Pietro de Anna research

Pietro de Anna

I am a physicist, I received my MSc from the University of Florence, Italy, in 2009 and my PhD from the University of Rennes 1, France in 2012. My thesis title was: "Mixing and reactions in porous media". I joined the Ruben Juanes group in September of 2012 as a Postdoctoral fellow.

Research Interests: stochastic models, reactive transport, incomplete mixing, upscaling, chemotaxis, transport through porous media.

My curriculum vitae (pdf).

email: pdeanna@mit.edu pietrodeanna@gmail.com


publications


Journal Articles

[10] Pore-scale Intermittent Velocity Structure Underpinning Anomalous Transport through 3D Porous Media, (pdf) Geophysical Research Letters (2014)

[9] The filamentary structure of mixing fronts and its control on reaction kinetics in porous media flows (pdf), Geophysical Research Letters (2014)

[8] Mixing and Reaction Kinetics in Porous Media: An Experimental Pore Scale Quantification (pdf), Environmental Science & Technology (2014)

[7] Flow Intermittency, Dispersion, and Correlated Continuous Time Random Walks in Porous Media (pdf), Physical Review Letters (2013)

[6] Reaction chain modeling of denitrification reactions during a push–pull test (pdf), Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (2013)

[5] Incomplete mixing and reactions with fractional dispersion (pdf), Advances in Water Resources (2012)

[4] Effect of spatial concentration fluctuations on effective kinetics in diffusion-reaction systems (pdf), Water Resources Research (2012)

[3] Effective pore-scale dispersion upscaling with a correlated continuous time random walk approach (pdf), Water Resources Research (2012)

[2] Anomalous kinetics in diffusion limited reactions linked to non-Gaussian concentration probability distribution function (pdf), The Journal of Chemical Physics (2011)

[1] Spatial model of autocatalytic reactions (pdf), Physical review E (2010)


research


flow through porous media

mixing driven reactions in porous media

I study the kinetics of reactions between chemicals heterogeneously distributed in porous media. Reactive transport phenomena play a central role in many natural systems, as well as medical and industrial applications. Effective kinetics derive from the competition of microscopic diffusion and advection (mixing) and the reaction processes. Key mechanisms affecting the reaction front geometry include stretching by the flow field, splitting by random obstacles and trapping in low velocity areas, in particular close to no slip boundaries at the solid-fluid interfaces.

* (Kinetics of Reactive Fronts in Porous Media), submitted...


flow through porous media

flow through porous media

To better understand mixing processes, part of my work focus on the complexity of flow that arises from the heterogeneous medium structure. The heterogeneity of natural flows strongly affects transport, mixing, and chemical reactions, including contaminant spreading and biological activity.

related publications:

* Effective pore-scale dispersion upscaling with a correlated continuous time random walk approach (pdf), Water Resources Research

* Flow Intermittency, Dispersion, and Correlated Continuous Time Random Walks in Porous Media (pdf), Physical Review Letters


diffusion-limited reactions

diffusion-limited reactions

Reaction kinetics in heterogeneous reaction-diffusion systems are in general different from the ones observed in well-mixed reactors. Mass transfer limitations can lead to reduced reactivity of the reaction system and slow down the global reaction kinetics. In natural systems the spatial distribution of reactant concentrations is in general heterogeneous due to fluctuations of the host media. Even very small fluctuations can have a dramatic impact on the global reaction kinetics. Anomalous reaction kinetics can arise from the segregation of reactants: islands containing a single reactant are created by self organization of the system and will limit the global reaction kinetics.

related publications:

* Anomalous kinetics in diffusion limited reactions linked to non-Gaussian concentration probability distribution function (pdf), The Journal of Chemical Physics

* Effect of spatial concentration fluctuations on effective kinetics in diffusion-reaction systems (pdf), Water Resources Research

* Incomplete mixing and reactions with fractional dispersion (pdf), Advances in Water Resources



Talks


"Mixing and reactions in Porous media" at the summer school in "Non linear dynamics" in Peyresq, August 2014 (pdf), talk

(back)

MIT

Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building 48 · Cambridge, MA 02139