RADIATIVE heat transfer in an absorbing, emitting, and scattering particulate/gas mixture is a problem of practical importance, eg, in the design of industrial furnaces, and many combustion devices. A solution method that is accurate, efficient with both computing time and storage, flexible with complex geometry, and allows incorporation of real gas properties is needed for the prediction of the radiative performance. Few methods currently exist that can satisfy all or part of the requirements. The Monte Carlo method is flexible and requires little storage, but may be extremely time consuming and the results are subject to statistical error. The zonal method and finite element method are accurate, but