Chemical Control of Hydrodynamic Instabilities in Partially Miscible Two-Layer Systems.
Hydrodynamic instabilities at the interface between two partially miscible liquids impact numerous applications, including CO2 sequestration in saline aquifers. We introduce here a new laboratory-scale model system on which buoyancy- and Marangoni-driven convective instabilities of such partially miscible two-layer systems can easily be studied. This system consists of the stratification of a pure alkyl formate on top of a denser aqueous solution in the gravitational field. A rich spectrum of convective dynamics is obtained upon partial dissolution of the ester into the water followed by its hydrolysis. The properties of the convective patterns are controlled by the miscibility of the ester in water, the feedback of the dissolved species on its own miscibility, as well as the reactivity of given chemicals in the aqueous solution with the solubilized ester.
†Nonlinear Physical Chemistry Unit, Service de Chimie Physique et Biologie Théorique, Faculté des Sciences, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CP231, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
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Budroni
†Nonlinear Physical Chemistry Unit, Service de Chimie Physique et Biologie Théorique, Faculté des Sciences, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CP231, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
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Riolfo
†Nonlinear Physical Chemistry Unit, Service de Chimie Physique et Biologie Théorique, Faculté des Sciences, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CP231, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
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Lemaigre
‡Department of Chemistry and Biology, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84084 Fisciano, Salerno, Italy.
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Rossi
¶Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, Sassari 07100, Italy.
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Rustici
†Nonlinear Physical Chemistry Unit, Service de Chimie Physique et Biologie Théorique, Faculté des Sciences, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CP231, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
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De Wit
Marangoni flows; buoyancy-driven flows; chemo-hydrodynamics; convective dissolution; hydrodynamic instability; partially miscible reactive liquids; traveling fingers