Particle transport in clean membrane filters in laminar flow

Particle transport and deposition studies in laminar cross-flow membrane filtration are reported. Particle residence time distributions (RTDs) in experimental conditions typical of ultra- and microfiltration are compared with theoretical predictions incorporating the effects of hydrodynamic, Coulombic, electrodynamic, and external gravity forces. Numerical simulations show that, for a given flow field, mechanisms controlling lateral migration in the far-field region in membrane afters depend primarily on inertial, gravity, and permeation drag forces. The theory accurately predicts first passage times and multimodal RTDs under conditions of high membrane permeability and fast axial flows.