Experimental verification of the shear-induced hydrodynamic diffusion model of crossflow microfiltration, with consideration of the transmembrane pressure axial variation

Abstract

A model based on the shear-induced hydrodynamic diffusion theory, with the consideration of the axial variation of the transmembrane pressure drop, was developed for a hollow fiber crossflow microfiltration module. The model predictions agreed closely with experimental data obtained for a commercial hollow fiber microfiltration module used for a monodisperse latex particle suspension forming a stagnant particle layer at the membrane surface. The pressure drop across the stagnant particle layer and the membrane, the permeate flux and the stagnant particle layer profile predicted by the proposed model were compared with the predictions of the previous model of Romero and Davis, adapted for an hollow-fiber geometry and of the previous model of Zydney and Colton. The results indicated that the proposed model could predict a decrease in the stagnant particle layer thickness at the exit of the fiber that has been observed experimentally.