COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD) MODELING OF A PILOT-SCALE MEMBRANE FILTRATION TECHNOLOGY TO TREAT OILY WASTEWATER

Abstract

In this study, a pilot-scale membrane filtration system for the treatment of oily wastewater through a comprehensive three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was investigated. The model was designed and developed based on the characteristics of the pilot-scale system and validated using oil removal efficiency and average transmembrane pressure (TMP) obtained by the experimental data for two types of oily wastewater containing heavy crude oil, Cold Lake Dilbit (CLD) and light crude oil, Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (VLSFO). Results showed that the system met the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) 73/78 regulation when the inlet oil concentration was at the threshold of 270 mg/L and 330 mg/L containing CLD and VLSFO, respectively. In addition, the model was used to scale up for field-scale applications at a capacity of 10,000 L/h and results demonstrated that the oil removal efficiency was above 91%.