Membrane filtration of macromolecular substances: Measurement and Modelling on the micro- and macro-scales

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Hermann Nirschl
• Subject Area: Mechanical Process Engineering ; Analytical Chemistry ; Chemical and Thermal Process Engineering
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 445295981

Modelling of spatially and time resolved MRI data (MRI: magnetic resonance imaging) regarding structure and flow during filtration will lead to an in-depth understanding of filtration processes of macromolecules in hollow fiber membranes. Integral process parameters determine the filtration processes also on the microscopic scale – in addition to microscopically, spatially varying parameters like membrane properties and substances to be filtrated. The proposal focuses on questions of appropriate measurement protocols and on filtration modelling exploring the physicochemical properties of deposits, the dispersion coefficients, mixing and reversibility.Structural images and flow of macromolecular solutions will be measured during filtration in hollow fiber membranes. Velocity fields will be correlated with the deposits and their geometry as well as with a potentially spatially varying viscosity. Dispersion coefficients will be measured spatially resolved. A systematic in situ measurement of these quantities during filtration will be combined with the measurement of macroscopic quantities. This will be the basis for further development on filtration models. The focus will be to combine microscopic and macroscopic parameters for modelling the filtration processes on different length scales.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professorin Dr. Gisela Guthausen