Analysis of split operator methods applied to reactive transport with Monod kinetics

Abstract

Split operator approaches are commonly used to solve coupled nonlinear reactive transport problems. The benefits of split operator algorithms come with the cost of an O (Δ t) truncation error. This error has two components: (i) an error strictly associated with the boundary, and (ii) an error occurring within the domain. Previous analyses of split operator methods for Monod reactions are incomplete and conflicting. First, previous analyses have focused only on the boundary error while ignoring the internal error. This is problematic as the boundary error is irrelevant in many practical applications. Second, conflicting results regarding the accuracy of alternating split operator methods have..