Mass transfer in corrugated membranes

The flux per volume across selective membranes can potentially be increased by at least five times using corrugated membranes. This increase is import ant because membrane selectivity is often inversely related to membrane Aux . The flux across a selective membrane which is hampered by low permeabilit y can be increased by making the membrane thin and by having a large membra ne area per volume, e.g., by using hollow fibers. Where these flux increase s are insufficient, membrane corrugations could supply further gains. This paper derives a theory predicting these increases. The theory is verified f or pervaporation of aqueous chloroform, ethanol and other solutes across ma crocorrugated polydimethylsiloxane membranes. The results supply criteria w hich must be met by any nanocorrugated membranes. (C)2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.