Experimental study and CFD modelling of an inorganic membrane module for H2 purification

This work is aimed at investigating the capability of a fully predictive Computational Fluid Dynamics approach to reliably calculate the fluid dynamic and the separation performances of a lab-scale module based on inorganic membranes, for hydrogen purification. The simulations are based on the numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for a gas phase mixture on the three dimensional domain representing quite closely the module geometry. The tubular membrane is modelled as a selective layer, which allows the permeation of different components as a function of the transport mechanism and the driving force. The computational strategy is strictly evaluated by comparing the results with experimental data obtained through permeation experiments. The simulation predictions show fairly good agreement with the experiments and allow to recognize the critical local fluid dynamic features of the separation module.