A Concise Review of Theoretical Models and Numerical Simulations of Membrane Fouling

Membrane fouling can cause severe flux drops and affect the quality of produced water, which is a major obstacle for membrane applications. Great efforts have been made to examine theoretical models numerical simulations behavior mechanisms in past decades, but there lack literature providing systematic summary. This work aims present state-of-the-art review principles, applicability advantages (i.e., concentration polarization, cake layer formation blocking models), computational fluid dynamics, Monte Carlo simulation, artificial neural networks) mechanisms. Through these simulations, behaviors foulant particles at microscopic level are analyzed detail from perspective force, energy, particle trajectory during process. The concise summary modeling this gives guidelines selection application simulate process accurately, optimization operation membrane-based processes.