Coupling of multiscale lattice Boltzmann discrete-element method for reactive particle fluid flows

Area of Science:

• Process Engineering
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Environmental Engineering

Background:

• Reactive particulate systems are vital in process engineering, with applications like wastewater treatment.
• Optimizing conditions such as particle size and flow rates requires accurate modeling.
• Current models may not fully capture the complex interactions in these systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel, generic modeling framework for reactive particle fluid flows.
• To develop an Euler-Lagrange scheme coupling fluid dynamics, reactive mass transport, and particle motion.
• To validate the model's accuracy and grid convergence for coupled simulations.

Main Methods:

• Combined lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for fluid phase and reactive mass transport.
• Discrete-element method (DEM) for suspended particles.
• Volume-averaged Navier-Stokes and advection-diffusion-reaction equations solved via LBM.

Main Results:

• The model was validated against experimental data for single particle settling and multi-scale reactive transport benchmarks.
• Grid convergence was established for the coupled LBM-DEM model.
• Simulations demonstrated the necessity of two-way coupling compared to one-way simulations.

Conclusions:

• The developed Euler-Lagrange model provides a robust framework for simulating reactive particle fluid flows.
• The two-way coupled approach is essential for accurately capturing particle-fluid and reactive transport interactions.
• This model offers significant potential for optimizing industrial processes, such as phosphorus extraction from wastewater.