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 (TiO 2 ) 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 (0°, 45°, and 90°) on the mass-transfer coefficient are reported. The effect of TiO 2 and viscosity on the mass transport has been investigated using different percentages of TiO 2, from 0.025% to 0.1%, and two values of viscosity, 1.0 × 10 - 3 and 1.9 × 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 TiO 2 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.