Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.42, No.22, 5697-5701, 2003
Mass transport in cross-corrugated membranes and the influence of TiO2 for separation processes
This study was carried out to improve our knowledge on the effect of cross-corrugated membranes as turbulence promoters and on the influence of solid (TiO2) in the fluid on mass transport behavior in cross-corrugated membrane systems. The electrochemical limiting-current technique has been employed to determine mass-transfer coefficients. The influence of cross-corrugated flow channels and the orientation of flow to the angle of corrugation (0degrees, 45degrees, and 90degrees) on the mass-transfer coefficient are reported. The effect of TiO2 and viscosity on the mass transport has been investigated using different percentages of TiO2, from 0.025% to 0.1%, and two values Of Viscosity, 1.0 X 10(-3) and 1.9 x 10(-3) kg m(-1) s(-1) (Sc = 1483 and 4997, respectively). It was observed that, as the viscosity increases, the mass transport coefficient decreases. The presence of TiO2 implies slightly decreased values of the mass-transfer coefficient. The mass-transfer correlation showed that, at low values of Reynolds number (values of the Reynolds number in the range of 100-1400), laminar flow conditions do not exist.