Search results for " Simulation"

Bipolar membrane (reverse) electrodialysis acid/base flow battery for energy storage: a multi-scale model for increased efficiency

2019

The renewable energy market is rapidly increasing. Most of renewable energy sources are intermittent, e.g. wind and solar among them. This has led to the need for new large scale energy storage systems. In this regard, the Acid/Base Flow Battery (AB-FB) represents an innovative, safe and sustainable way to store energy with high performances [1]. The energy density accumulated in an AB-FB, in the form of pH and salinity gradients, can theoretically reach 7 kWh/m8 which is higher than the values relevant to the most used technologies (e.g. pumped hydropower and compressed air). The core of the battery is the stack where two membrane separation processes are carried out: bipolar membrane elec…

New considerations for modelling a MED-TVC plant under dynamic conditions

2019

Abstract The multiple-effect distillation (MED) technology is nowadays the most promising desalination process to be coupled with variable heat sources, thus leading to a more sustainable way to produce water. In order to prove the potential of this, it is of major interest to develop powerful modelling tools to predict the performance of this coupling. Only a few models have been presented so far. They show promising results but were based on some simplifying assumptions and non-physical constraints that could limit the analysis of the dynamic behaviour of a MED plant. This paper presents new considerations for the dynamic modelling of a MED plant associated with a thermal vapour compressi…

Numerical prediction of flow fields in baffled stirred vessels: A comparison of alternative modelling approaches

1998

Abstract Numerical simulations of the flow field in baffled mixing tanks, based on three alternative methods, are presented and discussed. In the first method, the impeller is not explicitly simulated, and its effects are modelled by imposing suitable, empirically derived, boundary conditions to the external flow. In the second method, the whole vessel volume is divided into two concentric, partially overlapping, regions. In the inner region, containing the impeller, the flow field is simulated in the rotating reference frame of the latter, while in the outer region simulations are conducted in the reference frame of the laboratory. Information is iteratively exchanged between the two regio…

Investigation of heat transfer in spacer-filled channels by experiments and direct numerical simulations

2016

Abstract The analysis of flow fields and heat or mass transfer phenomena is of great importance in the optimum design of spacer-filled channel geometries for a variety of membrane-based processes. In the present work, models of spacer-filled channels often adopted in Membrane Distillation are simultaneously investigated by experiments and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Experiments rely on a non-intrusive technique, based on the use of Thermochromic Liquid Crystals (TLC) and digital image processing, and provide the local distribution of the convective heat transfer coefficient on a thermally active wall. CFD relies on steady-state (laminar flow) simulations in the lower end of the Reyn…

CFD Simulation of Particle Suspension Height in Stirred Vessels

2004

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation capabilities for stirred solid–liquid dense systems are explored. These systems may give rise to the formation of a thick and well defined clear liquid layer in the upper part of the vessel, whose extension progressively reduces with increasing impeller speed. Experimental measurements of the suspension height (the height of the particle laden layer) were carried out at various agitation speeds for a variety of solid–liquid systems in a fully baffled transparent tank. A clear layer of liquid was actually observed in all runs, with the suspension height almost linearly dependent on agitation speed. CFD simulations of the above described systems w…

Effect of spacer geometry on the process performance of pervaporation membrane modules

2009

On the simulation of stirred tank reactors via computational fluid dynamics

2000

Abstract Predictions of flow fields in a stirred tank reactor, obtained by computational fluid dynamics, were used for the simulation of a mixing sensitive process consisting of two parallel reactions competing for a common reagent: A + B → Prod .1 A + C → Prod .2. Experimental data were obtained for A = OH − , B = 1 2 Cu ++ and C=ethyl-chloroacetate. For this reaction scheme the final selectivity of the process, easily measured by a simple colorimetric analysis of the residual Cu++, was found to depend on agitation speed and therefore on the mixing history during the batch process. The flow field-based three-dimensional simulations performed here led to predictions that compared very well …

Water desalination by capacitive electrodialysis: Experiments and modelling

2020

Abstract Electrodialysis-related technologies keep spreading in multiple fields, among which water desalination still plays a major role. A new technology that has not yet been thoroughly investigated is capacitive electrodialysis (CED), which couples the standard ED with capacitive electrodes. CED has a number of advantages such as removal of toxic products and system simplification. Little mention is made of this technology in the literature and, to the best of our knowledge, no modelling works have ever been presented. In this work, the CED process has been studied through experiments and modelling. A CED model is presented for the first time. With a simple calibration based on macroscop…

Lagrangian simulation of bubbling dynamics in a lab-scale 2D fluidized bed

2013

The present work focuses on the development of a novel computational code able to predict with a reasonable level of accuracy the bubble behavior in gas fluidized beds with minimum computational demands. The code simulates the bubble chaotic rise motion and coalescence along bed height via simple lagrangian tracking of bubbles. An original empirical model for the assessment of bubble-bubble interactions is developed. The code is used to simulate a lab-scale unit in bubbling and slugging mode. On this basis, fast simulations are performed to successfully predict bubble population and fluxes within the bed. The main aim of this code is to be embedded within CAPE codes for the process simulati…

CFD Predictions of Sufficient Suspension Conditions in Solid-Liquid Agitated Tanks

2012

Abstract Most research efforts on mechanically agitated solid-liquid contactors have been devoted to the assessment of the minimum impeller speed for complete off-bottom suspension, N js . Actually, many industrial vessels are operated at impeller speeds slightly lower than N js (Oldshue, 1983; Rieger et al., 1988). This suggests that the sufficient suspension condition, which is quantitatively specified in this paper by introducing a suitably defined quantity N ss , may represent a valid alternative to that of complete suspension. In the present work time-dependent RANS simulations were carried out with the aim of predicting the achievement of sufficient suspension conditions. The Eulerian…