Numerical study of mass transfer in three-dimensional spacer-filled narrow channels with steady flow

The effect of feed spacer geometry on membrane performance and concentration polarisation based on 3D CFD simulations

“…Mass transfer phenomena in reverse osmosis (RO) processes have been studied experimentally and theoretically for many decades in order to understand how water and solute permeation occur within membrane modules [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], so as to identify the factors that determine the performance of membrane modules. One of the most critical mass transfer phenomena present in an RO membrane module is concentration polarisation (CP), which is caused by the accumulation of solute(s) rejected by a selective RO membrane, resulting in an elevated solute concentration on the membrane surface [13][14][15][16].…”

“…Several studies reported flow patterns and mass transfer in 3D models of nonwoven spacers, with a focus on the effects of geometric parameters such as the filament distance-to-diameter ratio, the mesh angle and flow attack angle [1,7,23,26].…”

Estimation of the structure dependent performance of 3-D rapid prototyped membranes

“…[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Furthermore, multi-layered spacers, [16] membranes with integrated spacers [17,18] and spacers in tubular membranes [19] have been developed improving membrane performance. The flow-profile of the fluid can also be influenced by macroscopic deformation of the membrane and as a result, curled, twisted and hollow-fibers with complex shapes have been studied and found to enhance mass transfer.…”

Coupled 3-D hydrodynamics and mass transfer analysis of mineral scaling-induced flux decline in a laboratory plate-and-frame reverse osmosis membrane module

“…Given recent developments in both direct scale characterization on RO membranes [13,16,23] and capabilities for 3-D (3-dimensional) CFD [24,[26][27][28][29][30][31] simulations, the present study demonstrates an approach to analyzing the relationship between membrane mineral scaling and the ensuing permeate flux decline focusing on a scaling in a plate-and-frame RO channel as a test case. In this approach, images of the scaled membrane surface (over the entire length of the membrane channel), obtained over the course of a mineral scaling run, are used to identify blocked surface regions [23].…”