CFD simulation of water transport through porous membrane evaporators

Membrane evaporation (ME) presents interesting working conditions including low operating temperature and also low energy consumption. These advantages make the process attractive for concentration of aqueous solutions containing heat-sensitive components. Performance of ME process carried out in a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Desalination and water treatment 2016-05, Vol.57 (23), p.10515-10522
Main Authors: Mohammadi, Mehrnoush, Kazemi, Seyyed Masoud, Torkaman, Rezvan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computational fluid dynamics
Computer simulation
Energy consumption
Evaporation
Evaporator
Evaporators
Finite element analysis
Flux
Low temperature
Mass transfer
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical models
Membrane
Membranes
Numerical simulation
Simulation
Three dimensional models
Water transport
Working conditions
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Summary:Membrane evaporation (ME) presents interesting working conditions including low operating temperature and also low energy consumption. These advantages make the process attractive for concentration of aqueous solutions containing heat-sensitive components. Performance of ME process carried out in a flat-sheet membrane contactor was studied theoretically in this work. A three-dimensional mathematical model was developed to predict the performance of ME process. The concentration, momentum, and energy equations were solved for description of process. Finite element method was utilized for solution of governing equations and simulation of process. By obtaining the concentration distribution, the flux of water evaporation was determined and compared with the experimental data reported in literature. It was also indicated that the developed three-dimensional model is appropriate for the prediction of the performance of membrane evaporators. The simulation results revealed that enhancement of velocity of liquid phase increases evaporation flux of water.
ISSN:1944-3986
1944-3994
1944-3986
DOI:10.1080/19443994.2015.1038595