A numerical method for solving the transient multidimensional population balance equation using an Euler–Lagrange formulation

Abstract A numerical method was developed to solve the population balance equation for transient multidimensional problems including particle–particle interactions. The population balance equation was written in a mixed Euler–Lagrange formulation which was solved using the discretization method that represents the number density function by impulse functions, an operator splitting method and a remeshing procedure for the internal variable that conserves the mass and the number of particles. This method was successfully tested against analytical and semi-analytical solutions for pure breakage, pure coalescence, breakage and coalescence, pure advection, advection with absorption, advection with binary uniform breakage and with constant or linear absorption. The method was also applied to a free-boundary transient one-dimensional gas-phase model in a bubble column reactor with simplified hydrodynamics. Accurate solutions were obtained for several simulation conditions for the bubble column, including gas absorption, bubble breakage, bubble coalescence and variable gas density effects. The results showed that the numerical method is adequate and robust for solving transient population balance problems with spatial dependence and particle–particle interactions.

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