Radial-flow membrane separator

Cross-flow-elec trofiltratiou (CF-EF) is the multifunctional separation process which combines the electrophoretic migration present in elec trofiltration with the particle diffusion and radial-migration forces present in cross-flow filtration (CFF) (microfiltration includes cross-flow filtration as one mode of operation in Membrane Separation Processes which appears later in this section) in order to reduce further the formation of filter cake. Cross-flow-electrofiltratiou can even eliminate the formation of filter cake entirely. This process should find application in the filtration of suspensions when there are charged particles as well as a relatively low conduc tivity in the continuous phase. Low conductivity in the continuous phase is necessary in order to minimize the amount of elec trical power necessaiy to sustain the elec tric field. Low-ionic-strength aqueous media and nonaqueous suspending media fulfill this requirement. 

The mass-transfer efficiencies of various MHF contactors have been studied by many researchers. Dahuron and Cussler [AlChE 34(1), pp. 130-136 (1988)] developed a membrane mass-transfer coefficient model (k ) Yang and Cussler [AIChE /., 32(11), pp. 1910-1916 (1986)] developed a shell-side mass-transfer coefficient model (ks) for flow directed radially into the fibers and Prasad and Sirkar [AIChE /., 34(2), pp. 177-188 (1988)] developed a tube-side mass-transfer coefficient model (k,). Additional studies have been published by Prasad and Sirkar [ Membrane-Based Solvent Extraction, in Membrane Handbook, Ho and Sirkar, eds. (Chapman Hall, 1992)] by Reed, Semmens, and Cussler [ Membrane Contactors, Membrane Separations Technology Principle. and Applications, Noble and Stern, eds. (Elsevier, 1995)] by Qin and Cabral [MChE 43(8), pp. 1975-1988 (1997)] by Baudot, Floury, and Smorenburg [AIChE ]., 47(8), pp. 1780-1793 (2001)] by GonzSlez-Munoz et al. [/. Memhane Sci., 213(1-2), pp. 181-193 (2003) and J. Membrane Sci., 255(1-2), pp. 133-140 (2005)] by Saikia, Dutta, and Dass [/. Membrane Sci., 225(1-2), pp. 1-13 (2003)] by Bocquet et al. [AIChE... 

Further details of the mass transfer enhancement techniques in membrane separation processes are reported by Belfort and Al-Bastaki and Abbas. In this entry, the focus is on the flow instabilities produced by Dean vortices in curved and coiled tubes because of their advantages over the other techniques, viz., lower axial dispersion, better radial mixing, residence time distribution closer to plug flow, higher mass... 

Figure 2 Schematic of the radial flow Pd membrane reactor used for these studies. A circular Pd foil (.075 mm thick) separates the reaction side from the sweep side. The reaction side is loaded with 18.5 grams of 0.5 wt. % Pt/a-Al203 1/8 inch pellets.

Consider a porous membrane separating two reservoirs, both containing the same 1 1 electrolyte at concentration c. An electric potential difference AV = (U at z = L) - (U at z = 0) is applied across the membrane, causing the liquid to flow through the membrane of thickness L. The walls of pores of radius a are charged, leading to a total potential of u = < )(z) + xp(r, z), where z is the axial and r is the radial... 

The spiral-wound module is in fact a plate-and-frame system wrapped around a central collection pipe, similar to a sandwich roll. The basic structure of this module is illustrated in Fig. 10. Membrane and permeate-side spacer material are then glued along three edges to build a membrane envelope. The feed-side spacer separating the top layer of the two flat membranes also acts as a turbulence promoter. The feed flows axial through the cylindrical module parallel along the central pipe and the permeate flows radially toward the central pipe. In order to make the membrane length shorter, several membrane envelopes are wound simultaneously. The spiral-wound module is featured by... 

Takeuchi et al. 7 reported a membrane reactor as a reaction system that provides higher productivity and lower separation cost in chemical reaction processes. In this paper, packed bed catalytic membrane reactor with palladium membrane for SMR reaction has been discussed. The numerical model consists of a full set of partial differential equations derived from conservation of mass, momentum, heat, and chemical species, respectively, with chemical kinetics and appropriate boundary conditions for the problem. The solution of this system was obtained by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). To perform CFD calculations, a commercial solver FLUENT has been used, and the selective permeation through the membrane has been modeled by user-defined functions. The CFD simulation results exhibited the flow distribution in the reactor by inserting a membrane protection tube, in addition to the temperature and concentration distribution in the axial and radial directions in the reactor, as reported in the membrane reactor numerical simulation. On the basis of the simulation results, effects of the flow distribution, concentration polarization, and mass transfer in the packed bed have been evaluated to design a membrane reactor system. 

Our main concern here is to present the mass transfer enhancement in several rate-controlled separation processes and how they are affected by the flow instabilities. These processes include membrane processes of reverse osmosis, ultra/microfiltration, gas permeation, and chromatography. In the following section, the different types of flow instabilities are classified and discussed. The axial dispersion in curved tubes is also discussed to understand the dispersion in the biological systems and radial mass transport in the chromatographic columns. Several experimental and theoretical studies have been reported on dispersion of solute in curved and coiled tubes under various laminar Newtonian and non-Newtonian flow conditions. The prior literature on dispersion in the laminar flow of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids through... 

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