[hirashijas]

Hi everyone,

I am trying to model a water treatment scheme. To make things simpler, hot water flows above a membrane and cold water flows below the membrane. Due to the temperature difference (vapour pressure difference) a small percentage of water is expected to pass through the membrane from the hot side to the cold side. My question is, can I model the membrane using the porous media option available in Ansys Fluent? Thanks in advance.

[Martin_Sz]

## Modeling Membrane Separation in Water Treatment with Ansys Fluent

Yes, you can potentially model the membrane in your water treatment scheme using the porous media option available in Ansys Fluent, but with some limitations. Here's a breakdown:

**Porous Media Approach:**

* This approach treats the membrane as a resistance to flow based on its physical properties like porosity and permeability.
* You can define the membrane properties in the "Material" section of Fluent and assign them to a cell zone representing the membrane.
* Fluent will then calculate the flow of water through the membrane based on pressure and temperature differences across it.

**Limitations:**

* The porous media approach does not capture the specific mechanisms of membrane separation, such as size exclusion or selective adsorption.
* You might need to calibrate the membrane properties (porosity, permeability) based on experimental data or manufacturer specifications for your specific membrane type.

**Alternative Approach:**

* A more accurate approach would be to use a User-Defined Function (UDF) in Fluent.
* The UDF can be programmed to account for the specific separation mechanism of your membrane based on the properties of water and the membrane itself.

More at link below
https://howtooansys.blogspot.com/202...-in-water.html