Membrane heat transfer

The mass transfer in the boundary layers can be described by a mass transfer coefficient. In the membrane phase, the diffusion of water vapor can be described by either of the four mechanisms, namely molecular/Knudsen diffusion model, or Poiseuille flow, or by the dusty gas model (DGM). Heat transfer coefficients are used to describe the heat transfer in the boundary layer on either side of the membrane. In the membrane heat transfer occurs through the vapor and by conduction. These aspects have been explained in detail in the following sections. 

The development of integral furnace boilers during the 1930s allowed walls constructed of banks of vertical tubes welded together to form a continuous membrane (membrane walls or water walls), which provided for simultaneous heat transfer from the furnace and a furnace water cooling surface. (Earlier WT boilers had completely separate cooling systems.)... 

The following are some of the reasons that microreactors can be be used (i) reduced mass and heat transfer limitations, (ii) high area to volume ratio, (iii) safer operation, and (iv) ease of seating up by numbering out. The advantages of scaling down zeolite membranes are that it could be easier to create defect-free membranes and... 

Cavitations generate several effects. On one hand, both stable and transient cavitations generate turbulence and liquid circulation - acoustic streaming - in the proximity of the microbubble. This phenomenon enhances mass and heat transfer and improves (micro)mixing as well. In membrane systems, increase of fiux through the membrane and reduction of fouling has been observed [56]. 

Ultrasound can thus be used to enhance kinetics, flow, and mass and heat transfer. The overall results are that organic synthetic reactions show increased rate (sometimes even from hours to minutes, up to 25 times faster), and/or increased yield (tens of percentages, sometimes even starting from 0% yield in nonsonicated conditions). In multiphase systems, gas-liquid and solid-liquid mass transfer has been observed to increase by 5- and 20-fold, respectively [35]. Membrane fluxes have been enhanced by up to a factor of 8 [56]. Despite these results, use of acoustics, and ultrasound in particular, in chemical industry is mainly limited to the fields of cleaning and decontamination [55]. One of the main barriers to industrial application of sonochemical processes is control and scale-up of ultrasound concepts into operable processes. Therefore, a better understanding is required of the relation between a cavitation coUapse and chemical reactivity, as weU as a better understanding and reproducibility of the influence of various design and operational parameters on the cavitation process. Also, rehable mathematical models and scale-up procedures need to be developed [35, 54, 55]. 

General Characteristics. Energy addition or extraction from fast fluidized beds are commonly accomplished through vertical heat transfer surfaces in the form of membrane walls or submerged vertical tubes. Horizontal tubes or tube bundles are almost never used due to concern with... 

Anderson, B. A., and Lechner, B., Local Lateral Distribution of Heat Transfer on Tube Surface of Membrane Walls in CFB Boiler, Circ. Fluid. Bed Tech IV, 311-318 (1993)... 

Mahalingan, M., and Kolar, A. K., Heat Transfer Model for Membrane Wall of a High Temperature Circulating Fluidized Bed, Circ. Fluid. Bed Tech. Ill, 239-246 (1990)... 

Finally, there are some miscellaneous polymer-electrolyte fuel cell models that should be mentioned. The models of Okada and co-workers - have examined how impurities in the water affect fuel-cell performance. They have focused mainly on ionic species such as chlorine and sodium and show that even a small concentration, especially next to the membrane at the cathode, impacts the overall fuelcell performance significantly. There are also some models that examine having free convection for gas transfer into the fuel cell. These models are also for very miniaturized fuel cells, so that free convection can provide enough oxygen. The models are basically the same as the ones above, but because the cell area is much smaller, the results and effects can be different. For example, free convection is used for both heat transfer and mass transfer, and the small... 

The mass and heat transfer analogies make possible an evaluation of the mass-transfer coefficient (k) and provide insight into how membrane geometry and fluid-flow conditions can be specified to optimize flux (4). For laminar flow ... 

Film coefficients of mass transfer inside or outside tubes are important in membrane processes using tube-type or the so-called hollow fiber membranes. In the case where flow inside the tubes is turbulent, the dimensionless Equation 6.25a, b (analogous to Equation 5.8a, b for heat transfer) provide the film coefficients of mass transfer k [7]... 

In the case that the cross section of the channel is not circular, the equivalent diameter d defined by Equations 5.10 and 5.11 should be used in place of d- As with heat transfer, taking the wetted perimeter for mass transfer rather than the total wetted perimeter provides a larger value of the equivalent diameter and hence a lower value of the mass transfer coefficient. The equivalent diameter of the channel between two parallel plates or membranes is twice the distance between the plates or membranes, as noted in relation to Equation 5.11. 

Research and development contracts with universities, research organizations, and industrial firms are probing into the fields of heat transfer, scale prevention, corrosion, membranes, gas hydrates, solvent extraction, and many others, all designed to help attain the goal of low-cost converted water. 

The process of pressure distillation through a homogeneous membrane is based first on the common fact that the vapor pressure of any liquid can be increased by compressing it or decreased by placing it under suction, and second on the equally common fact that only pure water vapor escapes from water into vapor or air, leaving nonvolatile salts behind the phase boundary. In operating the processes of vaporization—heat transfer and diffusion across an extremely thin gap—no new phenomena or new properties of materials are required. However, the novel combination of capillary surfaces, pressure, and extremely short paths for heat and diffusion offers an opportunity for improvements in film properties and methods of construction not known before. 

For aerobic fermentations, air needs to be supplied continuously. Typical aeration rates for aerobic fermentation are 0.5 - 1.0 vvm (air volume per liquid volume per minute). This requires an enormous amount of air. Therefore, not only the medium but also the air must be free of microbial contaminants. All of the sterilization techniques discussed for medium can also be employed for air. However, sterilization of air by means of heat is economically impractical and is also ineffective due to the low heat-transfer efficiency of air compared with those of liquids. The most effective technique for air sterilization is filtration using fibrous or membrane filters. 

Methanol Crossover Catalyst Performance Catalyst Fabrication Carbon Support Membrane Performance MEA Fabrication Pressurized Operation Methanol Concentration Fluid Flow Heat Transfer... 

Two approaches have been used to describe the effect of concentration polarization. One has its origins in the dimensional analysis used to solve heat transfer problems. In this approach the resistance to permeation across the membrane and the resistance in the fluid layers adjacent to the membrane are treated as resistances in series. Nothing is assumed about the thickness of the various layers or the transport mechanisms taking place. 

More than 100 micro structured devices are listed on the homepage of the pChemTec consortium [24]. The devices cover physical applications such as flow distribution, mixing, heat transfer, phase transfer, emulsification and suspension, as well as chemical applications such as chemical and biochemical processing. Some separation units such as membrane separation and capillary electrophoresis are also offered. Control devices such as valves, micro pumps for product analysis and mass flow controllers supplement the catalog. 

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