Theory, modeling and experiment in reactive transport in porous media

We review selected recent developments in reactive flow and transport in porous media, with emphasis on strongly coupled flows, interphase mass transfer, solute transport via dispersion and adsorption and modeling. On the one hand, modeling, theory and experiment continue to provide useful insights into the behavior of natural and engineered systems. On the other hand, real systems continue to reveal instances of non-classical behavior that is not explainable by traditional approaches. This is the sign of a healthy area of science, but it is accompanied by certain challenges. In some applications, it establishes the necessity of multiscale modeling, in particular upscaling from the pore level, though predictive work is especially difficult at that scale. In other applications, however, the central question may be not how to model a particular system, but whether it can be modeled in a meaningful way. Continued progress will require renewed focus on elements of the scientific method: testable predictions, crucial experiments and falsification of hypotheses (Popper K. All life is problem-solving, Routledge, London, 1999•).