Characterization of particle deposition during crossflow filtration as influenced by permeate flux and crossflow velocity using a microfluidic filtration system

Abstract

Particle deposition during crossflow filtration is significantly influenced by the operating conditions, in particular the permeate flux and crossflow velocity. However, there is a lack of detailed knowledge about how deposit layer structures and distributions depend on operating parameters. This study uses a microfluidic visualisation filtration system to examine the influence of operating conditions on the deposition process during crossflow ultrafiltration from a microscopic perspective. Increasing the permeate flux caused an increasing amount of deposition and a thicker deposit layer. Higher crossflow velocities reduced the extent of deposition. The degree of deposition varied over a range of operating conditions due to the altered hydrodynamic forces exerted on the particles, which can be examined by the deposition probability according to an existing model. Building on this, an empirical correlation between the deposition probability and volume of deposition as a function of filtration time was developed, which gave good agreement with experimental results. The effect of solution conditions was also involved in this correlation as a interaction energies. This could be useful for predicting the dynamic deposition process during crossflow filtration over a range of operating and solution conditions.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

particle deposition / crossflow filtration / microfluidics / confocal microscopy

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Acknowledgements

This work was performed in part at the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) in the Victorian Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF).

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2020 Higher Education Press