文摘
The present study offers a novel coiled flow inverter (CFI) membrane module for higher permeate flux without consuming extra material or energy compared to helical coil membrane module. The proposed CFI membrane module is fabricated by bending of helical coil at 90° with equal arm lengths before and after the bend. The mass transfer and shear stress in CFI membrane module are also compared with straight tube module in addition to the helical coiled membrane module for two different gas–liquid contact systems, viz., oxygenation and carbonation. The Sherwood number increases by 10–20% for oxygenation and up to 26% for carbonation process in CFI membrane module as compared to helical coil membrane module, under identical process conditions. The mass transfer in CFI membrane module is augmented because of the reduced radial gradient caused by intensified radial flow due to the complete flow inversion. The CFI membrane module offers 3.5- to 5.5-fold enhancement in Sherwood number. The number of merits of CFI module has been observed up to 2.5 for oxygenation and 2.7 for carbonation process, as compared to that of the straight tube module. The literature data on different helical coil membrane modules have been revisited over a wide range of design parameters, and an empirical correlation is proposed for Sherwood number.