A Review of CFD Modelling and Performance Metrics for Osmotic Membrane Processes

Toh, K.Y.; Liang, Yanyan; Lau, Woei Jye; Weihs, G.A. Fimbres

doi:10.3390/membranes10100285

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 157 publications

(258 reference statements)

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“…It must be pointed out that the energy efficiency (Δ G mix /SEC) for seawater desalination is only below 50%, given that current typical RO system consumes more than half required to desalinate seawater. [ 35 ] The understanding of the thermodynamic as well as the heat and mass transfer theory of current desalination processes is important to narrow the discrepancy between the theoretical and actual energy level. The actual work required during the operation is often multiple times of the theoretical minimum value to maintain the process at a finite rate.…”

Section: Performance and Energy Consumption Of Desalination Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Efficient Seawater Desalination: Strategies and Opportunities

2021

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With the change in climate patterns, rapid industrialization, and population growth, the increasing water and energy demand became a major concern in the past decades. Desalination has been touted as the answer to the global water crisis, due to its capability in producing high‐quality fresh water from saline water. The continual research and innovations in the desalination field have resulted in the commercialization of large‐scale desalination in many water scarce regions. In the energetic context, all desalination processes are energy intensive. With the necessity to make desalination a more affordable and sustainable process, the energy efficiency of desalination is becoming an important topic. Herein, it is aimed to provide insights into the recent efforts and strategies established to tackle the energy‐related issues of both, thermal‐based and membrane‐based desalination processes. Depending on the principle of various commercial and emerging desalination processes, the directions of energy efficiency improvements, which include operating condition optimization, high‐performance material development, and renewable energy exploitation are discussed. The ideas and strategies reviewed herein, whether in their implementation or theoretical stage, are expected to provide insights into the possible improvement for application in commercial desalination plants.

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Section: Performance and Energy Consumption Of Desalination Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Efficient Seawater Desalination: Strategies and Opportunities

2021

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“…Different mechanisms can be utilized at different scales to control fouling. These include: (i) changes in the morphology (shape) of the flow channel at the system scale (∼cm) [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]; (ii) modifications to the topology of the membrane surface at the micro-scale (∼mm–μm) [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]; (iii) chemical or surface treatment which changes the interaction force between foulant and membrane at the nano-scale (∼nm) [ 36 , 37 , 38 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Computational models [ 5 , 25 , 42 , 43 ] represent an attractive alternative to more expensive experimentation as they allow one to virtually span the entire design space at a fraction of the cost; however, foulant dynamical behavior is elusive for most existing models. The major challenges associated with modeling dynamic fouling processes are (i) the temporal evolution of foulant deposition and (ii) the strong coupling between flow, bulk solute concentration, and foulant deposition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Modeling of Fouling in Reverse Osmosis Membranes

et al. 2021

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During reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration, performance is dramatically affected by fouling, which concurrently decreases the permeate flux while increasing the energy required to operate the system. Comprehensive design and optimization of RO systems are best served by an understanding of the coupling between membrane shape, local flow field, and fouling; however, current studies focus exclusively on simplified steady-state models that ignore the dynamic coupling between fluid flow, solute transport, and foulant accumulation. We developed a customized solver (SUMs: Stanford University Membrane Solver) under the open source finite volume simulator OpenFOAM to solve transient Navier–Stokes, advection–diffusion, and adsorption–desorption equations for foulant accumulation. We implemented two permeate flux reduction models at the membrane boundary: the resistance-in-series (RIS) model and the effective-pressure-drop (EPD) model. The two models were validated against filtration experiments by comparing the equilibrium flux, pressure drop, and fouling pattern on the membrane. Both models not only predict macroscopic quantities (e.g., permeate flux and pressure drop) but also the fouling pattern developed on the membrane, with a good match with experimental results. Furthermore, the models capture the temporal evolution of foulant accumulation and its coupling with flux reduction.

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“…Three-dimensional CFD models have been developed to investigate the effect of geometrical characteristics of spacers on the performance of RO membranes [ 18 ]. Abdelbaky et al [ 19 ] performed CFD analysis on RO membrane modules with feed spacers having fixed or variable diameter under different inlet salinity and Reynolds number conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Concentration Polarisation in Full-Size Spiral Wound Reverse Osmosis Membranes Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Wei

Zou²,

Ji³

et al. 2021

Membranes

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A three-dimensional model for the simulation of concentration polarisation in a full-scale spiral wound reverse osmosis (RO) membrane element was developed. The model considered the coupled effect of complex spacer geometry, pressure drop and membrane filtration. The simulated results showed that, at a salt concentration of 10,000 mg/L and feed pressure of 10.91 bar, permeate flux decreased from 27.6 L/(m2 h) (LMH) at the module inlet to 24.1 LMH at the module outlet as a result of salt accumulation in the absence of a feed spacer. In contrast, the presence of the spacer increased pressure loss along the membranes, and its presence created vortices and enhanced fluid velocity at the boundary layer and led to a minor decrease in flux to 26.5 LMH at the outlet. This paper underpins the importance of the feed spacer’s role in mitigating concentration polarisation in full-scale spiral wound modules. The model can be used by both the industry and by academia for improved understanding and accurate presentation of mass transfer phenomena of full-scale RO modules by different commercial manufacturers that cannot be achieved by experimental characterization of the mass transfer coefficient or by CFD modelling of simplified 2D flow channels.

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A Review of CFD Modelling and Performance Metrics for Osmotic Membrane Processes

Cited by 27 publications

References 157 publications

Energy Efficient Seawater Desalination: Strategies and Opportunities

Energy Efficient Seawater Desalination: Strategies and Opportunities

Dynamic Modeling of Fouling in Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Analysis of Concentration Polarisation in Full-Size Spiral Wound Reverse Osmosis Membranes Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

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