Numerical homogenization of electrokinetic equations in porous media using lattice-Boltzmann simulations

Microscopic Simulations of Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitors

Electrochemical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) are devices allowing the storage or production of electricity. They function through the adsorption of ions from an electrolyte on high-surface-area electrodes and are characterized by short charging/discharging times and long cycle-life compared to batteries. Microscopic simulations are now widely used to characterize the structural, dynamical, and adsorption properties of these devices, complementing electrochemical experiments and in situ spectroscopic analyses. In this review, we discuss the main families of simulation methods that have been developed and their application to the main family of EDLCs, which include nanoporous carbon electrodes. We focus on the adsorption of organic ions for electricity storage applications as well as aqueous systems in the context of blue energy harvesting and desalination. We finally provide perspectives for further improvement of the predictive power of simulations, in particular for future devices with complex electrode compositions.

Radial basis function interpolation supplemented lattice Boltzmann method for electroosmotic flows in microchannel

Large gradients of physical variables near the channel walls are characteristic of EOF. The previous numerical simulations of EOFs with the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) utilize uniform lattice and are not efficient, especially when the electric double layer (EDL) thickness is significantly smaller than the channel height. The efficient LBM simulation of EOF in microchannel calls for a nonuniform mesh which is dense in the EDL region and sparse in the bulk region. In this article, we formulate a radial basis function (RBF)-based interpolation supplemented LBM (ISLBM) to solve the governing equations of EOF, that is, the Poisson, Nernst-Planck, and Navier-Stokes equations, in a nonuniform mesh system. Unlike the conventional ISLBM, the RBF-ISLBM determines the prestreaming distribution functions by using the local RBF-based interpolation over circular supporting regions and is particularly suitable for nonuniform meshes. The RBF-ISLBM is validated by the EOFs in infinitely long and finitely long microchannels. The results show that the RBF-ISLBM possesses excellent robustness and accuracy. Finally, we use the RBF-ISLBM to simulate the EOFs with the hitherto highest electrokinetic parameter, κa, defined by the ratio of channel height a to EDL thickness κ^-1 , in LBM simulations of EOF.

Fluid-driven metamorphism of the continental crust governed by nanoscale fluid flow

The transport of fluids through the Earth's crust controls the redistribution of elements to form mineral and hydrocarbon deposits, the release and sequestration of greenhouse gases, and facilitates metamorphic reactions that influence lithospheric rheology. In permeable systems with a well-connected porosity, fluid transport is largely driven by fluid pressure gradients. In less permeable rocks, deformation may induce permeability by creating interconnected heterogeneities, but without these perturbations, mass transport is limited along grain boundaries or relies on transformation processes that self-generate transient fluid pathways. The latter can facilitate large-scale fluid and mass transport in nominally impermeable rocks without large-scale fluid transport pathways. Here, we show that pervasive, fluid-driven metamorphism of crustal igneous rocks is directly coupled to the production of nanoscale porosity. Using multi-dimensional nano-imaging and molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that in feldspar, the most abundant mineral family in the Earth's crust, electrokinetic transport through reaction-induced nanopores (10-100 nm) can potentially be significant. This suggests that metamorphic fluid flow and fluid-mediated mineral transformation reactions can be considerably influenced by nanofluidic transport phenomena.

Poisson-Boltzmann thermodynamics of counterions confined by curved hard walls

We consider a set of identical mobile pointlike charges (counterions) confined to a domain with curved hard walls carrying a uniform fixed surface charge density, the system as a whole being electroneutral. Three domain geometries are considered: a pair of parallel plates, the cylinder, and the sphere. The particle system in thermal equilibrium is assumed to be described by the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann theory. While the effectively one-dimensional plates and the two-dimensional cylinder have already been solved, the three-dimensional sphere problem is not integrable. It is shown that the contact density of particles at the charged surface is determined by a first-order Abel differential equation of the second kind which is a counterpart of Enig's equation in the critical theory of gravitation and combustion or explosion. This equation enables us to construct the exact series solutions of the contact density in the regions of small and large surface charge densities. The formalism provides, within the mean-field Poisson-Boltzmann framework, the complete thermodynamics of counterions inside a charged sphere (salt-free system).

Lattice Boltzmann model for Coulomb-driven flows in dielectric liquids

In this paper, we developed a unified lattice Boltzmann model (LBM) to simulate electroconvection in a dielectric liquid induced by unipolar charge injection. Instead of solving the complex set of coupled Navier-Stokes equations, the charge conservation equation, and the Poisson equation of electric potential, three consistent lattice Boltzmann equations are formulated. Numerical results are presented for both strong and weak injection regimes, and different scenarios for the onset and evolution of instability, bifurcation, and chaos are tracked. All LBM results are found to be highly consistent with the analytical solutions and other numerical work.

Molecular dynamics simulation of electrokinetic flow of an aqueous electrolyte solution in nanochannels

Electrokinetic flows of an aqueous NaCl solution in nanochannels with negatively charged surfaces are studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The four transport coefficients that characterize the response to weak electric and pressure fields, namely, the coefficients for the electrical current in response to the electric field (M(jj)) and the pressure field (M(jm)), and those for the mass flow in response to the same fields (M(mj) and M(mm)), are obtained in the linear regime using a Green-Kubo approach. Nonequilibrium simulations with explicit external fields are also carried out, and the current and mass flows are directly obtained. The two methods exhibit good agreement even for large external field strengths, and Onsager's reciprocal relation (M(jm) = M(mj)) is numerically confirmed in both approaches. The influence of the surface charge density on the flow is also considered. The values of the transport coefficients are found to be smaller for larger surface charge density, because the counter-ions strongly bound near the channel surface interfere with the charge and mass flows. A reversal of the streaming current and of the reciprocal electro-osmotic flow, with a change of sign of M(mj) due to the excess co-ions, takes places for very high surface charge density.

Pore network model of electrokinetic transport through charged porous media

We introduce a method for the numerical determination of the steady-state response of complex charged porous media to pressure, salt concentration, and electric potential gradients. The macroscopic fluxes of solvent, salt, and charge are computed within the framework of the Pore Network Model (PNM), which describes the pore structure of the samples as networks of pores connected to each other by channels. The PNM approach is used to capture the couplings between solvent and ionic flows which arise from the charge of the solid surfaces. For the microscopic transport coefficients on the channel scale, we take a simple analytical form obtained previously by solving the Poisson-Nernst-Planck and Stokes equations in a cylindrical channel. These transport coefficients are upscaled for a given network by imposing conservation laws for each pores, in the presence of macroscopic gradients across the sample. The complex pore structure of the material is captured by the distribution of channel diameters. We investigate the combined effects of this complex geometry, the surface charge, and the salt concentration on the macroscopic transport coefficients. The upscaled numerical model preserves the Onsager relations between the latter, as expected. The calculated macroscopic coefficients behave qualitatively as their microscopic counterparts, except for the permeability and the electro-osmotic coupling coefficient when the electrokinetic effects are strong. Quantitatively, the electrokinetic couplings increase the difference between the macroscopic coefficients and the corresponding ones for a single channel of average diameter.