Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based modelling of osmotic energy generation using pressure retarded osmosis (PRO)

Wang, Yang; He, Wei; Zhu, Hai

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2016.02.002

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…To the best of our knowledge, there is only one study that has modelled the PRO process, which was based on OpenFOAM [ 43 ]. The researchers used a 2D spacer-free (empty) channel, which extended a commonly used semi-analytical model into a 2D CFD model and employed both semi-analytic and CFD modelling to investigate the effect of hydraulic pressure, cross flow velocity and membrane properties on the water flux in a PRO process.…”

Section: Existing Cfd Models and Their Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…PRO, on the other hand, plays an important role as an energy generating operation, and is usually assessed in terms of permeate flux and density of energy production. Energy generation can be evaluated in terms of power density ( PD ) [ 12 , 43 , 120 , 152 ]:

where J w and Δ p denote transmembrane water flux and transmembrane hydraulic pressure difference, respectively. The power density is the main interest of PRO process and is usually measured in the form of average power density and specific energy.…”

Section: Module Performance Metricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This allows researchers to describe and analyse real membrane problems, either from first principles or black-box modelling approaches. There are several benefits when employing a mathematical modelling approach for the analysis of the performance of RO, FO and PRO membranes [ 42 , 43 ]. These include better prediction of the membrane performance for a range of membrane properties and operating conditions, and deeper understanding of the effects of flow dynamics and water transport mechanisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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Simulation via Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) offers a convenient way for visualising hydrodynamics and mass transport in spacer-filled membrane channels, facilitating further developments in spiral wound membrane (SWM) modules for desalination processes. This paper provides a review on the use of CFD modelling for the development of novel spacers used in the SWM modules for three types of osmotic membrane processes: reverse osmosis (RO), forward osmosis (FO) and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO). Currently, the modelling of mass transfer and fouling for complex spacer geometries is still limited. Compared with RO, CFD modelling for PRO is very rare owing to the relative infancy of this osmotically driven membrane process. Despite the rising popularity of multi-scale modelling of osmotic membrane processes, CFD can only be used for predicting process performance in the absence of fouling. This paper also reviews the most common metrics used for evaluating membrane module performance at the small and large scales.

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Section: Existing Cfd Models and Their Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Module Performance Metricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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“…The model described in this paper is based on the open source toolkit OpenFOAM (Open Field Operation and Manipulation) [10,19,20,26]. The implementation of the model has been performed in two steps (i) implementation of the solver for the governing equation and (ii) implementation of proper boundary condition at the membrane surface.…”

Section: Model Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Convective and diffusive fluxes must be balanced on both sides of the membrane. Taking into account that not all salts permeate through the membrane, the rejection of salt is considered and defined as [10,16,20,21,26]. This is used to determine the permeate concentra tion.…”

Section: Solution Diffusion Model and Boundary Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Renewable energy powered membrane technology: Computational fluid dynamics evaluation of system performance with variable module size and fluctuating energy

Onorato

Gaedtke

Kespe

et al. 2019

Separation and Purification Technology

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Renewable energy powered membrane systems operate with fluctuating energy. Such fluctuations affect pressure and feed flow and as such the hydrodynamic conditions in a membrane system. Hydrodynamic variations alter the membrane surface concentration and boundary layer thickness which in turn determines permeate water quality. In this work this is calculated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for the three most predominant energy levels obtained during such fluctuations and compared with experimental data. A 2D-CFD simulation was performed using OpenFOAM to calculate the wall concentration and boundary layer thickness over the length of a module. The influence of module type was investigated using two system configurations, namely three 2.5″ modules in series (BW30-2540 or NF270-2540) and one 4″ module (BW30-4040 and NF270-4040) with similar total membrane areas. Energy levels were extracted from experimental data at three solar irradiance, maximum intensity (1 kW/m 2), light cloud (360 W/m 2) and heavy cloud periods (190 W/m 2). At the highest energy level, in the system with three 2.5″ modules the wall concentration was closer to the bulk concentration due to the higher flow velocity in a smaller channel. The resulting boundary layer thickness for BW30 was constant and almost zero. At the medium energy level, the simulation results show that the permeate flux decreased significantly due to the lower pressure and for the BW30 it was almost zero due to the low pressure. At the lowest energy level, the feed pressure was well below the osmotic pressure and no permeation was possible. Results from this study show that the model is able to describe the filtration process in spiral wound membrane modules under fluctuating energy conditions. Further investigations on the possibility to improve the boundary conditions of the model are required.

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Sustainable Design and Model‐Based Optimization of Hybrid RO – PRO Desalination Process

Zhang

et al. 2020

Process Intensification and Integration for Sustainable Design

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Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based modelling of osmotic energy generation using pressure retarded osmosis (PRO)

Cited by 16 publications

References 55 publications

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

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

Renewable energy powered membrane technology: Computational fluid dynamics evaluation of system performance with variable module size and fluctuating energy

Sustainable Design and Model‐Based Optimization of Hybrid RO – PRO Desalination Process

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