A Bionic Degassing Device Inspired by Gills: Application on Underwater Oil and Gas Detection

Over the past decades, membrane-based separation processes have found numerous applications in various industries. Membrane contactor is an important part of the separation of dissolved gas in the early stage of gas detection. In this paper, to improve efficiency in the detection of the dissolved gas phase in seawater, a better flat membrane contactor is proposed to achieve efficient degassing, inspired by the way fish breathe underwater and the special structure of fish gills. The bioinspired flow channel structures in the flat membrane contactor are suggested along with the distribution of internal blood vessels in the gill platelet and the feature of the gill platelet surface. Using 3D printing, the special degassing devices are manufactured, and comparative analysis of relevant flow parameters is made using different flow channels, combined with the CFD simulation. The final result showed that the proposed flow channel in the degasser achieves a better degassing effect compared with conventional flow channel when the membrane contact area is limited, which can provide good conditions for subsequent gas detection.

Automated summary

In this paper, a bioinspired flat membrane contactor is proposed to improve efficiency in detecting dissolved gas in seawater. The design is based on the breathing mechanism of fish and the structure of fish gills. By using 3D printing and CFD simulation, it is found that the proposed flow channel in the degasser achieves a better degassing effect compared with conventional flow channel when the membrane contact area is limited, providing good conditions for subsequent gas detection.