Test questions and problems "Membrane Technology"

22.02.00

1. Describe the mode of mass transport through a synthetic membrane assuming as driving force: 1. a pressure gradient 2. a chemical potential gradient 3. an electrical potential gradient What are the equations used the commonly to describe the different forms of transport? 2. 3. 4. Describe the two different form of carrier facilitated transport. Describe co- and countercurrent coupled transport in electrolyte solutions. What is the coupling force? Membranes are generally characterized by their permeability, selectivity and rejection for certain components. How is the selectivity and rejection of a membrane expressed in processing a two component micture? The state of a system is described by a state function such as the Gibbs' free energy. Described the Gibbs' free energy and its change as a function of temperature and pressure for a system that has no exchange of matter with the surrounding and a system that has exchange of matter with the surrounding. What is the relation between the Gibbs' free energy and the chemical potential of a component in a system? Describe the change of chemical potential of a component at constant temperature as function of pressure and composition. Give the definition of entropy for reversible and irreversible processes What is the definition of the dissipation function in spontaneous membrane processes at constant temperature? Describe the osmotic phenomenon for a simple two component solution. What are the boundary conditions to obtain an osmotic pressure, osmotic flow and osmotic equilibrium? Describe the electrochemical equilibrium and the Donnan potential and its consequences for the transport of ions through membrane which carries fixed electrical charges?

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Describe the mass transport through a membrane in a two component mixture at constant temperature and pressure by: a) the phenomenological relations of the the thermodynamic of irreversible process b) the Stefan-Maxwell equation c) Ficks' law Show the difference between the Ficks' diffusion coefficient the Stefan-Maxwell diffusion coefficient and the phenomenological coefficients.

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Describe the mass transport of a salt at constant temperature and pressure in a neutral membrane. Describe the Donnan equilibrium between two solutions of different Na+ -ion H+-ion concentrations separated by a strictly semipermeable cation-exchange membrane. Describe the flux of individual ions in electrodialysis under the driving force of a concentration and electrical potential gradient. Describe the electrical current in an electrolyte solution with multi-component salt mixture under the driving force of a concentration and electrical potential gradient. Show the relation between the specific conductivity in an electrolyte solution and the phenomenological coefficients of the transport equations. Describe the ion-transport number in a multi component electrolyte solution. Calculate the flux of pure water at 25o C and 1x 105 Pa applied hydrostatic pressure through a microfiltration membrane which has an average pore radius of 0.2 m an overall porosity of 0.7, a tortuosity factor of 1.2. The viscosity of water at 25o C is 10-3 kg m-1 s-1 . A reverse osmosis membrane has a hydrodynamic permeability of Lp = 4 x10-12 m s-1 Pa-1 and a salt rejection R = 0.995. The membrane is used to produce potable water from a saline solution of the following average composition: NaCl =25 kg m-3 , CaCl2 = 4.2 kg m-3 , Na 2 CO3 = 6.4 kg m-3 , Na HCO3 =2.0 kg m-3. The applied hydrostatic pressure is 6,5 x106 Pa. Calculate the membrane flux. MW- NaCl = 58.4, MW-Na2 CO3 =105.9, MW-NaHCO3 = 84.0 and MW CaCl2 =110.9. The reflection coefficient and the osmotic coefficient are assumed to be 1. Calculate the selectivity of a porous membrane operated at 25o C and 10x 105 Pa hydrostatic pressure for a N2 /O2 -mixture. The pore radius of the membrane is 2nm, the porosity is 0.6, tortuosity factor 1.2 and the molecular weight of O2 is 16 and that of N2 is 14.