The origin of the observed low-frequency electrical polarization in sandstones

Geophysics ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. G235-G238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian B. Scott

There has been an increasing debate regarding the mechanism controlling the low-frequency polarization (megahertz to kilohertz) in sandstones. The polarization and related electrical relaxation are extremely important because they can be used to provide a significant amount of information on length scales within the sandstone. Complex electrical measurements, in the mHz to kHz range, were made on gel-filled samples. This gel decreases the ionic mobility in the bulk pore fluid while keeping the ionic composition similar to that in a water-saturated sample. The presence of the gel was shown to have little effect on the electrical relaxation. This adds to the argument that the electrical double layer close to the grain surface is where the polarization originates. The correlation between pore-throat size and the relaxation time is consistent with the polarization mechanism of ion diffusion within the electrical double layer. The membrane-type polarization model, used previously to explain the polarization in pore-throat regions, is likely to be incorrect because of the relative thinness of the electrical double layer.

Geophysics ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. WA113-WA123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Kruschwitz ◽  
Andrew Binley ◽  
David Lesmes ◽  
Ahmed Elshenawy

The results from several laboratory studies of the relationships between electrical polarization and physical properties of porous media have prompted interest in the potential use of low-frequency electrical spectra to qualitatively or quantitatively map variation in hydrogeologic properties in the field. Compiling several published and unpublished data sets, supported by new measurements, we have examined the low-frequency electrical spectra of a range of natural and artificial porous media to assess the generality of proposed relationships between electrical and physical properties. Our work confirms a significant positive correlation between the magnitude of electrical polarization (quantified as imaginary conductivity at a specific frequency) and the surface-area/pore-volume ratio [Formula: see text]. Analyzing the parameters of ageneralized Cole-Cole resistivity relaxation model fitted to many electrical spectra, we observe two apparent controls on the electrical relaxation. For samples with abundant relatively large pore throats, we observe a distinct increase in the time constant of the model with modal pore-throat size, in accordance with classical electrical relaxation models. However, for media with pore structures dominated by small pore throats, the diffusion-length scales do not appear to be controlled by modal pore-throat size. We conclude that for such media, the microstructure of the network of small pores leads to some connectivity of diffusion paths; thus, these samples exhibit relatively large time constants. There is potential value in addition to limitations when using electrical spectra to estimate physical properties of porous media, and we see the need for more appropriate generalized theories of electrical polarization in hydrogeologic media.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Divya Bohra ◽  
Jehanzeb Chaudhry ◽  
Thomas Burdyny ◽  
Evgeny Pidko ◽  
wilson smith

<p>The environment of a CO<sub>2</sub> electroreduction (CO<sub>2</sub>ER) catalyst is intimately coupled with the surface reaction energetics and is therefore a critical aspect of the overall system performance. The immediate reaction environment of the electrocatalyst constitutes the electrical double layer (EDL) which extends a few nanometers into the electrolyte and screens the surface charge density. In this study, we resolve the species concentrations and potential profiles in the EDL of a CO<sub>2</sub>ER system by self-consistently solving the migration, diffusion and reaction phenomena using the generalized modified Poisson-Nernst-Planck (GMPNP) equations which include the effect of volume exclusion due to the solvated size of solution species. We demonstrate that the concentration of solvated cations builds at the outer Helmholtz plane (OHP) with increasing applied potential until the steric limit is reached. The formation of the EDL is expected to have important consequences for the transport of the CO<sub>2</sub> molecule to the catalyst surface. The electric field in the EDL diminishes the pH in the first 5 nm from the OHP, with an accumulation of protons and a concomitant depletion of hydroxide ions. This is a considerable departure from the results obtained using reaction-diffusion models where migration is ignored. Finally, we use the GMPNP model to compare the nature of the EDL for different alkali metal cations to show the effect of solvated size and polarization of water on the resultant electric field. Our results establish the significance of the EDL and electrostatic forces in defining the local reaction environment of CO<sub>2</sub> electrocatalysts.</p>


1987 ◽  
Vol 33 (114) ◽  
pp. 239-242
Author(s):  
M. E. R. Walford

AbstractWe discuss the suggestion that small underwater transmitters might be used to illuminate the interior of major englacial water channels with radio waves. Once launched, the radio waves would naturally tend to be guided along the channels until attenuated by absorption and by radiative loss. Receivers placed within the channels or at the glacier surface could be used to detect the signals. They would provide valuable information about the connectivity of the water system. The electrical conductivity of the water is of crucial importance. A surface stream on Storglaciären, in Sweden, was found, using a low-frequency technique, to have a conductivity of approximately 4 × 10−4 S m−1. Although this is several hundred times higher than the conductivity of the surrounding glacier ice, the contrast is not sufficient to permit us simply to use electrical conductivity measurements to establish the connectivity of englacial water channels. However, the water conductivity is sufficiently small that, under favourable circumstances, radio signals should be detectable after travelling as much as a few hundred metres along an englacial water channel. In a preliminary field experiment, we demonstrated semi quantitatively that radio waves do indeed propagate as expected, at least in surface streams. We conclude that under-water radio transmitters could be of real practical value in the study of the englacial water system, provided that sufficiently robust devices can be constructed. In a subglacial channel, however, we expect the radio range would be much smaller, the environment much harsher, and the technique of less practical value.


2021 ◽  
pp. 138416
Author(s):  
Sofia B. Davey ◽  
Amanda P. Cameron ◽  
Kenneth G. Latham ◽  
Scott W. Donne

2018 ◽  
Vol 782 ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Takeshi Yabutsuka ◽  
Masaya Yamamoto ◽  
Shigeomi Takai ◽  
Takeshi Yao

We prepared hydroxyapatite (HA) capsules encapsulating maghemite particles. In order to evaluate enzyme immobilization behavior of the HA capsules under alkaline condition, we immobilized five kinds of enzymes with different isoelectric point in carbonate/bicarbonate buffer (CBB, pH 10.0). When the enzymes in CBB were moderately charged, immobilization efficiency on the HA capsules showed the highest value. It was suggested that immobilization efficiency was affected according to both pI of enzyme and pH of the surrounding solution and that enzyme immobilized on the HA capsules by not only electrical double layer interactions but also ion interaction and other interactions.


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