Simulation of reverse osmosis process: Novel approaches and development trends

Abstract

Reverse osmosis is an essential technological separation process that has a large number of practical applications. The mathematical simulation is significant for designing and determining the most effective modes of membrane equipment operation and for a deep understanding of the processes in membrane units. This paper is an attempt at systematization and generalizing the results of the investigations dedicated to reverse osmosis simulation, which was published from 2011 to 2020. The main approaches to simulation were analyzed, and the scope of use of each of them was delineated. It was defined that computational fluid dynamics was the most used technique for reverse osmosis simulation; the intensive increase in using of molecular dynamics methods was pointed out. Since these two approaches provide the deepest insight into processes, it is likely that they will further be widely used for reverse osmosis simulations. At the same time, for the simulation of the membrane plant, it is reasonable to use the models that required the simplest solutions methods. The solution-diffusion model appears to be the most effective and flexible for these purposes. Therefore, this model was widely used in considering the period. The practical problems solved using each of the considered approaches were reviewed. Moreover, the software used for the solution of the mathematical models was regarded.