Effects of Natural Convection Instability on Membrane Performance in Dead-end and Cross-flow Ultrafiltration

An inevitable problem feature of membrane processing is concentration polarization (CF) which is a result of the accumulation of retained solutes at the membrane surface. In ultrafiltration (UF), this accumulation can lead to fouling due to the irreversible deposition of macromolecules both at the membrane surface and in the membrane pores. To reduce or control CP and folding, many possible methods have been considered [1]. One of the most effective approaches is to induce fluid instability near the membrane surface by using pusation flow [2, 3], Taylor [4] and Dean [5, 6] vortex flows. Winzeler and Belfort [6] have comprehensively reviewed several possible attempts to use fluid instabihties for improved membrane performance.