Bopape Mokgadi F, Van Geel Tim, Dutta Abhishek, Van der Bruggen Bart, Onyango Maurice Stephen
Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
Membranes (Basel). 2021 Jan 14;11(1):54. doi: 10.3390/membranes11010054.
The increasing adoption of ultra-low pressure (ULP) membrane systems for drinking water treatment in small rural communities is currently hindered by a limited number of studies on module design. Detailed knowledge on both intrinsic membrane transport properties and fluid hydrodynamics within the module is essential in understanding ULP performance prediction, mass transfer analysis for scaling-up between lab-scale and industrial scale research. In comparison to hollow fiber membranes, flat sheet membranes present certain advantages such as simple manufacture, sheet replacement for cleaning, moderate packing density and low to moderate energy usage. In the present case study, a numerical model using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of a novel custom flat sheet membrane module has been designed in 3D to predict fluid flow conditions. The permeate flux through the membrane decreased with an increase in spacer curviness from 2.81 L/mh for no (0%) curviness to 2.73 L/mh for full (100%) curviness. A parametric analysis on configuration variables was carried out to determine the optimum design variables and no significant influence of spacer inflow or outflow thickness on the fluid flow were observed. The numerical model provides the necessary information on the role of geometrical and operating parameters for fabricating a module prototype where access to technical expertise is limited.
目前,超低压(ULP)膜系统在农村小社区饮用水处理中的应用越来越广泛,但模块设计方面的研究有限,这阻碍了该系统的进一步推广。深入了解膜的内在传输特性和模块内部的流体动力学,对于理解ULP性能预测、实验室规模与工业规模研究之间放大的传质分析至关重要。与中空纤维膜相比,平板膜具有某些优势,如制造简单、可更换膜片进行清洗、装填密度适中以及能耗低至中等。在本案例研究中,利用计算流体动力学(CFD)设计了一个三维新型定制平板膜模块数值模型,以预测流体流动状况。通过膜的渗透通量随着间隔物弯曲度的增加而降低,从无(0%)弯曲度时的2.81 L/(m²·h)降至完全(100%)弯曲度时的2.73 L/(m²·h)。对配置变量进行了参数分析,以确定最佳设计变量,未观察到间隔物流入或流出厚度对流体流动有显著影响。该数值模型为在技术专业知识有限的情况下制造模块原型提供了有关几何和操作参数作用的必要信息。