Impact of concentration polarization on membrane gas separation processes: From 1D modelling to detailed CFD simulations

• Published in: Chemical engineering science 2023-11, Vol.281, p.119128, Article 119128
• Main Authors: Abdul Majid, Omar, Hreiz, Rainier, Castel, Christophe, Favre, Éric
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CFD; Chemical engineering; Chemical Sciences; Concentration polarization; Gas separation; Mass transfer; Membranes; Modeling
• ISSN: 0009-2509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2023.119128

•CFD modelling of concentration polarization effects in gas separation membranes.•Classical 1D models are shown to overestimate the efficiency of emerging membranes.•Development of an improved 1D model accounting for concentration polarization effects.•The improved 1D model and CFD results match over a wide range of operating conditions.•This generic tool opens the way to an easy design approach of membrane separations. Membranes are one key technology for gas separation. Current design methodologies make use of a 1D set of mass balance equations with membrane taken as the only mass transfer resistance (no concentration polarization hypothesis). This strategy has however to be reconsidered with emerging high-performance membrane materials. Accordingly, a rigorous CFD simulation approach is developed in order to correctly compute their separation efficiency. The results reveal that, compared to CFD, in the presence of concentration polarization, 1D models largely overestimate the separation performance of high-performing membranes. Based on a generic modelling of mass transfer in the gas phase under concentration polarization, a novel 1D modified approach is reported, showing similar predictions compared to CFD simulations, but offering very fast computations. This strategy is of interest for the simple and systematic design of membrane gas separation processes, including process synthesis approaches.