Tailoring turbulence promoter geometry and material to enhance hydrodynamics and mitigate fouling in ultrafiltration

Al-Tayawi, Aws N. and Horváth Hovorka, Zsuzsanna and Castilleja-Escobedo, Orlando and De Haro Del Rio, David and López-Salinas, José L. and Kertész, Szabolcs (2026) Tailoring turbulence promoter geometry and material to enhance hydrodynamics and mitigate fouling in ultrafiltration. HELIYON, 12 (16). No. e45716. ISSN 2405-8440

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Abstract

In this study, the impact of various designs and materials of turbulence promoters used to mitigate membrane fouling using dairy model wastewater in a laboratory-scale ultrafiltration unit has been studied and investigated. Membrane separation parameters were examined, including total, reversible, and irreversible resistances, membrane retention, and permeate flux. Using a transmembrane pressure of 0.3 MPa, a stirring speed of 400 rpm, and a 20 kDa polyethersulfone membrane as fixed operational parameters, various turbulence promoter designs printed with different materials were tested to determine the optimal design and material. It was found that certain turbulence promoter designs, particularly PLA-UE and PLA-S, significantly improved the average permeate fluxes and slightly enhanced COD retentions. Furthermore, among the different printed materials tested, the resin stood out, significantly increasing the permeate flux while reducing the total resistance. A computational fluid dynamics model was specified to analyze the effect of turbulence promoters on the hydrodynamics of the filtration system. Statistical analysis was also performed to optimize these parameters.

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