This book is a synthesis of emerging topics in heat and mass transfer in
porous media. It brings together some of the world leaders in research
on transport p- nomena in porous media to present the state of the art
of its theory as well as the
applicationofthetheoryinemerging?eldssuchasbioengineering,
microelectronics and nanotechnology. The well renowned scientists
presenting their ?ndings in the review chapters presented are not only
among the best world leaders in their ?eld, they also capture the
research that is undertaken in all the parts of the globe, from the Far
East (Hong-Kong), the Southern Hemisphere (New Zealand and South Africa)
to Europe and America. The book is separated into two parts. The ?rst
presents the state of the art of the theory of heat and mass transfer in
porous media and can be used in both the traditional (underground ?ow,
?ltering and reservoir engineering) as well as in the more recent
emerging applications. The second part deals with emerging topics and
applications of the theory to bioengineering, microelectronics, and
nanotechnology. Traditionally,
thetopicoftransportphenomenainporousmediawasalmostexc-
sivelyreservedtothe?eldofunderground?ow(water, oil, gas,
etc.)and?ltering.With some singular exceptions on applications to drying
processes of fabric, the devel- ment of the theory of transport
phenomena in porous media was historically driven by the needs of
technologies linked to reservoir engineering or civil engineering. A
turningpointinthisdevelopmentwasreachedintheearlypartofthesecondhalfinthe
twentycenturywhenspecialattentiontoheattransferinporousmediayieldedan-
ceedingexpansionofinterest.Thisdevelopmentcontinuedinthetwenty?rstcentury
and reached recently such an impressive use in a diverse collection of
technological applications that created the motivation behind the
preparation of this
