Ceramic membrane filtration technology with high efficiency and economy, stable filtration and strong environmental adaptability, has been used in a wide fields, such as water treatment, gas filtration, chemical industry, pharmaceutical industry and food production. And it shows great potential in the process of separation, clarification, purification, concentration, sterilization and desalination. However, in the process of filtration, membrane fouling which is the adsorption and deposition of organics, inorganic salts, colloidal particles and sludge flocs in raw water on the membrane surface or membrane pore is one of the main problems of development on ceramic membrane filtration technology. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of membrane filtration process is an economic and effective research method. Through this method, the mathematical model and simulation model of the membrane filtration process were established and improved continuously. The permeation mechanism, membrane fouling mechanism and concentration polarization mechanism of membrane filtration process were discussed. Nowadays, the phenomena of permeation, membrane fouling and concentration polarization in ceramic membrane filtration process can be simulated and predicted by CFD control equations and CFD models. Through the analysis and discussion of the simulation results, the mechanism of membrane filtration process can be further studied. The effects of the structural parameters of membrane and membrane module, filtration process parameters and filter structure parameters on the filtration performance of ceramic membrane were studied. And these parameters were optimized by CFD simulation to reduce pollution rate and improve filtration efficiency and membrane service life. In this paper, the principle and advantages of CFD technology were introduced; the research progress of CFD technology in membrane and membrane module structure optimization and membrane fouling in filtration process were reviewed; the relevant CFD models used in CFD simulation of membrane fouling were discussed; the effects of fluid characteristics in ceramic membrane, such as pressure distribution, concentration polarization, penetration speed and flow field distribution were analyzed by the different parameters, which are structure of membrane and membrane module, operation parameters of membrane filtration process and filter structure. Finally, the development trend of CFD simulation of ceramic membrane filtration process was introduced. © 2021, Materials Review Magazine. All right reserved.
