study presents a physics-informed neural network (PINN) framework for reactive transport modeling for simulating fast bimolecular reactions in porous media. Accurate characterization of cAhemical interactions and product formation in surface and subsurface environments is essential for advancing critical mineral extraction and related geoscience applications. The proposed methodology sequentially addresses the flow and diffusion–reaction subproblems. The flow field is computed using a mixed formulation, while the diffusion–reaction system is modeled via two uncoupled tensorial diffusion equations reformulated in terms of chemical invariants. PINNs are employed to solve the governing equations, enabling data-efficient, mesh-free prediction of chemical concentration fields. The framework is validated through a series of benchmark problems involving flow in heterogeneous porous media. Initial verification is conducted using patch tests for the flow field, followed by validation of the transport problem with emphasis on preserving non-negativity of concentrations. The complete fast bimolecular reaction scenario is then solved, yielding spatial distributions of reactants and product species. Results demonstrate that the PINNs-based approach effectively captures sharp, mixing-limited reaction fronts and dispersive mixing behavior, offering reliable predictions of reactive plume evolution. These capabilities are crucial for evaluating long-term subsurface behavior in applications such as fluid storage, energy extraction, and efficient extraction of critical minerals.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Compendium of Material Composition Data for Radiation Transport Modeling

In 2011, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) produced a document known as the Materials Compendium, or Compendium of Material Composition Data for Radiation Transport Modeling, PNNL 15870, Rev. 1, that contains material information useable for modeling purposes for properties of 372 materials. This information is used in several modeling programs used by the radiological/nuclear community, though it is primarily tailored for the Monte-Carlo-N-Particle code produced by Los Alamos National Laboratory. This new document Revision 2 includes a complete review and update of all materials data and references, addressing discrepancies and changes in materials data or references that have occurred since the first revision, an additional 40 materials have been added, primarily newer detector materials developed since the last revision, and isotopic specificity.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Assessing time-dependent temperature profile predictions using reduced transport models for high performing NSTX plasmas

Time-dependent, predictive simulations were performed with the 1.5D tokamak integrated modeling code TRANSP on a large set of well-analyzed, high performing discharges from the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) in order to evaluate how well modern reduced transport models can reproduce experimentally observed temperature profiles in spherical tokamaks. Overall, it is found that simulations using the Multi-Mode Model (MMM) more consistently agree with the NSTX observations than those using the Trapped Gyro-Landau Fluid (TGLF) model, despite TGLF requiring orders of magnitude greater computational cost. When considering all examined discharges, MMM has median overpredictions of electron temperature (T e ) and ion temperature (T i ) profiles of 28% and 27%, respectively, relative to the experiment. TGLF overpredicts T e by 46%, with much larger variance than MMM, and underpredicts T i by 25%. As the ratio of kinetic to magnetic field pressure (β) is increased across NSTX discharges, TGLF predicts lower T e and significant flattening of the T i profile, conflicting with NSTX observations. When using an electrostatic version of TGLF, both T e and T i are substantially overpredicted, underscoring the importance of electromagnetic turbulence in the high β spherical tokamak regime. Additionally, calculations with neural net surrogate models for TGLF were performed outside of TRANSP with a time slice flux matching transport solver, finding better agreement with experiment than the TRANSP simulations, highlighting the impact of different transport solvers and simulation techniques. Furthermore, the reasonable agreement with experiment of temperature profiles predicted by MMM motivates a more detailed examination of the sensitivities of the TRANSP simulations with MMM to different NSTX plasma regimes in a companion paper (Lestz et al Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 67 105030), in preparation for self-consistent, time-dependent predictive modeling of NSTX-U scenarios.

Lestz, J. B. [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (Unit↗

Global Sensitivity Analysis of a Reactive Transport Model for Mineral Scale Formation During Hydraulic Fracturing

Injection of water-based hydraulic fracturing fluid (HFF) into tight shale gas/oil formations can increase formation permeability and enhance production rates, but this process frequently causes mineral scale formation that can occlude pore space and hinder flow. To identify the most important factors that control the formation of mineral scales, we applied a novel global sensitivity analysis method—distance-based generalized sensitivity analysis (DGSA)—to a reactive transport model (RTM) that was previously built and calibrated to simulate precipitation of barite [BaSO4] and iron (hydr)oxide [Fe(OH) 3 ] in shale matrices and on fracture surfaces. Reactive transport simulations were run with model parameters randomly sampled based on assigned uncertainties. Modeling results for barite and Fe(OH)3 formation were clustered using machine-learning algorithms. A list of ranked critical input parameters was obtained after statistical quantification of cumulative distribution functions of input parameters. We found that barite formation is most sensitive to the rate of sulfate ion generation, which is determined by the pyrite dissolution rate coefficient and oxidant availability. In addition, barite formation is sensitive to the initial amounts of barite in HFF and shale, followed by barite thermodynamics/kinetics. For Fe(OH) 3 formation, the ranked factors are Fe(OH)3 precipitation rate coefficients, initial HFF pH, initial Fe(OH) 3 amount in HFF, and oxidant availability. Overall, our results provide insights into managing mineral scale formation during hydraulic fracturing to enhance production. Meanwhile, this study serves as an example of global sensitivity analysis of RTMs using the efficient, straightforward, and open-source DGSA method.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

A Data-driven, Physics-based Transport Model of Solar Energetic Particles Accelerated by Coronal Mass Ejection Shocks Propagating through the Solar Coronal and Heliospheric Magnetic Fields

Abstract In an effort to develop computational tools for predicting radiation hazards from solar energetic particles (SEPs), we have created a data-driven physics-based particle transport model to calculate the injection, acceleration, and propagation of SEPs from coronal mass ejection (CME) shocks traversing through the solar corona and interplanetary magnetic fields. The model runs on an input of corona and heliospheric plasma and magnetic field configuration from a magnetohydrodynamic model driven by solar photospheric magnetic field measurements superposed with observed CME shocks determined from coronagraph images. SEP source particles are injected at the shock using the result of diffusive shock acceleration formulation from a characteristic obliquity-dependent injection from a heated solar wind thermal tail population. With several advanced computation techniques involving stochastic simulation and integration, the model obtains the particle intensity at any location in interplanetary space through the rigorous solution to the time-dependent 5D focus transport equation in the phase space that includes perpendicular diffusion. We apply the model to the 2011 November 3 CME event. The calculation results reproduce multispacecraft SEP observations at Earth and STEREO-B reasonably well without normalization of particle flux. The observations at STEREO-A can be reproduced by rescaling particle energy or modified energy dependence of particle diffusion coefficients. This circumsolar SEP event seen by spacecraft at Earth, STEREO-A, and STEREO-B at widely separated longitudes can be explained by diffusive shock acceleration by a single CME shock with a moderate speed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Bayesian parameter estimation and evaluation of the K -ω shear stress transport model for plane impinging jets

Numerical simulations with semi-empirical turbulence models are commonly used to model impinging jets, often used for cooling solid surfaces. In this work, the constants in the k-ω shear stress transport model in ANSYS FLUENT are calibrated to experimental velocity and heat transfer data for a plane turbulent impinging air jet to determine if Kennedy-O'Hagan calibration (Kennedy and O'Hagan 2001 J. R. Stat. Soc. B 63 425–64) can improve predictions of near-surface velocities and surface Nusselt numbers for similar flows. Impinging jets have been proposed to cool the target plates of the divertor in future magnetic fusion energy reactors, where simulations are used to estimate divertor performance. The flat-plate divertor (Wang et al 2009 Fusion Sci. Technol .56 1023–7) uses a plane jet of helium issuing from a B = 0.5 mm slot to cool a surface with radius of curvature of 44 B at a distance 4 B from the slot. Predictions from the calibrated numerical model are compared with independent experimental data at different flow conditions, as well as surface temperature data for a flat plate divertor test section. The contribution of this work is evaluation of the accuracy of a calibrated turbulence model for modest extrapolations in flow geometry and flow conditions for a plane impinging jet.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Validation of energetic particle transport models for time-dependent integrated simulations of burning plasmas (Final ST Report)

The major goal of this project is to deliver a suite of validated energetic particle (EP) modeling tools for time-dependent integrated tokamak simulations (with the code TRANSP) that can be used for modeling plasma discharges featuring a substantial EP content, such as burning plasmas. During FY20, issues were resolved with an energetic particle transport model called TGLF-EP, with improvements made to the TGLF-EP workflow, generation of input files, and interpretation of runs on the NERSC supercomputing cluster. The recipient also gave input on simulations with the code TRANSP to reproduce the reference JET discharge, and assessed the accuracy and uncertainties of the simulated B field, current evolution, thermal plasma profiles, stored energy, etc. Input was also given on interpretation of fast-ion instability calculations and recommendations for modifications to JET afterglow discharge for the upcoming DT campaign.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Investigating the Atmospheric Sources and Sinks of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Using a Global Chemistry Transport Model

Perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA, is one of the many concerning pollutants in our atmosphere; it is highly resistant to environmental degradation processes, which enables it to accumulate biologically. With direct routes of this chemical to the environment decreasing, as a consequence of the industrial phase out of PFOA, it has become more important to accurately model the effects of indirect production routes, such as environmental degradation of precursors; e.g., fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs). The study reported here investigates the chemistry, physical loss and transport of PFOA and its precursors, FTOHs, throughout the troposphere using a 3D global chemical transport model, STOCHEM-CRI. Furthermore, this investigation includes an important loss process of PFOA in the atmosphere via the addition of the stabilised Criegee intermediates, hereby referred to as the “Criegee Field.” Whilst reaction with Criegee intermediates is a significant atmospheric loss process of PFOA, it does not result in its permanent removal from the atmosphere. Additionally, the atmospheric fate of the resultant hydroperoxide product from the reaction of PFOA and Criegee intermediates resulted in a ≈0.04 Gg year-1 increase in the production flux of PFOA. Furthermore, the physical loss of the hydroperoxide product from the atmosphere (i.e., deposition), whilst decreasing the atmospheric concentration, is also likely to result in the reformation of PFOA in environmental aqueous phases, such as clouds, precipitation, oceans and lakes. As such, removal facilitated by the “Criegee Field” is likely to simply result in the acceleration of PFOA transfer to the surface (with an expected decrease in PFOA atmospheric lifetime of ≈10 h, on average from ca. 80 h without Criegee loss to 70 h with Criegee loss).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A review of transport models in charged porous electrodes

There is increased interest in many different processes based upon interactions between a charged solid surface and a liquid electrolyte. Energy storage in capacitive porous materials, ionic membranes, capacitive deionization (CDI) for water desalination, capacitive energy generation, removal of heavy ions from wastewater streams, and geophysical applications are some examples of these processes. Process development is driven by the production of porous materials with increasing surface area. Understanding of the physical phenomena occurring at the charged solid-electrolyte interface will significantly improve the design and development of more effective applied processes. The goal of this work is to critically review the current knowledge in the field. The focus is on concepts behind different models. We start by briefly presenting the classical electrical double layer (EDL) models in flat surfaces. Then, we discuss models for porous materials containing macro-, meso-, and micro-pores. Some of the current models for systems comprising two different pore sizes are also included. Finally, we discuss the concepts behind the most common models used for ionic transport and Faradaic processes in porous media. The latter models are used for simulation of electrosorption processes in porous media.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Reactive transport modeling of organic carbon degradation in marine methane hydrate systems

Abstract Natural methane hydrate has often been observed in sand layers that contain no particulate organic carbon (POC), but are surrounded by organic-rich, fine-grained marine muds. In this paper, we develop a reactive transport model (RTM) of a microbially-mediated set of POC degradation reactions, including hydrolysis of POC driven by extracellular enzymes, fermentation of the resulting high-molecular weight dissolved organic carbon (HMW-DOC), and methanogenesis that consumes low-molecular weight dissolved organic carbon (LMW-DOC). These processes are mediated by two groups of microbes, fermenters and methanogens that are heterogeneously distributed in different lithologies, with the largest numbers of microbes in the large pores of coarse-grained layers. We find that the RTM can reproduce methane hydrate occurrences observed in two different geological environments, at Walker Ridge Site 313-H (Gulf of Mexico) and IODP Site U1325 (Cascadia Margin). We also find that microbes can degrade POC even if they are physically separated, as extracellular enzymes and DOC can diffuse away from where they are produced by microbes. Microbial activity is highest at relatively early times after burial at shallow depths and near lithological boundaries, where concentration gradients transport solutes to intervals that contain the most microbes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A Vertically Resolved Canopy Improves Chemical Transport Model Predictions of Ozone Deposition to North Temperate Forests

Abstract Dry deposition is the second largest tropospheric ozone (O 3 ) sink and occurs through stomatal and nonstomatal pathways. Current O 3 uptake predictions are limited by the simplistic big‐leaf schemes commonly used in chemical transport models (CTMs) to parameterize deposition. Such schemes fail to reproduce observed O 3 fluxes over terrestrial ecosystems, highlighting the need for more realistic treatment of surface‐atmosphere exchange in CTMs. We address this need by linking a resolved canopy model (1D Multi‐Layer Canopy CHemistry and Exchange Model, MLC‐CHEM) to the GEOS‐Chem CTM and use this new framework to simulate O 3 fluxes over three north temperate forests. We compare results with in situ measurements from four field studies and with standalone, observationally constrained MLC‐CHEM runs to test current knowledge of O 3 deposition and its drivers. We show that GEOS‐Chem overpredicts observed O 3 fluxes across all four studies by up to 2×, whereas the resolved‐canopy models capture observed diel profiles of O 3 deposition and in‐canopy concentrations to within 10%. Relative humidity and solar irradiance are strong O 3 flux drivers over these forests, and uncertainties in those fields provide the largest remaining source of model deposition biases. Flux partitioning analysis shows that: (a) nonstomatal loss accounts for 60% of O 3 deposition on average; (b) in‐canopy chemistry makes only a small contribution to total O 3 fluxes; and (c) the CTM big‐leaf treatment overestimates O 3 ‐driven stomatal loss and plant phytotoxicity in these temperate forests by up to 7×. Results motivate the application of fully online vertically explicit canopy schemes in CTMs for improved O 3 predictions.

Vermeuel, Michael P. [Department of Soil, Water, a↗

Hyporheic-zone Processes and Stream Oxygen Dynamics: Insights from a Multiscale Reactive Transport Model: Modeling Archive

This archive contains the data and Python scripts required to reproduce the analyses and figures in the study: Gomez-Velez, J. D., Rathore, S. S., Cohen, M. J., & Painter, S. L. (2025). Hyporheic-zone Processes and Stream Oxygen Dynamics: Insights from a Multiscale Reactive Transport Model. Submitted to Water Resources Research. The analysis utilizes the subgrid model Advection Dispersion Equation with Lagrangian Subgrids (ADELS) implemented in the Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS; https://amanzi.github.io/ats/stable/). In this case, the ATS and Amanzi versions are (1) ATS version 1.5.1_f5ba18f8 and (2) Amanzi version 1.6-dev_53444cca4. The repository includes a Jupyter Notebook and the necessary data (Pandas DataFrames stored as pickle files) to generate the figures for the manuscript. Additionally, it contains Python scripts to create ATS input files, run the ATS simulations, and post-process the results. Finally, it provides routines for parameter estimation using the Single-Station Metabolism (SSM) model with the Differential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis (DREAM) Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm with ZS enhancements (DREAM-ZS).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗