Title of Paper:Filtration improvement and structure optimization of baffle promoter for tubular membrane

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Date of Publication:2017-10-01

Journal:DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT

Included Journals:SCIE、Scopus

Volume:92

Page Number:9-19

ISSN No.:1944-3994

Key Words:Tubular membrane; Filtration enhancement; Baffle promoter; Computational fluid dynamics

Abstract:Baffle promoter is commonly used structure to reduce fouling and increase flux in tubular membrane filtration. Its function is attributed to the hydrodynamic enhancement for the flow field. The arrangement and size are important structure parameters that influence the performance of baffle promoter. In this paper, filtration improvement performance of baffle promoter was experimentally studied considering two arrangement parameters including phase angle and fan angle, as well as two size parameters including radius and space. Flow fields in the tubular membranes with corresponding baffle promoters were analyzed by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The results showed that baffle arrangement type determined the eddy direction in the tubular membrane module, which accounts for the scouring effect for the particle deposition. Baffle structure sizes influenced the eddy shape and size between the baffles, which accounts for the local shear and turbulence intensity on the membrane surface. Within the scope of this study, baffle promoter with phase angle of 90 degrees, fan angle of 180 degrees, radius of 20 mm and dimensionless space of 2.50 obtained relatively high filtration improvement and low pressure drop, which was also consistent with the CFD result. This study can be useful for the optimal design of baffle promoter in tubular membrane filtration.