Temperature Effect on the Development of Concentration Polarization on Osmotic Membrane Walls for Desalination

摘要

Reverse Osmosis (RO) using semi-permeable membranes is the most commonly used process for seawater desalination. It uses a continuous flow of salty water with applying an operational pressure greater than the osmotic pressure. Consequently, a flux of pure water (permeate) crosses the membranes. A two-dimensional CFD model is developed to study the temperature effect on the development of concentration polarization and permeation flux in spiral wound membrane (SWM) modules. The resolution of governing equations (momentum, energy, and mass transfer) associated with appropriate boundary conditions was performed using finite volume method (FVM). Numerical results highlighted that a slight increase in the operating temperature grows the concentration polarization on membrane surfaces. Furthermore, the permeate flux and the mass transfer are significantly enhanced while the pressure drop is reduced.