This work aims to reduce membrane fouling by reducing the amount of solute at the membrane surface. Fouling reduces throughput and聽productivity of membrane systems and as such increases operating costs and reduces profitability of water treatment industries. This is achieved by implementing destabilizing electro-osmotic flow control. The significance of this project lies in linking feedback control of electro-osmotic effects with spacer design to maximize flow instabilities. This project will advance modelling of flow in membrane channels and develop a novel feedback flow control strategy that enhances mixing. The effectiveness and operability of the new fouling reduction approach on real-world membrane systems will be evaluated.
Recent research outcomes include:
- Characterizing and designing localized electro-osmotic effects in a membrane channel聽using CFD simulations. A slip velocity with a time-varying waveform was imposed at the membrane surface to mimic the electroosmotic flow effect in the membrane channel. Analysis of the hydrody