Gas—liquid two-phase flow in microfiltration mineral tubular membranes: relationship between flux enhancement and hydrodynamic parameters Original Research Article

An application of the gas—liquid two-phase flow for the flux enhancement during the microfiltration of aqueous titanium dioxide dispersions on an aluminium oxide tubular membrane has been studied. The results of experiments showed a positive effect of the constant gas—liquid two-phase flow on the flux. It might be concluded from the analysis of experimental results based on the dead-end filtration model that a two-phase flow seemed to expand the particle cake as it increased both the cake porosity and thickness, thus allowing higher fluxes. A mathematical model for the flux prediction during two-phase gas—liquid microfiltration has been developed. The results showed a good agreement between experimental data and model prediction.