Size exclusion during particle suspension transport in porous media: Stochastic and averaged equations

Abstract

A population balance model is formulated for transport of stable particulate suspensions in porous media. Equations for particle and pore size distributions were derived from the stochastic Master equation. The model accounts for particle flow reduction due to restriction for large particles to move through small pores. An analytical solution for low particle concentration is obtained for general particle and pore size distributions. The averaged equations differ significantly from the traditional deep bed filtration model.