A numerical and experimental study of mass transfer in spacer-filled channels: Effects of spacer geometrical characteristics and Schmidt number

Koutsou, C.P.; Yiantsios, S.G.; Karabelas, A.J.

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2008.10.007

Cited by 254 publications

(245 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Model results were also validated with experimental data, collected using a test cell purposely built, but also in this case only pressure losses were measured. A later work by the same authors [13] extended the analysis to the concentration polarisation phenomenon and to the mass transfer rates. The authors analyse through a comprehensive study the influence of geometrical parameters and Schmidt number on shear stress, Sherwood number and, thus, mass transfer coefficients.…”

Section: Cfd Modelling Of Spacer-filled Channelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Membrane distillation heat transfer enhancement by CFD analysis of internal module geometry

Cipollina¹,

Micale²,

Rizzuti³

2011

Desalination and Water Treatment

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Module geometry optimisation can be a crucial matter in all separation processes using selective or hydrophobic membranes, e.g. Reverse Osmosis (RO), Membrane Distillation (MD). In fact the choice of suitable channel shape and size can dramatically affect the performance of the process. With reference to the membrane distillation process, temperature polarization phenomena and pressure drops along the channels largely affect the process efficiency (i.e. the efficient use of temperature driving force for the passage of vapour through the membrane) as well as pressure distribution, module mechanical resistance and pumping costs.Several works have been presented so far in literature on the fluid flow characterization of spacer-filled channels for the case of Reverse Osmosis modules, but only few works deal with the problem of MD modules optimization.The present work aims at the CFD simulation of the fluid flow and temperature fields within spacer-filled MD module channels for a variety of spacer geometries. Both commercial and custom made geometries have been simulated in order to identify the most important parameters affecting process efficiency. The commercial CFD code ANSYS CFX11.0 has been adopted to perform simulations.Results provide valuable information to identify the main features which an optimised spacer should possess in order to minimise T-polarization and pressure drops along the channel.

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Section: Cfd Modelling Of Spacer-filled Channelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Membrane distillation heat transfer enhancement by CFD analysis of internal module geometry

Cipollina¹,

Micale²,

Rizzuti³

2011

Desalination and Water Treatment

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“…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].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…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].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Adjiman

2017

Journal of Membrane Science

120

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Feed spacers are used in spiral wound reverse osmosis (RO) membrane modules to keep the membrane sheets apart as well as to enhance mixing. They are beneficial to membrane performance but at the expense of additional pressure loss. In this study, four types of feed spacer configurations are investigated, with a total of 20 geometric variations based on commercially available spacers and selected filament angles. The impact of feed spacer design on membrane performance is investigated by means of three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, where the solution-diffusion model is employed for water and solute transport through RO membranes.Numerical simulation results show that, for the operating and geometric conditions examined, fully woven spacers outperform other spacer configurations in mitigating concentration polarisation (CP).When designed with a mesh angle of 60º, fully woven spacers also deliver the highest water flux, although the associated pressure drops are slightly higher than their nonwoven counterparts. Middle layer geometries with a mesh angle of 30º produce the lowest water flux. On the other hand, spacers with a mesh angle of 90º show the lowest pressure drop among all the filament arrangements examined. Furthermore, the computational model presented here can also be used to predict membrane performance for a given feed spacer type and geometry.

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“…and Asp is defined as Estimates of the mass transfer coefficient in the presence of different spacers can be obtained (Koutsou et al, 2009) by using the appropriate correlation; that, for the spacer used in the present work, states that the Sherwood (Sh) number can be written in terms of the Reynolds (Re) and Schmidt (Sc) numbers as…”

Section: Flow Conditions In a Spiral Wound Modulementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further research on the influence of the geometry of the spacers on the Sherwood number (Koutsou et al, 2009) As mentioned, previous studies at laboratory scale have been performed for the application of nanofiltration in order to control the sugar content of red grape must to produce low alcohol wine (Salgado et al, 2012;Salgado et al, 2013). In the present work the scale-up of the selected nanofiltration process is performed as a continuation of the mentioned studies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 90%

Comparative study of red grape must nanofiltration: Laboratory and pilot plant scales

Salgado

Palacio

Prádanos

et al. 2015

Food and Bioproducts Processing

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A numerical and experimental study of mass transfer in spacer-filled channels: Effects of spacer geometrical characteristics and Schmidt number

Cited by 254 publications

References 37 publications

Membrane distillation heat transfer enhancement by CFD analysis of internal module geometry

Membrane distillation heat transfer enhancement by CFD analysis of internal module geometry

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

Comparative study of red grape must nanofiltration: Laboratory and pilot plant scales

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