Effect of different commercial feed spacers on biofouling of reverse osmosis membrane systems: A numerical study

Bucs, Szilárd; Radu, A.I.; Lavric, Vasile; Vrouwenvelder, Johannes S.; Picioreanu, Cristian

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2013.11.007

Cited by 127 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Deposition and the resulted biofilm on the feed spacer filaments is a practical concern resulting in dramatic increase of feed channel pressure drop, as shown both experimentally (Vrouwenvelder et al, 2009a,b) and numerically (Picioreanu et al, 2009). Although the actual contribution of attached cells to increase in biofilm amount is expected to be rather low (as the biofilm is mostly the result of cell growth, not deposition), the location of the initial deposits could impact performance indicators of the separation process (Bucs et al, 2014).…”

Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 93%

Spacer geometry and particle deposition in spiral wound membrane feed channels

Steen²,

et al. 2014

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Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 93%

Spacer geometry and particle deposition in spiral wound membrane feed channels

Steen²,

et al. 2014

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“…A three-dimensional mathematical model was developed to study the impact of different spacer geometries on hydrodynamics in spacer filled channels. (1) Where = ሺ‫ݑ‬ ௫ , ‫ݑ‬ ௬ , ‫ݑ‬ ௭ ሻ is the vector of local liquid velocity, p is the pressure, ρ and η are the density and dynamic viscosity of water (20ºC) (Bucs et al, 2014a(Bucs et al, , 2014bPicioreanu et al, 2009;Radu et al, 2014). Periodic flow conditions were imposed between the inlet and outlet boundaries (u(0,y,z) = u(L X ,y,z)), as well as between the lateral boundaries (u(x,0,z) = u(x,L Y ,z)).…”

Section: Numerical Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The studies addressed the impact of the spacer orientation, contact angle between the filaments and mesh size (Fimbres-Weihs and Wiley, 2010Wiley, , 2007Geraldes et al, 2002;Koutsou et al, 2007;Saeed et al, 2012;Shakaib et al, 2007). The spacer filament shape had a strong impact on hydrodynamics (Bucs et al, 2014a;Picioreanu et al, 2009). With the 3D printing technique, as addressed in this paper, the impact of the spacer filament shape can also be tested experimentally.…”

Section: D Printing Technique To Design Modified Geometry Feed Spacersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another approach is to modify the design of the feed spacers in such a way that the impact of accumulated biomass on membrane performance is reduced and biofouling removal from the membrane modules is enhanced during advanced cleaning strategies (Vrouwenvelder et al, 2011). Numerical studies have been done to evaluate biofouling development on feed spacers from practice with different thickness (Bucs et al, 2014a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development and characterization of 3D-printed feed spacers for spiral wound membrane systems

2018

Biofouling of Membrane Systems

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Feed spacers are important for the impact of biofouling on the performance of spiral-wound reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membrane systems. The objective of this study was to propose a strategy for developing, characterizing, and testing of feed spacers by numerical modeling, three-dimensional (3D) printing of feed spacers and experimental membrane fouling simulator (MFS) studies. The results of numerical modeling on the hydraulic behavior of various feed spacer geometries suggested that the impact of spacers on hydraulics and biofouling can be improved. A good agreement was found for the modeled and measured relationship between linear flow velocity and pressure drop for feed spacers with the same geometry, indicating that modeling can serve as first step in spacer characterization. An experimental comparison study of a feed spacer currently applied in practice and a 3D printed feed spacer with the same geometry showed (i) similar hydraulic behavior, (ii) similar pressure drop development with time and (iii) similar biomass accumulation during MFS biofouling studies, indicating that 3D printing technology is an alternative strategy for development of thin feed spacers with a complex geometry. Based on the numerical modeling results, a modified feed spacer with low pressure drop was selected for 3D printing. The comparison study of the feed spacer from practice and the modified geometry 3D printed feed spacer established that the 3D printed spacer had (i) a lower pressure drop during hydraulic testing, (ii) a lower pressure drop increase in time with the same accumulated biomass amount, indicating that modifying feed spacer geometries can reduce the impact of accumulated biomass on membrane performance. The combination of numerical modeling of feed spacers and experimental testing of 3D printed feed spacers is a promising strategy (rapid, low cost and representative) to develop

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“…Moreover, the same amount of accumulated fouling material can have a different impact on performance, depending on the hydrodynamic conditions (Araújo et al, 2012;Bucs et al, 2014;Valladares Linares et al, 2014;Vrouwenvelder et al, 2011). Feed spacer geometry and operational conditions (e.g., flow velocity, transmembrane pressure, etc.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental and numerical characterization of the water flow in spacer-filled channels of spiral-wound membranes

et al. 2015

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Micro-scale flow distribution in spacer-filled flow channels of spiral-wound membrane modules was determined with a particle image velocimetry system (PIV), aiming to elucidate the flow behaviour in spacer-filled flow channels. Two-dimensional water velocity fields were measured in a flow cell (representing the feed spacer-filled flow channel of a spiral wound reverse osmosis membrane module without permeate production) at several planes throughout the channel height. At linear flow velocities (volumetric flow rate per cross-section of the flow channel considering the channel porosity, also described as crossflow velocities) used in practice (0.074 and 0.163 m·s(-1)) the recorded flow was laminar with only slight unsteadiness in the upper velocity limit. At higher linear flow velocity (0.3 m·s(-1)) the flow was observed to be unsteady and with recirculation zones. Measurements made at different locations in the flow cell exhibited very similar flow patterns within all feed spacer mesh elements, thus revealing the same hydrodynamic conditions along the length of the flow channel. Three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed using the same geometries and flow parameters as the experiments, based on steady laminar flow assumption. The numerical results were in good agreement (0.85-0.95 Bray-Curtis similarity) with the measured flow fields at linear velocities of 0.074 and 0.163 m·s(-1), thus supporting the use of model-based studies in the optimization of feed spacer geometries and operational conditions of spiral wound membrane systems.

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Effect of different commercial feed spacers on biofouling of reverse osmosis membrane systems: A numerical study

Cited by 127 publications

References 40 publications

Spacer geometry and particle deposition in spiral wound membrane feed channels

Spacer geometry and particle deposition in spiral wound membrane feed channels

Development and characterization of 3D-printed feed spacers for spiral wound membrane systems

Experimental and numerical characterization of the water flow in spacer-filled channels of spiral-wound membranes

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