Excellent Mass Transfer Performance Research Articles

Sulfur doped Co3O4 catalyst for efficient and stable oxygen evolution reaction at high current density

The development of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts with excellent stability at high current density is key to achieving efficient hydrogen production, and spinel Co3O4 is a promising alternative material, yet its application to high current density remains challenging. Here, we employ doping engineering to apply Co3O4 modified by S to the OER. The doping of S optimizes the electronic environment of Co and generates richer oxygen defects, leading to excellent catalytic performance and cycling stability at high current density. The best performing S–Co3O4-45@NF catalyst that required 265 mV to achieve 10 mA/cm2. Furthermore, it exhibits outstanding cycling durability at 10, 200 and 1200 mA/cm2 as well as excellent mass transfer performance in multi-step current tests. The present work provides ideas for the development of low-cost and efficient transition metal-based electrocatalysts at high current density.

Preparation of a macroporous anion exchange chromatographic medium by polyamine grafting and evaluation of its protein-adsorption behavior

The macroporous anion exchange chromatographic medium (FastSep-PAA) was prepared through grafting polyallylamine (PAA) onto polyacrylate macroporous microspheres (FastSep-epoxy). The effects of the synthesis conditions, including the PAA concentration, reaction time, and reaction solution pH, on the ion exchange (IC) of the medium were investigated in detail. When the PAA concentration, reaction time, and reaction solution pH were increased, the IC of the medium increased, and optimal synthesis conditions were then selected in combination with changes of protein binding capacity. A scanning electron microscope was used to examine the surface morphology of the medium. The medium possessed high pore connectivity. Furthermore, the pore structure of the medium was preserved after the grafting of PAA onto the macroporous microspheres. This finding demonstrates that the density of the PAA ligands does not appear to have any discernible impact on the structure of the medium; that is, no difference in the structure of the medium is observed before and after the grafting of PAA onto the microspheres. The pore size and pore-size distribution of the medium before and after grafting were determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry and the nitrogen adsorption method to investigate the relationship between pore size (measured in the range of 300-1000 nm) and protein adsorption. When the pore size of the medium was increased, its protein binding capacity did not exhibit any substantial decrease. An increase in pore size may hasten the mass transfer of proteins within the medium. Among the media prepared, that with a pore size of 400 nm exhibited the highest dynamic-binding capacity (DBC: 70.3 g/L at 126 cm/h). The large specific surface area of the medium and its increased number of protein adsorption sites appeared to positively influence its DBC. When the flow rate was increased, the protein DBC decreased in media with original pore sizes of less than 700 nm. In the case of the medium with an original pore size of 1000 nm, the protein DBC was independent of the flow rate. The protein DBC decreased by 3.5% when the flow rate was increased from 126 to 628 cm/h. In addition, the protein DBC was maintained at 57.7 g/L even when the flow velocity was 628 cm/h. This finding reveals that the diffusion rate of protein molecules at this pore size is less restricted and that the prepared medium has excellent mass-transfer performance. These results confirm that the macroporous polymer anion exchange chromatographic medium developed in this study has great potential for the high-throughput separation of proteins.

Liquid-liquid flow pattern and mass transfer in a rotating millimeter channel reactor

Abstract Currently, microchannels are widely used in liquid-liquid heterogeneous mass transfer systems due to its excellent mass transfer performance. However, because of the passive mixing principle of traditional microchannels, the improvement of mass transfer performance has a bottleneck. This work proposes a novel rotating millimeter channel reactor (RMCR), capable of achieving liquid-liquid heterogeneous mass transfer enhance by centrifugal force. Three typical flow patterns of slug flow, parallel-droplet flow, and parallel flow in the RMCR were observed by high-speed photography technology. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient (K O a) of the RMCR increased with the increase of the total volumetric flow rate and rotational speed (N) increased. Compared with N = 0 r/min, the K O a of the RMCR increases by 61.5 % at 200 r/min, ranging from 0.013 to 0.021 s−1. The RMCR proposed in this work is expected to be applied to the liquid-liquid heterogeneous mass transfer system with high processing capacity and easy plugging.

Direct ink writing of hierarchical porous SiC ceramics as catalyst support for hydrogen production

Due to the tunable porosity at multiple scales, hierarchical porous ceramics feature large specific surface area and excellent heat and mass transfer performance, which can effectively improve the catalytic reaction performance. This paper presents a method to fabricate SiC scaffolds with regular and hierarchical pore structures by direct ink writing (DIW) combined with sacrificial template technology, which can be used as methanol steam reforming (MSR) microreactor catalyst supports. Through printing along a defined path, primary pores with a regular pore structure were created. After sintering, the sacrificial template was removed and secondary pores appeared. Four different types of hierarchical porous SiC scaffolds were successfully prepared and the pore structure, total porosity, linear shrinkage and compressive strength of these scaffolds were investigated. The catalyst coating was then loaded onto the scaffold, and the microstructure characterization showed that the pore structure would not be damaged and blocked. Finally, the hydrogen production experiments were carried out on the MSR microreactor, and the results showed that the support with larger and denser secondary pores had the best fluid flow and hydrogen production characteristics. At the temperature of 280 °C and the gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 30000 ml g−1 h−1, the methanol conversion and hydrogen production of the best support can reach 90.95 % and 44.96 ml/min, respectively.

Intensifying the extraction of rare earth elements by a mini-channel counter-current extractor

Developing new extraction processes is essential for the effective separation of rare earths. Liquid-liquid counter-current extraction of rare earth elements was conducted in innovatively developed mini-channel extractors with a diameter of 4 ∼ 6 mm. 30 % saponified P507/sulfonated kerosene was used as extractant to form monodispersed droplets and flowed upward in the vertical mini-channel by buoyancy. LaCl3 solution (La2O3 + HCl solution) was used as the continuous phase and flowed downward by gravity. The influence of the superficial velocity of organic phase, superficial velocity of aqueous phase, the diameter and length of mini-channel on the extraction yield, volumetric mass transfer coefficient and theoretical stages were studied. The volumetric mass transfer coefficients were in the range of 0.07 × 10−3 ∼ 5.46 × 10−3 s−1. It is much higher than that in co-current mini-channel and traditional extractors. An empirical correlation of volumetric mass transfer coefficients was established with a prediction error of ± 20 %. The strong relative movement of two phases and the maximal driving force of mass transfer give the counter-current mini-channel extractor an excellent mass transfer performance. When the mini-channel length was greater than 250 mm, the number of extraction stages was larger than one. The research results provide guidance for the design of novel extractors and the improvement of rare earth elements extraction.

Hydrodynamics and model of gas‐liquid flow in microbubble column reactors

AbstractMicrobubble column reactors (MBCRs) have the significant advantages of high gas holdup, large gas‐liquid interfacial area, and excellent mass transfer performance, making them attractive for applications such as hydrogenation and oxidation. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of the gas‐liquid flow behavior in MBCRs. In this work, the effects of gas and liquid superficial velocities on flow regimes, residence time distribution, and gas holdup are investigated. The gas holdup increases linearly with the increase of gas superficial velocity, even in heterogeneous regimes, ranging from 0% to 60% at gas superficial velocities of 0–25 mm/s. Additionally, the gas‐liquid interfacial areas in MBCRs are 1–2 orders of magnitude larger than those in traditional bubble column reactors. A prediction model for gas holdup is established, and the predicted values are in good agreement with the experimental values.

Three-dimensional gas–liquid flow simulation of a rotating packed bed using Eulerian porous media models

The rotating packed bed (RPB) is a typical equipment in chemical process intensification technology due to its excellent mass transfer performance. In this paper, a three-dimensional full-scale model was established based on the Eulerian two-fluid method to study the gas–liquid two-phase flow in RPBs. Three different single-phase wire screen packing pressure drop models coupled with the interfacial area model were used to construct resistance calculation methods for porous media, respectively. The results show that simulation deviations of the liquid holdup and the pressure drop of the m-K model range from 0.92 % to 27.61 % and 1.63 % to 34.59 %, respectively. In addition, the simulation accuracy of the liquid holdup of three models was obviously influenced by the rotational speed (N). The m-K model has the highest prediction accuracy at N = 500 ∼ 1500 rpm. At N = 2000 ∼ 2500 rpm, the B model has the highest prediction accuracy. Characteristics of gas–liquid flow under different conditions and nozzle designs were obtained. In particular, the impact of different nozzle designs on liquid distribution has been investigated using a new method based on user-defined functions (UDFs). A more homogeneous distribution of liquid within the packing can be achieved by increasing nozzle height, decreasing nozzle size, and increasing the number of nozzles.

Carbon dioxide absorption and anti-clogging performance of a novel millimeter-scale channel absorber

This study proposes a novel millimeter-scale channel absorber for the first time, which involves carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption in the channel to achieve efficient CO2 absorption while avoiding clogging. CO2 absorption experiments were conducted on such a channel absorber with an inner diameter of 2.3 mm to study its CO2 mass transfer and absorption characteristics. Al2O3 particles were introduced as solid impurities to evaluate its anti-clogging performance. The experimental results showed that a stable Taylor flow could be formed in the channel in appropriate gas and liquid flowrate ranges. The liquid-side volume mass transfer coefficient (KLa) reached 0.34 s−1 using a 6% DEA solution as the absorbent, which was approximately one order of magnitude higher than that of the conventional packed towers. When Al2O3 to a maximum extent of 2 wt% was added into the absorbents, no clogging was observed, and the values of KLa even increased. Due to the excellent CO2 absorption mass transfer and anti-clogging performance, millimeter channel absorbers have promising industrial applications for CO2 absorption. Therefore, means and application scenario for applying millimeter-scale channel absorber in the industrial CO2 absorption have been proposed.

Enhanced chemical deacidification of crude soybean oil by rotating packed bed reactor

Chemical deacidification is a key process for vegetable oil refining, but its efficiency is limited by the liquid–liquid mass transfer performance of reaction system. Here, a mathematical model containing mass transfer and reactions for the chemical deacidification process was developed at first. The modeling results quantitatively revealed the effect of mass transfer on deacidification efficiency and deacidification reaction time. Then, rotating packed bed (RPB) reactor was firstly applied to enhance the chemical deacidification due to its excellent heterogonous mass transfer performance. The effect of different operating conditions on the deacidification efficiency was systematically investigated. Under the optimal conditions, 99.85% deacidification efficiency was obtained after continuous treatment by RPB reactor. Comparing with traditional stirred tank reactor, the reaction time was reduced from tens of minutes to less than 1 s in RPB. Meanwhile excess alkali consumption was avoided. This work demonstrates an efficient and promising technique for vegetable oil refining.

A convenient method for measuring gas-liquid volumetric mass transfer coefficient in micro reactors

The research on gas-liquid multiphase reactions using micro reactors is becoming increasingly widespread, given their excellent mass transfer performance. Establishing an accurate and reliable method to measure the gas-liquid mass transfer performance of micro reactors is crucial for evaluating and optimizing the design of micro reactor structure. In this paper, the physical absorption method of aqueous solution-CO2 and the chemical absorption method of sodium carbonate solution-CO2 were proposed. By analyzing the chemical reaction equilibrium during the absorption process, the relationship between the mass transfer of CO2 and the solubility of hydroxide ions in the solution was established, and the total gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient was immediately obtained by measuring the pH value. The corresponding testing platform and process have been established based on the characteristics of the proposed method to ensure fast and accurate measurement. In addition, the chemical absorption method takes into account temperature factors that were not previously considered. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient measured by these two methods is in the same range as those measured by other methods using the same microchannel structure in previous literature. The methods have the advantages of low equipment cost, faster measurement speed, and simpler procedures, which can facilitate its wide application to the evaluation of the mass transfer performance and hence can guide the structure optimization of microchannel reactors.

S-doped core–shell heterojunction Fenton catalyst (Fe3O4-S@PVP@UIO-66-(SH)2) for enhanced activation of hydroxyl radicals: Synergistic enrichment and degradation mechanism

The design of catalysts for the rapid activation of H2O2 and synergistic enrichment of pollutants is an effective strategy to improve catalytic performance. Herein, an Fe3O4-S@PVP@UIO-66-(SH)2 (FPUSH) heterojunction was successfully synthesized to form a core–shell-doped multiphase Fenton catalyst with both internal doping and outer encapsulation structures, which had excellent mass and efficient electron transfer performance. Levofloxacin can be adsorbed (Qmax was 141.44 mg g−1) and degraded at a removal efficiency of 97.70% within 120 min. The recycled efficiency of FPUSH was maintained at more than 90% after five recycles. The experimental and DFT results showed that the introduction of S improved the electron density of Fe atomic orbitals, promoted the electron transfer of Fe(II)/Fe(III), and enhanced the catalytic performance of Fe active sites. The degradation pathway of LVFX and the toxicity of intermediate products were predicted. This work provides new ideas and insights for the application of nonmetals in high-performance multiphase Fenton systems.

Structured nanoporous copper catalysts prepared by laser powder bed fusion and dealloying for on-board methanol steam reforming

The use of online methanol steam reforming (MSR) as an efficient hydrogen production approach is considered an attractive route for supplying hydrogen to onboard fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). Current catalysts face challenges, such as a large pressure drop, easy pulverization, and coating peeling. To address these challenges, in this study, a structured Cu-based catalyst with a body-centered cubic skeleton was prepared using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) combined with a dealloying method. The three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical nanoporous copper structures with high specific surface areas were observed. The catalytic performance of the 3D structured Cu-based catalyst is superior to those of reported catalysts with 93.6% methanol conversion and a CO concentration of less than 0.3% in dry gas under the reaction conditions of a mass space velocity of 34.6 h−1, a temperature of 280 °C, and a H2O/CH3OH molar ratio of 1.3. In addition, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations confirmed the excellent mass and heat transfer performance and low pressure drop of the 3D-structured copper-based catalyst. Structured Cu-based catalysts have great potential for applications in FCVs.

Introducing self-assembly effect in adsorption process for efficient uranium extraction by zwitterion highly-functionalized fibers

Polymeric adsorbents play a crucial role in the extraction of uranium from seawater and nuclear wastewater for the removal and recovery of uranium. However, traditional polymeric uranium adsorbents rely on the coordination between uranyl and ligands, and the uranyl/ligand stoichiometric ratio is generally ≤ 1:1, further limiting their adsorption performances. Herein, phosphorylcholine (PC), a phosphate-containing zwitterionic group, is highly-functionalized on fibers to construct a novel uranium adsorbent denoted by PAN-PC. Interestingly, PAN-PC performs an unprecedented self-assembly effect toward uranyl in the adsorption process. Further investigation reveals that three factors, i) the strong coordination and electrostatic interactions, ii) the zwitterionic nature of PC, and iii) the existence of abundant PC, induce the self-assembly of uranyl on PAN-PC as reverse micelle-like structures. Moreover, the excellent mass transfer performance of PAN-PC contributes to the sufficient utilization of ligands. Consequently, PAN-PC exhibits an ultrahigh stoichiometric ratio > 5:1 and a remarkable adsorption capacity of 2658 mg g−1, which significantly exceeds all reported polymeric uranium adsorbents. Furthermore, the practicality of PAN-PC is also verified in seawater and simulated nuclear wastewater. This is the first adsorbent that introduces the self-assembly effect for significantly enhancing the adsorption performance. This work provides a novel strategy to develop efficient adsorbents for metal ions.

Electrochemical immunosensor based on multi-order Rubik's cube-type platinum nickel nanocubes and Au NPs/cPDA NTs for detection of CEA

Herein, an innovative sandwich-type electrochemical immunosensor based on multi-order Rubik's cube-type platinum nickel nanocubes and Au NPs/cPDA NTs was used for the ultrasensitive detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). In this process, an appropriate amount of uniformly dispersed gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) was effectively immobilized on nitrogen riched carbonized polydopamine nanotubes (cPDA NTs) through Au-N bonds, avoiding the stacking and agglomeration of Au NPs, thereby enhancing the conductivity. Subsequently, multi-order Rubik's cube-type platinum nickel nanocubes (PtNi NCs), composed of numerous small interlaced nanocubes, was successfully prepared to immobilize the secondary antibodies (Ab2) effectively. Due to its inherent hierarchical architectures and high density of active sites, PtNi NCs exhibited excellent mass and electron transfer performance towards the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for amplifying the current signal to detect CEA. The rationally designed immunosensor presented a broad linear ranging from 50 fg mL−1 to 100 ng mL−1 and a low limit of detection of 17.78 fg mL−1 (S/N = 3) for CEA determination under optimal conditions. Furthermore, the as-fabricated immunosensor exhibited excellent selectivity, reproducibility and stability, which can be extended to accurate and sensitive detection of other biomarkers.

Design and development of a new static mixing bioreactor for enzymatic bioprocess: Application in biodiesel production

Mass transfer efficiency plays an important role in enzymatic biological processes, especially for non-aqueous biocatalytic processes. In these processes, low interphase mass transfer rates result in relatively long reaction residence time in traditional batch reactors. Therefore, the design and development of new bioreactors is crucial. In this study, a novel static mixing bioreactor was designed and applied to enzymatically catalyzed biodiesel production, which is a typical interfacial reaction system. In order to achieve good mixing effect and low pressure drop, the structure of bioreactor, including unit configuration, aspect ratio and rotation angle was designed and optimized by computational fluid dynamics. The realizable k-epsilon model was used, it was proved to be grid independent with 833678 hexahedral unstructured grids that were adopted to improve the structure for material mixing. After modification of the reactor, the final optimized structure is an R-R configuration with an aspect ratio of 1.5 and a rotation angle of 150°. Based on the above improved bioreactor, the process conditions for enzymatic production of biodiesel were optimized. The optimized reaction conditions were as follows: the length of the static mixer was 30 cm, the material flow rate was 1.77 m/s, the reaction temperature was 40 °C, the amount of methanol added was 3 times, and molar ratio of 3.4 alcohol to oil and 10% lipase dose were used. Under the optimal conditions, the yield of biodiesel in 1.5 h could reach 81.28%, and it could still be above 70% after 12 times of repeated use of lipase. Under the same reaction conditions, the reaction time for the static mixer to reach the same conversion rate (81.28%) was 1/3 of that of the stirred reactor, confirming the excellent mass transfer performance of the static mixer bioreactor.

Solvent extraction with a three-dimensional reticulated hollow-strut SiC foam microchannel reactor

• A novel 3-D reticulated microchannel reactor based on the hollow-strut SiC foam for rare earths extraction. • High extraction efficiency and excellent mass transfer performance at high flow rate. • The structure-performance relationship of the foam was studied by extraction experiments combined with numerical simulations. Recently, there has been considerable interest in the use of microchannel reactors for hydrometallurgy of rare earths (REs). Here, a novel integrated microchannel reactor based on the hollow-strut SiC foam material is presented and demonstrated to extract Ce 3+ and Pr 3+ using 2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (P507) as the extractant. The typical three-dimensional reticulated structure of the hollow-strut SiC foam was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray micro computed tomography. Since the reactor’s structure plays a key role in fluid mixing and mass diffusion during the extraction process, the structure-performance relationship of the foam was studied by extraction experiments combined with numerical simulations. Using the foam with the optimal structure, the influence of the flow rate Q 0 of the two liquid phases on the extraction efficiency η and overall volume mass transfer coefficient K L a was discussed. For both RE ions, with increasing Q 0 , η decreases while K L a increases. For the total flow rate of the two phases of 4 ml⋅min −1 , the η values of Pr 3+ and Ce 3+ reached 98.7% and 97.0%, respectively. For the total flow rate of 36 ml⋅min −1 which was much higher than that of many other microchannel reactors reported in the literatures, the η values of Pr 3+ and Ce 3+ still reached 92.2% and 86.9%, respectively, and the K L a values of Pr 3+ and Ce 3+ were 0.198 and 0.161 s −1 , respectively, similar to the high values reported for other microchannel reactors studied in previous work. These findings indicate that the hollow-strut SiC foam microchannel reactor is suitable for use in REs extraction.

Nanoscale Thin-Film Boiling Processes on Heterogeneous Surfaces

Acquiring rapid and efficient boiling processes has been the focus of industry as they have the potential to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon emissions of production processes. Here, we report nanoscale thin-film boiling on different heterogeneous surfaces. Through nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulation, we captured the triple-phase interface details, visualized the bubble nucleation, and recorded the internal fluid flow and thermal characteristics. It is found that nanoscale thin-film boiling without the occurrence of bubble nucleation shows excellent heat and mass transfer performance, which differs from macroscale boiling. In general, rough structures advance the onset time of stable boiling and improve the efficiency. The heat transfer coefficient and heat flux on a rough hydrophilic surface respectively reach to 7.43 × 104 kW/(m2·K) and 1.3 × 106 kW/m2 at a surface temperature of 500 K, which are 100-fold higher than those of micrometer-scale thin-film boiling. However, due to the resultant vapor film trapped between the liquid and the surface, the rough hydrophobic surface leads to heat transfer deterioration instead. It is revealed that the underlying mechanism of regulatory effects resulting from surface physicochemical properties is originated from the variation of interfacial thermal resistance. It is available to reduce the overall interfacial resistance and further improve the heat and mass transfer efficiency through increasing surface roughness, enhancing surface wettability, and increasing the area proportion of the hydrophilic region. This work provides guidelines to achieve rapid and efficient thin-liquid-film boiling and serves as a reference for the optimized design of surfaces utilized for high-heat flux removal through vaporization processes.

Separation and enrichment of Rb(I) in dicyclohexano 18 crown 6(DCH18C6)/PVC polymer inclusion membrane assisted by electric field

The effective extraction of liquid rubidium resources such as salt lake brine and seawater and the recovery of rubidium(I) at the end of the extraction process of lithium resources have always been a challenge in the industry. Two series of polymer inclusion membranes(PDA-PIM and PDT-PIM) were prepared to study the separation and enrichment of Rb(I). PDA-PIM and PDT-PIM used polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and dicyclohexano 18 crown 6(DCH18C6) as carriers, and tricaprylmethylammonium chloride (Aliquat 336) and trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) as a plasticizer, respectively. The optimal mass ratio (W/W) of PDA-PIM and PDT-PIM were P25D3.5A25 and P25D3.5T1, respectively. The applied electric field is a core condition for the mass transfer and separation of Rb(I). With the increase of voltage, the permeability coefficient P of Rb(I) and the separation factor (S) relative to Na(I) and K(I) increases. At 180 V, the PRb of PDA-PIM and PDT-PIM were 12.08 and 2.39 µm/s, and the SRB/NA were 11.21 and 14.44. After four mass transfer cycles of PDT-PIM, PRb only decreased by 4.6%. In addition, after 81.5 h of mass transfer, the enrichment ratio of Rb(I) was 3.02 times. These results show the excellent stability and mass transfer performance of PDT-PIM. It's of great significance for low concentration Rb(I) extraction.

Experimental study on hydrodynamics of ionic liquids systems in falling film evaporator

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been proved as novel excellent solvents in gas separation and so on. Due to its excellent heat and mass transfer performance, falling film evaporator is often used in the applications of high viscosity systems and has the potential to be the regeneration equipment for IL-based systems. However, there are few reports on the falling film evaporation of ILs system. The relevant experimental data are scarce. Moreover, the traditional models cannot predict the hydrodynamics of ILs well due to the specific properties of ILs. In this study, an experimental method for studying the ILs falling film flow was established. The falling film hydrodynamics of three ILs (BmimBF4, BmimPF6, OmimBF4), including film flow pattern and film thickness were investigated. The effects of streamwise flow distance and the physical property of ILs on the hydrodynamics were analyzed. A calculation model and a dimensionless empirical model of ILs film thickness were established based on experimental data. The average relative deviation of new dimensionless model is 2.83%, which is much lower than that of Nusselt model (13.48%). The measurement of key parameters and the establishment of models provide experiment data and basis for designing the falling film evaporator of IL-based systems.

AN INVESTIGATION ON SPONTANEOUS IMBIBITION IN TREE-LIKE BRANCHING NETWORK WITH FRACTAL ROUGHENED SURFACES

The tree-like branching network widely exists in nature and human society. The heat and mass transfer of tree-like branching network has been studied for a long time. The research indicates that a tree-like branching network has excellent heat and mass transfer performance. In this paper, a model of spontaneous imbibition in the tree-like branching network with fractal roughened surfaces is proposed. Based on the series-parallel equivalent model, the analytical expression of the time-varying imbibition height and the expression of the equilibrium height are derived. It is found that the structural parameters of the branching network have an important influence on the imbibition process, including the diameter in the 0th branching level, the length ratio, the diameter ratio, the branching number, the total number of branching levels, the relative roughness and the branching angle. For instance, the equilibrium height increases with the increase in the total number of branching levels, but the time required to reach the equilibrium height also increases with the increase in the total number of branching levels. It is also seen that the equilibrium height increases with the increase in fractal dimension of roughened elements and length ratio, and decreases with the increase in diameter ratio. In addition, an interesting phenomenon is that the time required to reach the equilibrium height increases with the increase in branching angle, but the equilibrium height remains the same. Every parameter of the presented model has a clear physical meaning, revealing the imbibition mechanism of the tree-like branching network.