CFD modeling of the perovskite hollow fiber membrane modules for oxygen separation

A 3D model is developed based on the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method to investigate the behavior of perovskite hollow fiber membrane modules for oxygen separation. The User Defined Functions (UDFs) and FLUENT software are used to calculate simulation results and validated by the experimental data from a La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF) membrane module, which was assembled with 7 hollow fiber membranes. The effect of operating conditions such as preheating air feed, pressurizing air feed, and/or vacuuming has been investigated based on the oxygen permeation rate, temperature, oxygen concentration and gas velocity distribution in the membrane module. The simulation results indicate that increasing the vacuum level on the permeate side is far more effective to improve the oxygen separation rate than increasing the pressure on the air feed side. Preheating the air feed with the air effluent or the oxygen product also noticeably enhances the oxygen separation performance of the module.