Analysis of colloid transport

The population balance methodology is described and applied to the transport and capture of polydispersed colloids in packed columns. The transient model includes particle growth, capture, convective transport, and dispersion. The authors also follow the dynamic accumulation of captured colloids on the solids. The multidimensional parabolic partial differential equation was solved by a recently enhanced method of characteristics technique. This computational technique minimized numerical dispersion and is computationally very fast. The FORTRAN 77 code ran on a VAX-780 in less than a minute and also runs on an IBM-AT using the Professional FORTRAN compiler. The code was extensively tested against various simplified cases and against analytical models. The packed column experiments by Saltelli et al. were re-analyzed incorporating the experimentally reported size distribution of the colloid feed material. Colloid capture was modeled using a linear size dependent filtration function. The effects of a colloid size dependent filtration factor and various initial colloid size distributions on colloid migration and capture were investigated. Also, the authors followed the changing colloid size distribution as a function of position in the column. Some simple arguments are made to assess the likelihood of colloid migration at a potential NTS Yucca Mountain waste disposal site