Experimental and numerical study of the flux of isobutane vapors near saturation through multi-layered ceramic membranes
Dr. Thomas Loimer*
In the lecture entitled Experimental and numerical study of the flux of isobutane vapors near saturation through multi-layered ceramic membranes, Dr. Loimer will present the results of a study dealing with the transport of vapors of isobutane near saturation during permeation through multi-layered asymmetric membranes. The influence of the upstream state of the vapor, whether far or close to saturation, and of the orientation of the membrane on the mass flow rate was investigated. For a membrane with five layers, the mass flux increased about 80% for a vapor close to saturation. Also, close to saturation the mass flux in the flow direction from the separation layer to the support was up to 50% larger than in the opposite direction. Three theoretical descriptions of the flow process were applied, assuming that condensation may take place, with respect to heat transfer from the surroundings. For one description any heat transfer was neglected and the flow was assumed to be isothermal while for two other descriptions heat transfer and temperature variations due to condensation and evaporation were considered. Qualitatively, the increase of the mass flux for a vapor close to saturation and the dependence of the mass flux on the flow direction was recovered by all three descriptions.
*Dr. Thomas Loimer holds the position of Senior Scientist at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer at the Technical University of Wien. His research interests include vapor flow through the porous material, especially the study of condensation and evaporation in micro-porous membranes. He is working in particular on Process Simulation. Dr. Loimer has been cooperating with a group of Dr. P. Uchytil from our institute in the field of transport through porous membranes for almost 15 years. During this time, they worked on several joint projects and published 7 articles in prestigious international journals such as Separation and Purification Technology and Journal Membrane Science. Recently, they have focused especially on the transport of condensing gas in asymmetric porous membranes. Today’s lecture by Dr. Loimer deals with exactly this topic.
- Setničková K.,* Petričkovič R., Uchytil P., Loimer T.: Experimental and numerical study of the flux of isobutane vapors near saturation through multi-layered ceramic membranes. Separation and Purification Technology 2023, 306, 122604. doi: 10.1016/j.seppur.2022.122604