Research Interests
Fluidized bed technology represents an important industrial application, spanning energy production, chemical synthesis, and pharmaceutical processes, among others. However, due in part to the limitations of measurement techniques, processes employing particulate flows often operate below design capacity, and operations are generally based on experience rather than theory. Thus, my research focuses on the important need for the development of measurement and/or analytical solutions for understanding and diagnostic purposes. Another area of research is scaling analysis of fluidized bed systems to develop design heuristics. In fluidized bed systems an added complexity involves instabilities that have to be included in a comprehensive model. To date, the prediction of the characteristic instability length (e.g., the bubble or cluster size) remains elusive, despite its importance in enhancing our comprehension of various phenomena (e.g., species segregation and clustering) in polydisperse fluidized beds. To this end, systematic scaling analysis is expected to be useful in the design and optimization of fluidized bed systems.

Membrane technology also spans wide-ranging applications, such as water purification, gas separation, and dialysis. However, optimal performance remains elusive due inevitably to concentration polarization and fouling. Specifically for membrane distillation, although rigorous equations have been developed, the inability to account for the wide spectrum of pore sizes of the membrane and/or biofouling layer inhibits the use of such models for predicting the performance. In particular, membrane distillation enables the production of potable water using waste heat from industrial processes, thus makes for a promising Green Technology. Hence, one area of my research will be towards developing new techniques for characterizing pore sizes (such as evapoporometry), which is expected to lead to a better understanding and optimization of membrane processes. Another thrust involves study of an integrated hybrid process comprising a fluidized bed and a membrane for water purification. More specifically, the addition of particles to a tubular membrane module has been shown to significantly enhance the water permeation flux due to promoting turbulence. For the system to become a feasible and reliable method for separations, further enhancement of performance is warranted.