An Inquiry into Aspects of Fouling in a Diffusiophoretic Separation System

Qu, Sam; Quasem, Maheer; Foun, Albert

Student Work

An Inquiry into Aspects of Fouling in a Diffusiophoretic Separation System

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Modern separation systems commonly use membranes or filters to trap and remove particles from mixtures or solutions. While effective, membrane separation systems can be energy intensive and require maintenance to replenish or replace membranes. Diffusiophoresis can be used to separate colloidal particles without the use of a fouling membrane; it does this by creating a concentration gradient with charged ions that drags particles in a certain direction. This approach allows for continuous separation that has the potential to be more cost and energy efficient. However, this technology is still being developed and has several gaps in research. One primary concern with a diffusiophoretic system is that physical limitations could inhibit separation efficiency and system practicality. Our team’s goal was to investigate the physical phenomena associated with a tube-in-tube diffusiophoretic separation system used for separating polystyrene in water. This included experimental trialing of fouling under varying conditions as well as a computational study of particle tracing and velocity profiles within the system to enhance our understanding of mixing within the system. This report highlights the practical issues of constructing and maintaining the system and reports the accumulation over time when there is active diffusiophoresis versus no diffusiophoresis which revealed that less fouling occurred in the presence of diffusiophoresis.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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