Mass transfer simulation of solvent extraction in hollow-fiber membrane contactors Original Research Article

The extraction of heavy metals through the membrane contactors was theoretically investigated. Extraction of Cu2+ with a kerosene solution of di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) was studied. Simulations were performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of mass and momentum transfer in all subdomains of a circular membrane contactor. The membrane contactor consists of three sections: lumen, membrane and shell side. Conservation equations were derived for Cu2+ in the membrane contactor and were solved numerically based on finite element method (FEM). The distribution profiles of velocity, concentration and pressure were obtained for the solute. Simulation results showed an extraction efficiency of 85.8% for Cu2+ while the pressure drop is not appreciable along the membrane contactor. Furthermore, simulation results revealed that the membrane contactors are efficient equipments for the extraction of heavy metals.