Numerical Simulation of Band Propagation in Nonlinear Chromatography

Abstract A model for the propagation of a finite concentration zone in a chroma-tographic column is discussed for the case of a single component sample. This model is based on the modern theory of nonlinear hyperbolic systems of partial differential equations. It accounts for the nonlinear effects due 1) to the thermodynamics of solute-stationary phase equilibrium (i.e., the nonlinearity of the equilibrium isotherm), 2) to the interaction between radial mass transfer and flow velocity (the sorption effect in gas chromatography), and 3) to the pressure gradient along the column (in gas chromatography). Numerical results are obtained by using the Godunov method. The column is divided into a large