GOALI: Predicting performance and fouling of membrane filters

目标：预测膜过滤器的性能和污染

• 批准号: 1615719
• 负责人: Linda Cummings
• 金额: $ 25.06万
• 依托单位: New Jersey Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-15 至 2022-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1615719&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: GOALI; Predicting; performance; fouling; membrane

Membrane filters -- essentially, thin sheets of porous medium that act to remove certain particles suspended in a fluid feed that passes through the medium -- are in widespread industrial use, and represent a multi-billion dollar industry in the US alone. Major multinational companies, such as W.L. Gore & Associates and Pall Corporation, manufacture a huge range of membrane-based filtration products and have a keen interest in improving and optimizing their filters. Membrane filtration is used in applications as diverse as water purification; treatment of radioactive sludge; various purification processes in the biotech industry; the cleaning of air or other gases; and beer clarification. While the underlying applications may vary dramatically (gas versus liquid filtration; small versus large particle removal; slow versus fast throughput; rigid versus deformable particles), the broad engineering challenge is the same: to achieve finely-controlled separation at low power consumption. But membrane characteristics (and hence the filter's behavior and performance) are far from constant over the filter lifetime: the particles removed from the feed are deposited within and on the filter, fouling it and degrading its performance. The processes by which this fouling occurs are complex and depend strongly on several factors, including the internal structure of the membrane, the flow dynamics of the feed solution, and the type of particles in the feed (their shape, size, and chemistry affect how they are removed by the membrane). In this project new mathematical models are developed to simulate membrane filtration and fouling, allowing membrane design parameters to be tuned for optimal performance. Particular attention is paid to the role played by the details of the internal membrane morphology, so that detailed design guidelines can be formulated. Collaboration with an industrial partner (Dr. Anil Kumar of Pall Corporation) maximizes the chances that our theoretical results translate into industrial practice. Graduate students are involved in the work of the project. This project studies flow and fouling in membrane filters, which are of significant interest for industrial applications. Working with a PhD student, the PI and her collaborator formulate new predictive mathematical models that describe two situations of practical importance: (i) Flow and fouling within pleated filter cartridges, and (ii) Membrane fouling models for internally heterogeneous membranes. In each scenario the team builds models that account for an arbitrary particle size distribution within the feed solution, and also for a distribution of membrane pore sizes. First-principles theoretical studies of these scenarios are of interest to others carrying out fundamental theoretical and experimental research on such systems, as well as to those seeking to extend the scope of current applications and improve manufacturing processes. An industrial colleague, Dr. Anil Kumar of Pall Corporation, collaborates on the project. An experimentalist, he shares his existing data with the team, generates new data as needed to test the models, and acts as industrial advisor. This interaction ensures that the project remains focused and that questions relevant to applications are identified and addressed. The experimental data help to determine appropriate ranges for unknown parameters in the models, and to test uncertain modeling assumptions.

膜过滤器——本质上是多孔介质薄片，其作用是去除通过介质的流体原料中悬浮的某些颗粒——在工业中得到广泛使用，仅在美国就代表了一个价值数十亿美元的产业。 主要跨国公司，如W.L.戈尔公司和颇尔公司生产种类繁多的膜过滤产品，并且对改进和优化其过滤器有着浓厚的兴趣。 膜过滤的应用广泛，例如水净化；放射性污泥的处理；生物技术行业的各种纯化工艺；空气或其他气体的净化；和啤酒澄清。 虽然基础应用可能差异很大（气体过滤与液体过滤；小颗粒去除与大颗粒去除；慢速与快速吞吐量；刚性颗粒与可变形颗粒），但广泛的工程挑战是相同的：以低功耗实现精细控制的分离。 但膜特性（以及过滤器的行为和性能）在过滤器的使用寿命内远非恒定：从进料中去除的颗粒沉积在过滤器内部和过滤器上，污染过滤器并降低其性能。 这种结垢发生的过程很复杂，很大程度上取决于几个因素，包括膜的内部结构、进料溶液的流动动力学以及进料中颗粒的类型（它们的形状、尺寸和化学性质）它们被膜去除）。 在该项目中，开发了新的数学模型来模拟膜过滤和污染，从而可以调整膜设计参数以获得最佳性能。 特别关注内部膜形态细节所发挥的作用，以便制定详细的设计指南。 与工业合作伙伴（颇尔公司的 Anil Kumar 博士）的合作最大限度地提高了我们的理论成果转化为工业实践的机会。 研究生参与该项目的工作。 该项目研究膜过滤器中的流动和污垢，这对工业应用具有重要意义。 PI 及其合作者与一名博士生合作，制定了新的预测数学模型，描述了两种具有实际重要性的情况：(i) 褶皱滤筒内的流动和污染，以及 (ii) 内部异质膜的膜污染模型。 在每种情况下，团队都会构建模型来解释进料溶液内的任意粒度分布，以及膜孔径的分布。 这些场景的第一原理理论研究引起了对此类系统进行基础理论和实验研究的其他人的兴趣，以及那些寻求扩展当前应用范围和改进制造工艺的人的兴趣。 颇尔公司的工业同事 Anil Kumar 博士参与了该项目的合作。 作为一名实验学家，他与团队共享现有数据，根据需要生成新数据来测试模型，并担任工业顾问。 这种互动确保项目保持重点，并确定和解决与应用程序相关的问题。 实验数据有助于确定模型中未知参数的适当范围，并测试不确定的建模假设。