Development of a numerical model for cake layer formation on a membrane

Abstract

Membrane filtration has been firmly established as the primary process for ensuring purity, safety, and efficiency in the treatment of water or effluents. Several studies have been performed to develop and design membrane systems in order to increase the performance of the filtration process. In this work, a lattice Boltzmann method for the cake layer has been developed using particle dynamics based on an immersed boundary method. In addition, the cake layer formation process on the membrane has been numerically simulated. Case studies with various particle sizes were also performed for a microfiltration process. The growth rate of the cake layer thickness and the permeation flow rate along the membranes were predicted. The results of this study were consistent with those of the previous experiments. The effect of various particle diameters on the membrane performance was also studied. A cake layer formed from large particles tended to grow fast, and the permeation flow initially decreased rapidly. The flow of small particles increased at the end of the simulation time. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.