Numerical Approximation of a Nonequilibrium Model of Gradient Elution Chromatography Considering Different Functional Relationships between Model Parameters and Solvent Composition.

In this paper, a rigorous theoretical study is conducted to analyze the influence of varying solvent compositions on the retention characteristics of elution profiles within a fixed-bed liquid chromatographic column. In gradient chromatography, the propagation speed of elution profiles is manipulated through a progressive variation in the mobile-phase composition. Consequently, enhanced separation of the mixture components can be achieved together with a reduction in the requisite recycling times for subsequent injections. In other words, both the efficiency and the selectivity of the column can be enhanced. The lumped kinetic model coupled with the convection-diffusion equation for the volume fraction of the solvent is applied to simulate the process. The resulting nonlinear model equations are numerically solved by applying a semidiscrete second-order finite-volume method. The numerical solutions are utilized to quantify the effects of gradient starting and ending times, solvent composition, solvent strength parameters, and gradient slope on the concentration profiles. Additionally, temporal numerical moments are plotted versus the starting and ending times of the gradient, and standard performance criteria are presented for evaluating the process performance. The outcomes of this investigation will contribute to further enhancements in gradient elution chromatography.

Simulation of Fixed-Bed Chromatographic Processes Considering the Nonlinear Adsorption Isotherms.

This paper presents the numerical approximation of a nonlinear equilibrium-dispersive (ED) model of multicomponent mixtures for simulating single-column chromatographic processes. Using Danckwerts boundary conditions (DBCs), the ED is studied for both generalized and standard bi-Langmuir adsorption isotherms. Advection-diffusion partial differential equations are used to represent fixed-bed chromatographic processes. As the diffusion term is significantly weaker than the advection term, sophisticated numerical techniques must be applied for solving such model equations. In this study, the model equations are numerically solved by using the Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) finite element method. The technique is designed to handle sudden changes (sharp discontinuities) in solutions and to produce highly accurate results. The method is tested with several case studies considering different parameters, and its results are compared with the high-resolution finite volume scheme. One-, two-, and three-component liquid chromatography elutions on fixed beds are among the case studies being considered. The dynamic model and its accompanying numerical case studies provide the initial step toward continuous monitoring, troubleshooting, and effectively controlling the chromatographic processes.

Theoretical Study of Non-Isothermal Gradient Elution Liquid Chromatography.

A two-component model of gradient elution chromatography is investigated to theoretically study the effects of simultaneous variations in temperature and solvent strength on the retention behaviors of elution profiles in thermally insulated liquid chromatographic columns. The gradient elution technique is based on the gradual increase or decrease in eluent strength during the chromatographic operation by varying the composition of the mobile phase. The enthalpy of adsorption is primarily responsible for internal temperature variations inside the column, as heat adsorbs during the adsorption process and releases in the desorption phase. Both types of variations change the propagation speeds of moving pulses inside the column which can lead to better separation of the components and a reduction in the recycling time for the next injection. The equilibrium dispersive model (EDM) coupled with the energy balance equation for temperature and transport equation for the volume fraction of the solvent is utilized to simulate this complex process. The resulting nonlinear model equations are approximated by applying a semi-discrete second-order finite volume scheme. The numerical solutions are used to study the impact of a gradient starting and ending times, volume-fraction of the solvent, solvent strength parameter, the slope of gradient, enthalpy of adsorption, injection temperature, and the ratio of specific heats on the concentration profiles.

Theoretical Investigation of the Nonlinear General Rate Model with the Bi-Langmuir Adsorption Isotherm Using Core-Shell Adsorbents.

Core-shell particles enable the separation of intricate mixtures in a highly efficient and rapid manner. The porous shell particles increased the separation efficiency with expedited flow rates due to an abatement in the pore volume accessible for longitudinal diffusion and a decrease in diffusion path length. This study focuses on the numerical approximation of a nonlinear isothermal general rate model applied to stationary bed columns that are replete with inert core adsorbents featuring double adsorption sites. The transport of solute in heterogeneous porous media can be modeled by a nonlinear convection acquiescent partial differential equation system together with a specific nonlinear algebraic relation: the bi-Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Therefore, it is important to develop accurate and reliable numerical techniques that can perform accurate numerical simulations of these models. We extended and implemented a second-order, semidiscrete, high-resolution finite volume method to simulate the governing equations of the model. Single solute flow and multi component mixture flows are assessed through a series of numerical experiments to theoretically illustrate the repercussions of intraparticle diffusion, film mass resistance, axial dispersion, and the size of the inert core radius upon simulated elution curves. Standard performance criteria are assessed to determine the optimal core radius fraction range for optimizing the separation performance.

Theoretical Analysis of a Nonequilibrium Transport Model of Two-Dimensional Nonisothermal Reactive Chromatography Accounting for Bi-Langmuir Isotherm.

The current study investigates a nonequilibrium and nonlinear two-dimensional lumped kinetic transport model of nonisothermal reactive liquid chromatography, considering the Bi-Langmuir adsorption isotherm, heterogeneous reaction rates, radial and axial concentration variations, and the adsorption and reaction enthalpies. The mathematical models of packed bed chromatographic processes are expressed by a highly nonlinear system of coupled partial differential algebraic equations connecting the phenomena of convection, diffusion, and reaction, for mass and energy balance, the differential algebraic equations for mass balance in the solid phase, and the algebraical expressions for the adsorption isotherms and for the reaction rates. The nonlinearity of the reaction term and the adsorption isotherm preclude the derivation of an analytical solution for the model equations. For this reason, a semidiscrete, high-resolution, finite-volume technique is extended and employed in this study to obtain the numerical solution. Several consistency checks are performed to evaluate the model predictions and analyze the precision of the proposed numerical scheme. A number of heterogeneously catalyzed stoichiometric reactions are numerically simulated to examine reactor performance under the influence of temperature and Bi-Langmuir adsorption dynamics, the level of coupling between mass and energy fronts, and to study the effects of various critical parameters. The numerical results obtained are beneficial for optimal predictive control and process optimization during production and the development of methods for systematic design and fault detection of nonisothermal liquid chromatographic reactors, and hence constitute the first step to provide deeper insight into the overall evaluation of integrated reaction and separation processes.

Numerical Approximation of the Nonequilibrium Model of Gradient Elution Chromatography Considering Linear and Nonlinear Solvent Strength Models.

In both linear and nonlinear chromatography, the lumped kinetic model is a suitable model for predicting elution bands when appropriate equilibrium functions and mass transfer coefficients are accessible. This model also works well in the case of gradient elution chromatography if variations in the equilibrium functions due to changes in the mobile phase composition are known. The rational selection of an optimum gradient is explored in this study from three different perspectives using the lumped kinetic model. Elution profiles generated by using (a) linear solvent strength, (b) quadratic solvent strength, and (c) power law are investigated. The effectiveness and reliability of the suggested numerical approach, utilizing the flux-limiting finite volume method, are demonstrated through numerical simulations. The impacts of axial dispersion, nonlinearity coefficient, Henry's constant, mass transfer coefficient, and gradient parameters are studied on single and two-component elution profiles.

Analysis and experimental demonstration of temperature step gradients in preparative liquid chromatography.

The amount of substance adsorbed on solid surface depends on temperature. Therefore, the migration velocities of the solutes in a chromatographic column can be altered by introducing temperature gradients. Such gradients designed to change retention behaviours can be exploited to improve the separation performances in preparative chromatography. To describe key process features, we used analytical solutions of the equilibrium model with instant stepwise shift of temperature. To achieve a more realistic description, the equilibrium dispersion model was additionally applied to treat finite column efficiencies. The effect of temperature gradients was illustrated experimentally using two identical columns sequentially connected. Temperature of the second column was modulated by thermostats. Wide pulse injections of a single component led to instructive elution profiles in a preliminary investigation. The observations were found to be in qualitative agreement with predictions of the equilibrium dispersion model. Subsequently, the separation of a ternary model mixture was investigated considering a simple two-step temperature gradient. To support the quantitative analysis and to identify suitable switching and cycle times, the temperature dependencies of the Henry constants were determined by short pulse injections. A meaningful variation of the parameters of the temperature gradient is required for adjusting the cycle times, which is the time difference between two consecutive injections that needs to shorten. Decreasing this time is connected with a desirable increase in process productivity. The results achieved revealed that relatively simple to implement stepwise temperature gradients offer an option to improve and fine-tune the performance of repetitive batch chromatography.

Kinetic flux vector splitting scheme for solving non-reactive multi-component flows.

This paper is about multi-component flow. There is no doubt that multi-component flow has a wide range of applications, specially in aerospace it plays a vital role during reentry of space ship into earth's atmosphere thats why it cannot be neglected for a proper vehicle design. In this paper one- and two-dimensional homogenous multi-component flow models are numerically investigated by using a high resolution splitting scheme and this scheme is known as Kinetic Flux Vector Splitting scheme. This scheme preserves positivity conditions and resolves shocks, rarefaction and contact discontinuity. The scheme is based on splitting of flux functions. Moreover Runge-Kutta time stepping technique with MUSCL-type initial reconstruction is used to guarantee higher order accurate solution. This work is first done by Qamar and Warnecke (2004) for the homogeneous multi-component flow equations using central scheme, here we investigate the same work using kinetic flux vector splitting scheme (KFVS) and compared the results with central scheme to verify the efficiency of studied scheme.

A kinetic flux vector splitting scheme for shallow water equations incorporating variable bottom topography and horizontal temperature gradients.

This paper is concerned with the derivation of a well-balanced kinetic scheme to approximate a shallow flow model incorporating non-flat bottom topography and horizontal temperature gradients. The considered model equations, also called as Ripa system, are the non-homogeneous shallow water equations considering temperature gradients and non-uniform bottom topography. Due to the presence of temperature gradient terms, the steady state at rest is of primary interest from the physical point of view. However, capturing of this steady state is a challenging task for the applied numerical methods. The proposed well-balanced kinetic flux vector splitting (KFVS) scheme is non-oscillatory and second order accurate. The second order accuracy of the scheme is obtained by considering a MUSCL-type initial reconstruction and Runge-Kutta time stepping method. The scheme is applied to solve the model equations in one and two space dimensions. Several numerical case studies are carried out to validate the proposed numerical algorithm. The numerical results obtained are compared with those of staggered central NT scheme. The results obtained are also in good agreement with the recently published results in the literature, verifying the potential, efficiency, accuracy and robustness of the suggested numerical scheme.

Two-Dimensional Model for Reactive-Sorption Columns of Cylindrical Geometry: Analytical Solutions and Moment Analysis.

A set of analytical solutions are presented for a model describing the transport of a solute in a fixed-bed reactor of cylindrical geometry subjected to the first (Dirichlet) and third (Danckwerts) type inlet boundary conditions. Linear sorption kinetic process and first-order decay are considered. Cylindrical geometry allows the use of large columns to investigate dispersion, adsorption/desorption and reaction kinetic mechanisms. The finite Hankel and Laplace transform techniques are adopted to solve the model equations. For further analysis, statistical temporal moments are derived from the Laplace-transformed solutions. The developed analytical solutions are compared with the numerical solutions of high-resolution finite volume scheme. Different case studies are presented and discussed for a series of numerical values corresponding to a wide range of mass transfer and reaction kinetics. A good agreement was observed in the analytical and numerical concentration profiles and moments. The developed solutions are efficient tools for analyzing numerical algorithms, sensitivity analysis and simultaneous determination of the longitudinal and transverse dispersion coefficients from a laboratory-scale radial column experiment.

Analysis of linear two-dimensional general rate model for chromatographic columns of cylindrical geometry.

This work is concerned with the analytical solutions and moment analysis of a linear two-dimensional general rate model (2D-GRM) describing the transport of a solute through a chromatographic column of cylindrical geometry. Analytical solutions are derived through successive implementation of finite Hankel and Laplace transformations for two different sets of boundary conditions. The process is further analyzed by deriving analytical temporal moments from the Laplace domain solutions. Radial gradients are typically neglected in liquid chromatography studies which are particularly important in the case of non-perfect injections. Several test problems of single-solute transport are considered. The derived analytical results are validated against the numerical solutions of a high resolution finite volume scheme. The derived analytical results can play an important role in further development of liquid chromatography.

Application of Central Upwind Scheme for Solving Special Relativistic Hydrodynamic Equations.

The accurate modeling of various features in high energy astrophysical scenarios requires the solution of the Einstein equations together with those of special relativistic hydrodynamics (SRHD). Such models are more complicated than the non-relativistic ones due to the nonlinear relations between the conserved and state variables. A high-resolution shock-capturing central upwind scheme is implemented to solve the given set of equations. The proposed technique uses the precise information of local propagation speeds to avoid the excessive numerical diffusion. The second order accuracy of the scheme is obtained with the use of MUSCL-type initial reconstruction and Runge-Kutta time stepping method. After a discussion of the equations solved and of the techniques employed, a series of one and two-dimensional test problems are carried out. To validate the method and assess its accuracy, the staggered central and the kinetic flux-vector splitting schemes are also applied to the same model. The scheme is robust and efficient. Its results are comparable to those obtained from the sophisticated algorithms, even in the case of highly relativistic two-dimensional test problems.

Irreversible and reversible reactive chromatography: analytical solutions and moment analysis for rectangular pulse injections.

This work is concerned with the analysis of models for linear reactive chromatography describing irreversible A→B and reversible A↔B reactions. In contrast to previously published results rectangular reactant pulses are injected into initially empty or pre-equilibrated columns assuming both Dirichlet and Danckwerts boundary conditions. The models consist of two partial differential equations, accounting for convection, longitudinal dispersion and first order chemical reactions. Due to the effect of involved mechanisms on solute transport, analytical and numerical solutions of the models could be helpful to understand, design and optimize chromatographic reactors. The Laplace transformation is applied to solve the model equations analytically for linear adsorption isotherms. Statistical temporal moments are derived from solutions in the Laplace domain. Analytical results are compared with numerical predictions generated using a high-resolution finite volume scheme for two sets of boundary conditions. Several case studies are carried out to analyze reactive liquid chromatographic processes for a wide range of mass transfer and reaction kinetics. Good agreements in the results validate the correctness of the analytical solutions and accuracy of the proposed numerical algorithm.

Central upwind scheme for a compressible two-phase flow model.

In this article, a compressible two-phase reduced five-equation flow model is numerically investigated. The model is non-conservative and the governing equations consist of two equations describing the conservation of mass, one for overall momentum and one for total energy. The fifth equation is the energy equation for one of the two phases and it includes source term on the right-hand side which represents the energy exchange between two fluids in the form of mechanical and thermodynamical work. For the numerical approximation of the model a high resolution central upwind scheme is implemented. This is a non-oscillatory upwind biased finite volume scheme which does not require a Riemann solver at each time step. Few numerical case studies of two-phase flows are presented. For validation and comparison, the same model is also solved by using kinetic flux-vector splitting (KFVS) and staggered central schemes. It was found that central upwind scheme produces comparable results to the KFVS scheme.

Analytical solutions and moment analysis of chromatographic models for rectangular pulse injections.

This work focuses on the analysis of two standard liquid chromatographic models, namely the lumped kinetic model and the equilibrium dispersive model. Analytical solutions, obtained by means of Laplace transformation, are derived for rectangular single solute concentration pulses of finite length and breakthrough curves injected under linear conditions. In order to analyze the solute transport behavior by means of the two models, the temporal moments up to fourth order are calculated from the Laplace-transformed solutions. The limiting cases of continuous injection and negligible mass transfer limitations are evaluated. For validation, the analytical solutions are compared with the numerical solutions of models using the discontinuous Galerkin finite element method. Results of different case studies are discussed for linear and nonlinear adsorption isotherms. The discontinuous Galerkin method is employed to obtain moments for both linear and nonlinear models numerically. Analytically and numerically determined concentration profiles and moments were found to be in good agreement.

A discontinuous Galerkin method to solve chromatographic models.

This article proposes a discontinuous Galerkin method for solving model equations describing isothermal non-reactive and reactive chromatography. The models contain a system of convection-diffusion-reaction partial differential equations with dominated convective terms. The suggested method has capability to capture sharp discontinuities and narrow peaks of the elution profiles. The accuracy of the method can be improved by introducing additional nodes in the same solution element and, hence, avoids the expansion of mesh stencils normally encountered in the high order finite volume schemes. Thus, the method can be uniformly applied up to boundary cells without loosing accuracy. The method is robust and well suited for large-scale time-dependent simulations of chromatographic processes where accuracy is highly demanding. Several test problems of isothermal non-reactive and reactive chromatographic processes are presented. The results of the current method are validated against flux-limiting finite volume schemes. The numerical results verify the efficiency and accuracy of the investigated method. The proposed scheme gives more resolved solutions than the high resolution finite volume schemes.