Numerical study on the effect of insulator size and shape on fouling suppression by electrodeless dielectrophoresis in submerged membrane bioreactors

Abstract

The application of obstacle dielectrophoresis has the potential to enhance membrane fouling suppression in submerged membranes bioreactors while requiring low energy consumption. In this study, the effect of the insulators shapes and sizes is investigated in order to optimize the interidigitated electrodes configuration placed inside the submerged membrane module. Three cylindrical insulators with 1 mm, 1.5 mm and 2 mm diameters are considered. A 2 mm square section insulator is also tested. The theoretical results show that the DEP force extension is greater with the higher diameter of 2 mm when using cylindrical insulators. On the other hand, the use of square section insulators increases the overall electric field gradient squared by 16 % compared to the 2 mm cylindrical insulators. It also extends the dielectrophoresis (DEP) force field more uniformly while generating a sufficient force to move the suspended solids away from the membrane. ? 2018 Author(s).