Laboratory Studies on the Influence of Ionic Strength on Particle Transport Behavior in a Saturated Porous Medium

An experimental study has been undertaken to investigate the effect of flow velocity and ionic strength on the transport of suspended particles (SP) and their deposition in a saturated porous medium. The SP injections were carried out using a laboratory column filled with sand and a pulse injection method. Ionic strengths varying between 0 and 600 mM (NaCl) have prospected. Two velocities were tested: 0.15 and 0.30 cm/s. Selected polydisperse particles diameters ranging from 0.27 to 5 μm and a median diameter (dp50) equal to 2.25 μm were used. An analytical solution of the convection–dispersion equation with first-order deposition kinetics was used to describe the experimental breakthrough curves and to identify the transport parameters. The results show that the increase of ionic strength promotes the retention of the SP in the porous medium. In addition, retention is more important when the flow velocity is low. The deposition kinetics coefficient increases with increasing ionic strength and flow velocity.