Analysis of flux enhancement at oscillating flat surface membranes

Intensification of microfiltration flux in a novel oscillatory membrane design has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Up to three fold increase in flux could be achieved using the proposed design. Modeling of the system was successfully achieved using a modified film theory approach which takes into consideration the end effects of the surface as well as a concentration dependent scaling factor for the diffusion coefficient. The model predictions shows that moderate membrane oscillations at frequencies <25 Hz and amplitudes <0.015m can be used effectively for intensifying microfiltration as well as other membrane separation processes. Similar to other oscillatory shear enhanced membrane systems, existing filtration models based on Brownian diffusion, shear induced diffusion, and inertial lift were unsuccessful in modeling filtration flux under current design and oscillatory conditions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.