Computational fluid dynamics simulations of flow and concentration polarization in forward osmosis membrane systems

Gruber, Mathias; Johnson, C. B.; Tang, Chuyang Y.; Jensen, Mogens H.; Yde, Lars; Hélix-Nielsen, Claus

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2011.06.022

Cited by 160 publications

(101 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…For enhanced FO performance results, along with continued efforts to select a suitable DS [23] and improve membrane characteristics, side by side, effect of various FO operating parameters such as temperature [49,50], flow direction , membrane orientation [26,51,52], flow rate or velocity [17,53,54], viscosity [55] has also been evaluated in some earlier studies which demonstrated fluctuating FO performances.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of the process parameters on hollow fiber-forward osmosis membrane performances

Majeed

Phuntsho

Sahebi

et al. 2015

Desalination and Water Treatment

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Continued efforts are made in improving the performance of the low-cost forward osmosis (FO) membrane process which utilizes naturally available osmotic pressure of the draw solution (DS) as the driving force. Selection of a suitable DS and development of a better performing membrane remained the main research focus. In this study, the performance of a hollow fiber forward osmosis (HFFO) membrane was evaluated with respect to various operating conditions such as different cross-flow directions, membrane orientation, solution properties, and solution flow rates (Reynolds number). The study observed that operating parameters significantly affect the performance of the FO process. FO comparatively showed better performance at counter-current orientation. NaCl, KCl, and NH 4 Cl were evaluated as DS carrying common anion. Properties of the anionic part of the DS were found important for flux outcome, whereas reverse solute flux (RSF) was largely influenced by the properties of DS cationic part. FO was operated at different DS and feed solution (FS) flow rates and FO outcome was assessed for varying DS and FS Reynolds number ratio. FO showed better flux outcome as Re ratio for DS and FS decreases and vice versa. Results indicated that by adjusting FO processes conditions, HFFO membrane could achieve significantly lower specific RSF and higher water flux outcome. It was observed that using 2 M NaCl as DS and deionized water as FS, HFFO successfully delivered flux of 62.9 LMH which is significantly high compared to many FO membranes reported in the literature under the active layer-DS membrane orientation mode.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of the process parameters on hollow fiber-forward osmosis membrane performances

Majeed

Phuntsho

Sahebi

et al. 2015

Desalination and Water Treatment

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“…Papers which study one-dimensional PRO and forward osmosis (FO) exchanger models can be found in the literature [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18], but these either consider only the performance in the limit of very large exchangers or only consider a small number of specific operating conditions. For example, Feinberg et al [11] considered a PRO osmotic energy recovery device which operates at the point where the hydraulic pressure and the osmotic pressure differences are equal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the forward osmosis literature, Xiao et al [14] developed a onedimensional mathematical model with dimensionless variables for parallel-flow and counterflow hollow fiber FO exchangers. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were also performed for one-and two-dimensional FO exchangers of a single finite size [15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limits of power production due to finite membrane area in pressure retarded osmosis

Banchik

Sharqawy

Lienhard

2014

Journal of Membrane Science

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Dimensionless analytical expressions for the power attainable from an ideal counterflow pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) system model are developed using a one-dimensional model that accounts for streamwise variations in concentration. This ideal PRO system has no salt permeation or concentration polarization. The expressions show that the optimal hydraulic pressure difference, for which the maximum power is produced, deviates significantly from the classical solution of one-half of the trans-membrane osmotic pressure difference, Δπ/2, as the dimensionless membrane area (MTU π ) increases and the ratio of draw to feed mass flow rates (MR) varies. The overall maximum power attainable from a PRO membrane is found to occur in the limit of infinitely large MTU π (an effectiveness of unity) and infinite MR. For an ideal PRO system which mixes seawater (35 g/kg) and river water (1.5 g/kg), the overall maximum power of 1.57 kJ per kilogram of feed can be attained at roughly MTU π of 15, an MR of 10, and a pressure of 0.83Δ . Due to economic considerations, a PRO system in practice will have limited membrane area and will operate at an effectiveness of less than unity.The present work can be used to estimate the operating conditions and area required for a PRO system of given performance. The effect of concentration polarization on optimal hydraulic pressure difference and maximum power performance is also investigated using a numerical model.

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“…Those models correlate well with coupon-scale experiments, and also have been used simulation of large-scale module performances, (Jung et al, 2011;Gruber et al, 2011;Lee et al, 2014;Xu et al, 2010;Attarde et al, 2015). However, those studies assume homogeneous flow and concentration of solute of feed and draw solutions, which has proven inaccurate because spatial distribution of flows (Gruber et al, 2011), let alone the complexity of flows in a module. The effect is more pronounced for the modified spiral wound (MSF) module due to the nature of "U-shaped" flow inside the membrane envelope.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Module-scale simulation of forward osmosis module-part B: Modified Spiral-Wound

Bilad

2017

IJOST

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Forward osmosis (FO) is an attractive technology that offers advantages especially for treatment of challenging feeds in comparison to other membrane technologies. Substantial developments of membrane material have been shown recently. To support further development of FO process, a larger scale study via membrane module development is required to accurately envisage the most critical factors to be exploited to realize the promises. In this study, we applied a mass-transfer model coupled with the mass conservation and area discretization to simulate the performance of modified spiral-wound (MSW) modules (10 sheets of 1x1m). The study focuses on the spatial flux profile in a full-scale module as function of operational mode: co- vs counter cross current and membrane orientations (active-layer facing feed (ALFS); solution and active layer facing draw solution, (ALDS)). Results show that all modes offer almost similar average flux of about 9-10 L/m2h, but the co-current flows have much higher flux ranges (≈43%). The latter is expected to worsen membrane fouling resistant due to mal distribution in hydraulic loading. An operation with counter current and ALFS and counter current flow is then recommended because it offer similar flux but lower spatial flux ranges (7%).

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Computational fluid dynamics simulations of flow and concentration polarization in forward osmosis membrane systems

Cited by 160 publications

References 35 publications

Influence of the process parameters on hollow fiber-forward osmosis membrane performances

Influence of the process parameters on hollow fiber-forward osmosis membrane performances

Limits of power production due to finite membrane area in pressure retarded osmosis

Module-scale simulation of forward osmosis module-part B: Modified Spiral-Wound

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