Interphase mass transfer between fluids in subsurface formations: A review

This paper presents a review of the state-of-the-art on interphase mass transfer between immiscible fluids in porous media with focus on the factors that have significant influence on this process. In total close to 300 papers were reviewed focusing to a large extent on the literature relating to NAPL contamination of the subsurface. The large body of work available on this topic was organized according to the length scale of the conducted studies, namely the pore, meso and field scales. The interrelation of interphase mass transfer at these different scales is highlighted. To gain further insight into interphase mass transfer, published studies were discussed and evaluated in terms of the governing flow configurations defined in terms of the wettability and mobility of the different phases. Such organization of the existing literature enables the identification of the interfacial domains that would have significant impact on interphase mass transfer. Available modeling approaches at the various length scales are discussed with regard to current knowledge on the physics of this process. Future research directions are also suggested.