Dispersion in Porous Media

In this chapter we will study the simplest possible convective transport process; that of passive convection and diffusion in a rigid, impermeable porous medium. The word passive is used to mean that there is no adsorption or reaction at the fluid-solid interface, nor is there any mass transfer from the fluid phase to the solid phase since the latter is impermeable. Very few real processes are passive in the sense used here; however, it is best to begin our studies of convective transport with as few complications as possible.