Computational fluid dynamics applied to membranes: State of the art and opportunities

Membrane filtration has become firmly established as a primary technology for ensuring the purity, safety and/or efficiency of the treatment of water or effluents. In this paper, we review the improvements that have been achieved concerning the membranes used for microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration/reverse osmosis processes during the last decades. More especially, we review the state of the art computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods applied to membranes processes. Many studies have focused on the best ways of using a particular membrane process. But, the design of new membrane systems requires a considerable amount of process development as well as robust methods. Computational fluid dynamics may provide a lot of interesting information for the development of membrane processes. We review the different ways in which CFD methods are used to improve membrane performance.