Mitigating Fouling of Membranes in the Microfiltration of Metal-Working Fluid for Sustainable Manufacturing

微滤是一种基于膜的技术，可使受污染的金属加工液在使用过程中得到回收，并显著延长其使用寿命。这项研究旨在加强我们对微滤膜污染物理学的理解，并将这种理解应用于减轻污染，从而使其能够用于可持续制造。本研究将沿着三个主要的研究方向进行：（1）建立并验证一个包含流体动力学、货车德瓦尔斯力、静电力和布朗运动的三维计算流体动力学模型;（2）通过考察单个和多个微乳液和聚集体的运动，利用该模型来理解膜污染的物理过程;和（3）使用结垢机理的集合知识来产生设计成具有减轻结垢流体性质的重新配制的半合成金属加工流体。这项研究的完成将提供一个坚实的知识基础，可用于减少污染的三种方式，即，改变操作条件，以尽量减少污染内给定的设置，重新设计膜，将防污涂层和孔形态，并设计流体更兼容的微滤膜。 通过这项研究加深对结垢机理的理解将有助于消除广泛采用微滤技术的障碍，并通过减少数百万加仑的有害金属加工液废物及其相关毒素来促进加工行业的可持续性。此外，对结垢机理的了解不仅可能导致加工行业的可持续性改善，而且改善了食品加工、水净化和废水处理社区。在这项研究中开发的建模方法的影响并不限于膜微滤应用，因为所有的过滤技术都必须处理污染的问题。这项工作将产生的重要影响之一是作为一个？打开门？可持续制造的概念。

Microfiltration is a membrane-based technology that enables contaminated metalworking fluids to be recycled while in use and significantly extends their lifespan. This research is directed at strengthening our understanding of the physics of fouling of microfiltration membranes and applying that understanding to mitigate fouling, thereby enabling its use for sustainable manufacturing. The work will proceed along three primary research foci: (1) create and validate a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic model of a tortuous pore network that incorporates hydrodynamic, van der Waals, electrostatic forces, and Brownian motion; (2) use the model to understand the physics of membrane fouling through examination of the motion of single and multiple microemulsions and aggregates; and (3) use the assembled knowledge of fouling mechanisms to create a reformulated semisynthetic metalworking fluid designed with fouling-mitigating fluid properties. The completion of this research will provide a solid knowledge base that can be used to reduce fouling in three ways, namely, changing operational conditions to minimize fouling within a given setup, redesigning membranes to incorporate anti-fouling coatings and pore morphology, and designing fluids to be more compatible with the microfiltration membranes. The enhanced understanding of fouling mechanism through this research will help to eliminate the barriers to widespread adoption of microfiltration technology and encourage sustainability within the machining industry through the reduction of millions of gallons of hazardous metalworking fluid waste and the toxins associated with it. In addition, the knowledge gained on fouling mechanisms will not only likely lead to sustainability improvements within the machining industry, but also improvements in the food processing, water purification, and waste-water processing communities. The impact of the modeling approaches developed in this research is not limited to membrane microfiltration applications, as all filtration techniques have to deal with the issue of fouling. One of the important impacts that this work will have is to serve as an ?open door? into the concept of sustainable manufacturing.