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Process intensification study of concentration polarization extraction-based membrane concentration using computational fluid dynamics

Authors： YIN Jiawei1,2, YANG Xu2, SHEN Fei2, LIN Chunxiang1, WAN Yinhua2, CHEN Guoqiang2

Units： 1. School of Advanced Manufacturing, Fuzhou University, Jinjiang 362251, China; 2. State Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

KeyWords： concentration polarization extraction; CFD simulation; combined gravitational and electric fields; protein viscosity; inlet flow velocity

ClassificationCode：TQ028

year,volume(issue):pagination： 2026,46(1):154-163

Abstract：

The concentration polarization (CP) extraction-based membrane concentration technology enables the collection of high-concentration protein solutions from the CP layer, offering advantages such as low shear stress and low energy consumption. However, efficient methods for extracting the CP layer are still lacking. To improve the protein concentration efficiency of this technique, this study employed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to construct a two-dimensional numerical model that systematically simulated the effects of external fields (gravitational field, electric field, and combined gravitational and electric fields) and key process parameters (protein viscosity and inlet flow velocity) on the performance of migration and extraction of the CP layer. The results showed that all the external fields could effectively enhance the CP layer’s migration, with the combined fields achieving the highest extraction efficiency. Additionally, increased protein viscosity and inlet flow velocity negatively affected the extraction performance. This study used CFD simulation to elucidate the critical role of external fields and process parameters in the CP layer extraction based membrane concentration technique, providing valuable guidance for developing such emerging technology’s process intensification and control strategy.

Funds：

国家自然科学基金面上项目（22178352）；中国科学院百人计划项目（2023000366）

AuthorIntro：

殷嘉伟（1998-），男，江苏宜兴人，硕士研究生，研究方向为生物大分子的膜分离

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