HYDRODYNAMICS, GRAVITATIONAL SENSITIVITY, AND TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IN CONTINUOUS-FLOW ELECTROPHORESIS

A MULTIZONE mathematical model for hydrodynamics, heat and mass transfer in continuous flow electrophoresis (CFE) is reported. The model divides the electrophoretic cell into three zones: the entrance region, the zone of the mixture injection, and the zone of the parallel fluid flow. Three-dimensional transport equations, including Navier-Stokes equations, and equations of heat and mass balance are significantly simplified in each zone. The length of the cell entrance region and recirculation flows in the CFE cell are found to be affected by thermal convection caused by internal heating of the fluid. The influences of convective diffusion and electro-osmosis on concentration profiles of separated fractions are studied numerically for a wide range of the Peclet number.