HDR defense by Sophie Roman

Abstract

This work explores the use of microfluidics for geosciences to study the multi-scale and multi-physical processes that occur in geological environments. Microfluidics reproduces the geometry of underground environments on chips in order to observe and study processes under a microscope. By coupling microfluidic experiments with high-resolution imaging, advanced measurement methods and numerical simulations, it is possible to precisely control, visualize and quantify flow, transport and reaction mechanisms at the microscopic scale. 

Research objectives include improving estimates of the storage capacity of geological reservoirs, reducing the footprint required for CO2 sequestration, assessing the long-term behavior of stored CO2 and proposing innovative methods for cleaning up contaminated aquifers. Given the complexity of underground systems, it is essential to understand small-scale processes in order to develop integrated predictive models. This work shows how microfluidics helps to better understand pore-scale mechanisms and improve large-scale models.