Mathematical model for calcium carbonate acid mine drainage reaction: a multiple time scale approach

  • Lorenzo Fusi

    Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
  • Alessandro Monti

    Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
  • Angiolo Farina

    Università di Firenze, Italy
  • Mario Primicerio

    Universita di Firenze, Italy

Abstract

In this paper we present a mathematical model for the flow of an acid solution through a reacting porous medium. The solid matrix is supposed to be formed by families of spheres with di¤erent radii and the fluid is supposed to saturate the pores. The system is described by the evolution of the overall ion concentration and the radii of the spheres. The structure of the mathematical problem is multi-scale in time and for each time-scale di¤erent simplified problems can be obtained. We give some analytical results and display some numerical simulations to show the behavior of the solutions. The main practical application of this model is the flow of acid solution through neutralizing cartridges in which solid particles of CaCO3 are used to neutralize a given flow of an acid mine drainage.

Cite this article

Lorenzo Fusi, Alessandro Monti, Angiolo Farina, Mario Primicerio, Mathematical model for calcium carbonate acid mine drainage reaction: a multiple time scale approach. Atti Accad. Naz. Lincei Cl. Sci. Fis. Mat. Natur. 24 (2013), no. 4, pp. 503–526

DOI 10.4171/RLM/664