Simulation of washing of packed bed of porous particles by orthogonal collocation on finite elements

A mathematical model related to diffusion–dispersion during flow through multiparticle system is presented. The technique of orthogonal collocation on finite elements is applied on the axial and radial domain of the system of governing partial differential equations. The convergence and stability of the solutions is also checked. Effect of different parameters like axial dispersion coefficient, reaction rate kinetics, interstitial velocity, bed porosity, cake thickness, particle radius on exit solute concentration is presented. Numerical results are matching the experimental results significantly. The technique is simple, elegant and convenient for solving two point boundary value problems with no limit on the range of parameters.