A mathematical model for non-monotonic deposition profiles in deep bed filtration systems

A mathematical model for suspension/colloid flow in porous media and non-monotonic deposition is proposed. It accounts for the migration of particles associated with the pore walls via the second energy minimum (surface associated phase). The surface associated phase migration is characterized by advection and diffusion/dispersion. The proposed model is able to produce a non-monotonic deposition profile. A set of methods for estimating the modeling parameters is provided in the case of minimal particle release. The estimation can be easily performed with available experimental information. The numerical modeling results highly agree with the experimental observations, which proves the ability of the model to catch a non-monotonic deposition profile in practice. An additional equation describing a mobile population behaving differently from the injected population seems to be a sufficient condition for producing non-monotonic deposition profiles. The described physics by the additional equation may be different in different experimental settings. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.