Simulated fractal permeability for porous membranes

Fractal permeability model for bi-dispersed porous media is developed based on the fractal characteristics of pores in the membrane. The fractal permeability model is found to be a function of the tortuosity fractal dimension, pore area fractal dimension, sizes of particles and clusters, micro-porosity inside clusters, and the effective porosity of a medium. The pore area fractal dimension and the tortuosity fractal dimension of the porous membranes are determined by the box counting method. To verify the validity of the model, the predicted permeability were compared with the experimental data utilizing H(2) gas permeating through porous Pd-alumina, silicalite-1 and B-ZSM-5, and O(2) across perovskite-alumina membranes form the past effort. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.