Gas Separation Using a Membrane

Computational fluid dynamics simulation will be conducted for multicomponent fluid flows in a channel containing spacers. The Navier-Stokes equation and the species transport equations are solved for various values of Reynolds numbers. The membrane will be modeled as a functional surface, where the membrane fluxes of each component will be determined based on the local partial pressures of each species, the permeability and the selectivity of the membrane. Laminar flow modeling is employed for the flow inside the channel without the spacers; while k-ω turbulent modeling is used to simulate the flow inside the channel with the spacer, for Re = 100, 150 and 200. The spacers are placed in an inline arrangement. The presence of spacers in the channel improves the membrane performance at Re = 200. The effects of the spacer on the separation process at low flow speeds (Re = 100 and 150) are negligible. The performance of the system will be measured by the maximum mass separation with minimal friction losses.