José A. Rabi and Fernando L. Caneppele
Computational modelling, Chromatography, Extraction
As part of ongoing research on computational modelling of agroindustrial biosystems, lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) have been applied in order to numerically simulate transport phenomena in food and bioprocesses. This paper addresses LBM simulation of two different continuous-flow processes in fixed-bed equipment whose models are quite similar, namely bioaffinity chromatography and extraction of biocompounds. Considering a dynamic one-dimensional model framework for those processes, LBM was implemented in D1Q2 lattice and particle distribution functions were assigned to species (adsorbate or extract) concentrations in both fluid and solid phases. Equilibrium distribution functions were set by considering diffusive-convective transport in the fluid phase whereas the solid phase remains stationary. LBM simulations were carried out in view of existing research work on bioseparation of lysozyme and extraction of essential oil from gorse. As the governing equation for species concentration in the solid phase lacked partial derivatives with respect to the spatial coordinate, the corresponding streaming step was suppressed in the LBM code. No loss of functionality was verified and the expected shapes of breakthrough as well as extraction yield curves were suitably reproduced in all LBM simulations.
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