Water-oil separation process using a porous ceramic membrane module: An investigation by cfd

Environmental concern has encouraged development related to polluted water treatment. Produced water originated from oil exploration has been submitted to different separation processes such as settling tanks, floaters, two-phase and three-phase separators, hydrocyclones, and membranes. On the use of membranes, the goal is to separate soluble components from solutions based on the size, charge, shape, and molecular interactions between the solute and membrane surface. In the present work, a numerical study was developed on the oil-water mixture separation process using a porous ceramic membrane module. The mathematical model used in this research is composed of mass and momentum conservation equations coupled to Darcy's law and SST k-ra turbulence model. Simulations were carried out employing the Ansys CFX commercial software. Results of the pressure, velocity, oil concentration distribution inside the device and membrane are presented and discussed. The results showed that the geometric aspects of the proposed microfiltration module and the membrane distribution within the separation module had a significant influence on the hydrodynamic flow leading to polarized layer dispersion. © 2021 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland.