Computational fluid dynamics simulation for carbon dioxide gas transport through polydimethylsiloxane membrane with gyroid structure

Abstract

Abstract Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation is a scientific approach that produces quantitative predictions of fluid flow phenomenon based on conservation laws governing fluid motions. It is one of commercial methods to analyze fluid separation via membrane technology. In this paper, membrane technology was applied because of its well-known advantages, including high surface area, compact design, ease of maintenance, environmentally friendly nature, and cost effectiveness. CFD simulation was conducted to simulate the fluid flow of carbon dioxide (CO2) via polymeric membrane by using ANSYS Fluent. Designing the models and simulation of hydrodynamic profile were done to analyze separation performances of the polymeric membrane with gyroid structure for the gases released from power plant. Comparison were done by simulating the same profile for a flat-sheet membrane. Based on the result of the simulation, gyroid membrane and flat-sheet membrane recovered as much as 25.49% CO2 and 22.72% CO2, respectively, from binary mixture of CO2 and nitrogen (N2). It is speculated that, gyroid membrane can be slightly more efficient than flat-sheet membrane in CO2 separation.