odelSetupandImplementation

The column used for case study on the elute transport

and HETP analysis has all the features as for the one
studied in the previous section, including the inlet and
outlet pipes, the headplate zones, antijet disks, and the
packed bed (Fig 7, but is simplified to allow us to perform two-dimensional axis-symmetrical simulations. Fine
grid resolutions require a computer memory beyond our
current capacity for three-dimensional simulations. The
model, Equations 41 and Equation 45, was implemented
and executed in Comsol (version 3.5a).
The following simplifications and assumptions are
made in this case study:
1. The heterogeneity of the packed bed is neglected, the
porosity and the permeability of the packed bed is
assumed constant.
2. All processes are taken to be isothermal.
3. Diffusion between different species is neglected.
4. The flow is incompressible. The various physical
properties are independent of pressure.
5. The solute, solvent, and mixtures of the two in
any proportions have the same physical properties;
therefore, the velocity field is independent of the
composition of the fluid.
The governing equation for saturated porous media and
entirely fluid and solid system is given by Equation 41, in
which the apparent diffusivity is given by tensor
Drr
a=
1
1 |uu2r| 2 + 2 |uu2z| 2 + L Dm (42)
Dzz
a=
1
1 |uu2z| 2 + 2 |uu2r| 2 + L Dm (43)
Drz
a = Dzra = 1

(1 2) uruz
|u| 2 Dm (44)
where 1 is the dispersivity parallel to the flow direction
and 2 transverse direction. Here Dm is the molecular
diffusion coefficient, and L is the tortuosity factor.
The velocity field is given by the Brinkman equation,

u
t
+
k
u = pI + 1 {(u + Tu)} (45)
in addition to the continuity equation, Equation 30.
The Langmuir model, Equation 34, was adopted to
represent the equilibrium isotherm. In this study, the
author simulated three systems, namely, no adsorption,
affinity, and ion exchange, with the constants Qmax and
K
eq varied accordingly.
The following boundary conditions and initial conditions are assumed:
1. No-slip, no species flux boundary condition at column
wall and antijet disks.
2. U
n = U0, c = c0(t t0) at the inlet.
3. P = 0, and n (Dac) = 0 at the outlet.
4. Axial symmetrical boundary condition on r = 0.
The steady-state momentum balance equation,
Equation 45, was solved first to obtain the velocity
field. Then the solute transport equation, Equation 41,
was activated to provide transient solute concentration
profiles. At the inlet, the elute concentration is set to be
c = 0 at t = 0, then after a period of t0 = V0/U0, it is set to
be zero. V0 is the specified volume of injected elute. Model
parameters and material properties are given in Table 2.
Four hardware configurations are set up to study the
influence of hardware design and process conditions on the
flow distribution and the separation efficiency in terms of
HETP. Table 3 provides the details on the geometry. No
adsorption, ion exchange, and affinity system are modeled
to see the difference in performance under these hardware configurations. The Langmuir model is used for all
three systems with different constants. Values are given
in Table 2.
DataAnalysisMethod
The method of moments (66) is used to calculate the
retention time and the HETP.
The first moment is the retention,
tr = 0 ctdt/ 0 cdt (46)
the second is half width of the peak,
2 = 0 c(t tr)2dt/ 0 cdt (47)
and the third measures the skewness, that is, the asymmetry of the peak, given by
= 0 c(t tr)3dt/ 0 cdt (48)
The number of theoretical units (NTU) is given by
NTU = t2
r/2 (4