Measurement of pressure around porous membranes using a cell pressure probe

Estimating pressure variation is essential in membrane systems because it is the primary factor that affects the energy for system operation. Although numerous researches were conducted studies, most previous studies focused on the hydraulic roles of single membrane. In this study, we examined the pressure variations caused by membranes considering the effects of flow rate, number of membranes, and distance between the membranes. Membranes were integrated into a tygon tube and pressure was measured by using a cell pressure probe with the lapse of time. We evaluated theoretical pressure values by using Poiseuille's law and compared them with the experimental results. The measured pressure values are well matched with the theoretical results. This indicates that the CPP can be used to reliably measure the pressure of fluid flows in a tube. As a result, when the flow rate increases 200 times, the increasing rate (slope) of pressure increases 25.9 times and the hydraulic resistance increases by 27.5% as the number n increases 1 to 3. In addition, as the distance between two membranes increases more than 6 cm, the flow pressure of the flow passing the two membranes approaches the value for passing a single membrane. This study will be helpful to understand the pressure variations in various porous fluidic systems composed of membranes.