TY - JOUR
T1 - A comprehensive review of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling of membrane gas separation process
AU - Imran, Muhammad
AU - Lau, Kok Keong
AU - Ahmad, Faizan
AU - Laziz, Afiq Mohd
PY - 2025/6/5
Y1 - 2025/6/5
N2 - Membrane gas separation (MGS) process is a rapidly growing technology applied in various industries for acid gas removal, nitrogen generation & oxygen enrichment, and hydrogen recovery. While CO2 capture remains a major area of research, nitrogen production and other applications also represent significant portions of the current global MGS market. Mathematical modelling and simulation are essential tools for understanding membrane performance, optimizing system design and enabling industrial-scale implementation. Among these tools, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) offers detailed, spatially resolved insights into flow dynamics, mass transfer, and transport phenomena that are otherwise difficult to assess experimentally. However, most CFD studies to date rely on ideal assumptions, neglecting crucial non-ideal effects such as real gas deviations, pressure drop, and the Joule-Thomson effect. These omissions can lead to overpredicted performance and limit the applicability of CFD models to real-world membrane gas separation systems. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of CFD modelling in membrane-based gas separation, evaluating various module configurations, computational methodologies, boundary conditions, and key modelling assumptions. It also compares CFD with non-CFD modelling approaches, identifies critical research gaps and outlines future research directions. The particular emphasis is placed on integrating non-ideal behaviors into CFD models, aiming to enhance their predictive reliability, modelling accuracy, and practical applicability in the design and operation of industrial membrane gas separation systems.
AB - Membrane gas separation (MGS) process is a rapidly growing technology applied in various industries for acid gas removal, nitrogen generation & oxygen enrichment, and hydrogen recovery. While CO2 capture remains a major area of research, nitrogen production and other applications also represent significant portions of the current global MGS market. Mathematical modelling and simulation are essential tools for understanding membrane performance, optimizing system design and enabling industrial-scale implementation. Among these tools, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) offers detailed, spatially resolved insights into flow dynamics, mass transfer, and transport phenomena that are otherwise difficult to assess experimentally. However, most CFD studies to date rely on ideal assumptions, neglecting crucial non-ideal effects such as real gas deviations, pressure drop, and the Joule-Thomson effect. These omissions can lead to overpredicted performance and limit the applicability of CFD models to real-world membrane gas separation systems. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of CFD modelling in membrane-based gas separation, evaluating various module configurations, computational methodologies, boundary conditions, and key modelling assumptions. It also compares CFD with non-CFD modelling approaches, identifies critical research gaps and outlines future research directions. The particular emphasis is placed on integrating non-ideal behaviors into CFD models, aiming to enhance their predictive reliability, modelling accuracy, and practical applicability in the design and operation of industrial membrane gas separation systems.
U2 - 10.1016/j.rineng.2025.105531
DO - 10.1016/j.rineng.2025.105531
M3 - Review article
SN - 2590-1230
VL - 26
JO - Results in Engineering
JF - Results in Engineering
M1 - 105531
ER -