Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2022) 137: 494
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-02709-4

Regular Article

Time-dependent numerical investigation of 3-hydroxypropionic acid extraction using a microporous membrane contactor

¹ School of Computer Science and Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, 710021, Xi’an, China
² Department of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
³ Department of Applied Science, Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest, V94 EC5T, Moylish, Limerick, Ireland
⁴ Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, 550000, Da Nang, Viet Nam
⁵ The Faculty of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Duy Tan University, 550000, Da Nang, Viet Nam

^b Taghvaiali@yahoo.com
^d mahdighadiri@duytan.edu.vn

Received: 4 March 2022
Accepted: 8 April 2022
Published online: 21 April 2022

Abstract

Extraction process of acidic materials inside the microporous membrane contactors has been an interesting subject all over the world. In this paper, a novel time-dependent two-dimensional (2D) mathematical model is aimed to be developed to simulate the 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) extraction from an aqueous solution through a microporous membrane wall into an organic phase. The developed model is taken into consideration both axial as well as radial diffusion in the tube, membrane and shell sections of the extractor, and the structure is simplified to a single hollow fibre. It was found good agreement between experimental results and modelling values in terms of 3-HP extraction as function of time. About 100% 3-HP extraction was obtained after 180 min for all three different carriers’ concentration. The rate of extraction was higher at the beginning, while it was decreased with time progress in the system. The main resistance for 3-HP mass transfer was obtained at the membrane side. Also, there was slight resistance for mass transfer in the tube side at time of 1 and 20 min.