Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Forward Osmosis Processes

This chapter presents the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) process sequence for the development of a CFD model, designed for the analysis of ideal packing densities in forward osmosis (FO) hollow ber modules. Each CFD process is individually outlined, followed by its application in building the CFD model, giving a good overview of CFD modeling in FO processes. The developed CFD model shows good agreement with experimental data, for draw concentration of up to 1M. The subsequent packing density analysis shows severe external concentration polarization (ECP) eects for increasing packing densities, yielding a maximum water ux for packing densities between 45% and 80%. Nevertheless, the total permeation rate still grows with increasing packing density: The eect of increasing membrane surface exceeds the increasing ECP, as the packing density is increased. However, the enormous pressure drop rise along the membrane module limits ecient applications with high packing densities.