Study on the filtration performance of ultrafiltration membranes based on computational fluid dynamics

Purpose This study aims to comprehensively understand and enhance the filtration performance of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. Design/methodology/approach This study used experimental techniques and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate the impact of material blending ratios and additive contents on the performance of UF membranes. Findings The results revealed that the optimal conditions, with a 90/10 material blend and 2.0 wt% additives, resulted in the lowest filtration resistance (1.98 × 1012 m−1) and the highest permeation flux (6.21 × 10−5 m/s). In addition, the study found that as the UF time increased, shear stress initially escalated before descending, while the total filtration resistance trended upward overall, and the permeation flux decreased. Originality/value CFD provides a cost-effective and high-resolution approach to analyze flow dynamics, enabling predictive optimization of membrane materials and real-time fouling behavior monitoring, which are unattainable through traditional experimental methods alone.