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Qiuzi Li, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Title of talk: Industrial Experience and Technical Discussion on Induced Polarization for Subsurface Characterization

Zoom Link is available upon request. Please email Ellie at [[evwilk]].

Abstract: There has been substantial interest in applying induced polarization phenomena, which broadly include electrode and membrane polarization, to characterize organic contamination and biogeochemical environments. The presence of dispersed electronically conductive grains contributes to the electrode polarization, which arises due to the capacitive charging of the Stern Layer at the conductor-electrolyte interface. On the other hand, the membrane polarization is driven by spatial inhomogeneity in the ionic transferences, i.e., the proportion of current carried by the cation vs. the anion. Several phenomenological models, semi-quantitative models, and models for particular pore shapes have been proposed for understanding induced polarization. Here, we developed theoretical frameworks to quantitatively explain electrode and membrane polarization based on insights from experiments on model systems. We obtained quantitative agreement between experiment and theory, not just for characteristic frequencies and amplitudes, but for the entire spectral shape of the phase angle between electric field and current density.

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