Dr. Suyin Yang 'IMVUL' Research project

Title: In-situ and real time monitoring of fluid flow and contaminant speciation during biogeochemical and reactive flow experimentation.

Supervisor: Dr Ian Butler

Project description:

This project involves the application of chemical and physical sensors for in-situ measurement and monitoring of biogeochemical processes in microbially colonised column and sandbox flow experiments pertinent to aquifer vulnerability studies. Robust solid-state electrochemical micro-sensors capable of determination of a range of dissolved species including contaminant metals and aqueous species related to bacterial respiration will be constructed. These sensors will be used for (i) real-time monitoring of contaminant transport and speciation in flow experiments, and (ii) highly spatially resolved (<1mm) profiling of chemical zoning developed in bioclogged porous media. The experimental data produced will be applied to understanding the role of microbial activity in the speciation and transport of metallic contaminants in aquifers and will contribute to the modelling of microbe-mineral systems.