PRIN MOBIOS

MOBIOS is a PRIN 2022 research project aimed at advancing the multiscale modelling of biofilm formation and evolution in complex porous media, with direct relevance to environmental, industrial, and biotechnological applications. The project addresses a major open challenge: bridging pore-scale microbial processes with macroscopic transport and reactive behavior in heterogeneous systems.

The CNR–IAC research unit plays a central role in MOBIOS by leading the development of the computational and theoretical framework for pore-scale and multiscale simulations. In particular, IAC-CNR contributes state-of-the-art numerical methods based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM), coupled with Lagrangian particle-based dynamics (PDM), to explicitly resolve hydrodynamics, nutrient transport, microbial motion, adhesion, growth, detachment, and reattachment processes at the pore level.

Building on its strong expertise in high-performance computing and mesoscale modelling, the IAC-CNR unit is responsible for the design, implementation, and optimization of scalable HPC codes capable of simulating biofilm dynamics over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. These pore-scale results are then systematically upscaled, through process-based and statistically informed approaches, to derive effective models suitable for full-scale systems.

Through MOBIOS, IAC-CNR contributes to establishing a physically grounded, multiscale numerical platform that overcomes the limitations of simplified or empirical models, enabling predictive simulations of biofilm-driven processes in realistic porous environments. The outcomes are expected to impact applications ranging from groundwater remediation and bioclogging to bio-reactors and engineered porous materials.