Fouling of tube bundles in boilers on the flue gas side affects not only the service life, but also the boiler heat output and increases maintenance and operating costs. Therefore, it is necessary to minimize or completely eliminate this process. This thesis focuses on comparison of the service life and the heat output of the tube bundles with and without deposit in the coal fired boiler. Simulations of flue gas flow in area of tube bundles with and without deposit are performed using ANSYS Fluent software, which shows that the surface of tube bundles with deposit is much less heated than the surface without deposit. The thermal loads of tubes obtained by the CFD analysis are applied to the model, which is created in the program ANSYS Mechanical, where the calculation of the temperature field in the cross section of the pipe is realized. The effect of fouling on creep life and heat output is then evaluated based on simulation results. The results show that fouling increases creep life, but significantly reduces heat output of heavily fouled tubes. Hence the flue gas flows at a higher temperature to the rest of the tube bundle, and the service life of those tubes will therefore probably decrease.

Membrane Distillation (MD) is an emerging sustainable desalination technique. While MD has many advantages and can be powered by solar thermal energy, its main drawback is the low water production rate. However, the MD process has not been fully optimized in terms of its manipulated and controlled variables. This is largely due to the lack of adequate dynamic models to study and simulate the process. In addition, MD is prone to membrane fouling, which is a fault that degrades the performance of the MD process. This work has three contributions to address these challenges. First, we derive a mathematical model of Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD), which is the building block for the next parts. Then, the proposed model is extended to account for membrane fouling and an observer-based fouling detection method is developed. Finally, various control strategies are implemented to optimize the performance of the DCMD solar-powered process. In part one, a reduced-order dynamic model of DCMD is developed based on lumped capacitance method and electrical analogy to thermal systems. The result is an electrical equivalent thermal network to the DCMD process, which is modeled by a system of nonlinear differential algebraic equations (DAEs). This model predicts the water-vapor flux and the temperature distribution along the module length. Experimental data is collected to validate the steady-state and dynamic responses of the proposed model, with great agreement demonstrated in both. The second part proposes an extension of the model to account for membrane fouling. An adaptive observer for DAE systems is developed and convergence proof is presented. A method for membrane fouling detection is then proposed based on adaptive observers. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the membrane fouling detection method. Finally, an optimization problem is formulated to maximize the process efficiency of a solar-powered DCMD. The adapted method is known as Extremum Seeking (ES). A Newton-based ES is designed and the proposed model is used to accurately forecast the distilled water flux. Although good results are obtained with this method, a practical modification to the ES scheme is proposed to enhance the practical stability.

The diploma thesis is focusing on research of possible damage mechanism of U-tubes in a heat exchanger placed within a gas waste incinerator unit in a factory dealing with chemicals manufacturing. In the first phase of the research, in which a thermo – hydraulic calculation is being made, a specialized software tool HTRI Xchanger Suite® v6.00 is used. Using the software it is possible to simulate certain operational conditions in which the heat exchanger operates. The output from the first phase of the solution is to obtain a set of temperatures of the tube material throughout the length of the tubes. These data are consequently used in the second phase of the analysis. The second phase of the analysis is dealing with thermal lenght dilatation differences assessment between tubes in the tube bundle as a predected reason of oversize tension formed in tube material and damage following afterwards. Conclusions of the calculation made in the second phase of the analysis are then checked by calculation via ANSYS Workbench 11.

This Ph.D. thesis is focused on theory and experimental investigations developing of new knowledge about polymeric hollow fiber heat exchanger (PHFHE). The state-of-the-art study of plastic heat exchangers shows that their usage is limited by several niches where their advantages significantly dominates, or where the use of non-plastic competitors is not impossible. On the other hand, plastic heat exchangers (and PHFHEs in particular) are devices of increasing interest. It is shown that use of small tubes (fibers) allows PHFHEs to be more competitive than conventional plastic heat exchangers. Small hydraulic diameter of a fiber causes high heat transfer coefficients, reduces thermal resistance of plastic wall and allows it to create light and compact design. Detailed study of fluid flow and heat transfer inside the hollow fiber showed that conventional approaches for single-phase laminar flow can be utilized. Poiseuille number equal to 64 and Nussel number about 4 are recommended to be used to predict pressure drops and heat transfer coefficient, respectively. Additional attention should be paid to careful determination of fiber diameter and liquid properties (viscosity). Scaling effects, such as axial heat conduction, thermal entrance region and viscous dissipation can be neglected. The study of outside heat transfer showed that heat transfer on fiber bunches are intense and are competitive to contemporary compact finned-tube heat exchangers. The Grimson approach showed clear correlation with experimental results and, thus is recommended to predict heat transfer coefficients on fiber bunches. Two types of fouling (particulate- and biofouling) of outer fiber surface were experimentally studied. It was found that particulate fouling by titanium oxide particles is not intense and deposits can be removed relatively easy. However, fouling is much more intense when it is associated with biofouling caused by wastewater. In this case, smooth and low-adhesive surface of plastic is not sufficient precaution to prevent deposit formation.

Biomass liquefaction by fast pyrolysis is considered to be a key technology in future biorefineries for the production of low-carbon renewable liquids. These liquids may be used as a fuel for heat and power, as an intermediate for catalytic upgrading to distillate transportation fuels (such as renewable diesel or biojet) and as a raw material for advanced bioproducts. With the estimated supply of bioenergy required to meet international GHG reduction targets, the use of high ash (mineral-containing) biomass sources, such as harvest residues, hog fuels, and other unmerchantable wood sources is also expected to increase. However, the elevated presence of suspended char particulate (solids), as well as minerals and other ash components contained in pyrolytic liquids resulting from the conversion of these lower quality biomass residues may create new challenges for end-users. In light of this, two treatment pathways were investigated in this work: biomass pretreatment through sieving and acid washing, and post-condensation microfiltration of fast pyrolysis bio-oils. Selection of these two pathways was prioritized based on scarcity of published data, as well as the technical potential of both approaches for suspended char particulate and ash reduction in fast pyrolysis bio-oils. For biomass sieving and acid washing carried out at pilot scale, it was found that removing up to 80% of the ash contained in a hog fuel feedstock was possible by sieving out a fraction of the fines and subsequently washing with 0.1M nitric acid provided up to 40% increase in organic liquid yield after fast pyrolysis. Reaction water in the product was minimized when acid leaching was performed, while the solids content and ash content of the produced liquids were reduced by up to 80% and 87%, respectively. Cross-flow microfiltration of fast pyrolysis bio-oils produced principally from non-pretreated mill and harvest residues in the 1-40 µm range was performed. Microfiltration was found to remove between 80-95% of suspended solid particles, while only removing 4-45% of ash, presumably in the solid phase. To achieve high ash removal (>90%), microfiltration was combined with use of solid-phase adsorbents, such as Amberlyst 15, to remove cationic ash elements such as magnesium, calcium, iron, etc. The flux profiles from bio-oil cross-flow microfiltration were analyzed and consistently demonstrated a transient rapid and intermediate decline operating region, followed by a pseudo steady-state operating region. It was found that the initial flux of permeate in the transient operating region ranged from 100-1000 L m-2 h-1, while the pseudo steady-state flux ranged from 20-50 L m-2 h-1 for the experimental trials included in this study. It was determined that bio-oil temperatures of 50-60 ˚C, transmembrane pressures less than 1 bar and the addition of diluent solvents provided the highest pseudo steady-state fluxes of such a process. To improve the throughput of the process, different fouling remediation strategies were experimentally evaluated. The use of permeate, solvent and air backflushing confirmed that on-line cleaning strategies are suitable for active flux remediation, as fouling was found to be reversible over continuous operating periods up to 10 hours. Furthermore, it was found that the use of non-optimized on-line air backflushing resulted in increased throughput of low solids fast pyrolysis bio-oil from cross-flow microfiltration by 100%. Ultimately, the data produced from this work is intended to be used to generate design parameters and associated cost estimates for biomass washing and post-condensation microfiltration as processing strategies to generate high quality bio-oils from low cost biomass feedstocks.

[ES] En la presente Tesis Doctoral se investigó la aplicación del proceso de ultrafiltración (UF) y el fenómeno de ensuciamiento de las membranas en la eliminación de sustancias disueltas y coloidales (DCS) de efluentes tratados de la industria papelera (PMTE) para su reutilización en los diferentes procesos de fabricación de papel y cartón reciclado. El objetivo general de esta investigación se dividió en tres partes principales: i) describe cómo encontrar las condiciones óptimas de operación de cuatro parámetros de proceso: presión transmembrana (TMP), velocidad de flujo cruzado (CFV), temperatura y corte de peso molecular (MWCO) para maximizar el flujo promedio de permeado (Jp) y rechazo de la demanda química de oxígeno (COD) y minimizar el descenso del flujo de permeado acumulado (SFD) utilizando el método de Taguchi (Design Robusto) y utility concept aplicado a un proceso de UF a flujo cruzado, para remover DCS de efluentes tratados de la industria papelera, ii) el descenso del flujo de permeado y los mecanismos de ensuciamiento de las membranas de UF ensuciadas con PMTE se examinaron mediante modelos matemáticos semi-empíricos. Los resultados para los diferentes ensayos de UF se expresaron en términos de variación del Jp en función del tiempo para verificar la precisión del ajuste (mayor valor de R2 y menor valor de desviación estándar) de los distintos modelos de Hermia adaptados a flujo tangencial y del modelo de formación de torta en filtración a presión constante ajustados a los datos experimentales, y iii) describe métodos de identificación, caracterización y posibles orígenes de las sustancias contaminantes (foulants) en las membranas de UF. Técnicas como el análisis físico-química, FESEM, SEM-EDS, ATR-FTIR y 3DEEM se llevaron a cabo para comprender qué fracción de los contaminantes son responsables por la formación de incrustaciones en las membranas. Los resultados obtenidos durante la etapa de optimización de parámetros del procesos demostraron que TMP y MWCO tienen la mayor contribución en el Jp y SFD. En el caso de la tasa de rechazo de COD, los resultados mostraron que MWCO tiene la mayor contribución seguida de CFV. Por consiguiente, las condiciones óptimas se encontraron para el segundo nivel de TMP (2.0 bar), el tercer nivel del CFV (1.041 m/s), el segundo nivel de la temperatura (15°C) y el tercer nivel de MWCO (100 kDa). Bajo estas condiciones óptimas de operación Jp, rechazo de COD y SFD alcanzaron respuestas de 81.15 L/m2.h, 43.90% y 6.01 (alrededor de 28.96 % para (FD), respectivamente, valores dentro del rango previsto del intervalo de confianza del 95%. Además, los modelos de Hermia adaptados a UF en flujo tangencial fueron capaces de predecir con gran precisión el descenso del Jp y los mecanismos de ensuciamiento en función del tiempo para todas las membranas seleccionadas (10, 30 y 100 kDa) y bajo diferentes condiciones ensayadas de UF. Por lo tanto, los modelos que presentan un mayor grado de ajuste son el bloqueo completo de poros (coeficiente de determinación R2 >0.97) y bloqueo intermedio (R2 >0.96), seguido por el modelo de formación de torta (R2 >0.94), lo que indica que estés son los principales mecanismos de ensuciamiento de las membranas. Análisis de 3DEEM revelaron que la mayoría de la materia orgánica fluorescentes en las membranas sucias eran proteínas coloidales (componentes similares a proteínas I + II) y proteínas macromoleculares (componentes similares a SMP). Además, polisacáridos (especie celulósica) y sustancias como ácidos grasos y resinosos fueron identificadas en las membranas contaminadas mediante análisis ATR-FTIR. Por fin, análisis SEM-EDS para las membranas ensuciadas con PMTE se detectó concentración de contaminantes inorgánicos (iones metálicos multivalentes) especialmente el Ca2+ que podría acelerar la formación torta en la superficie de la membrana. / [CA] En la present Tesi Doctoral es va investigar l'aplicació del procés d'ultrafiltració (UF) i el fenomen d'embrutiment de les membranes en l'eliminació de substàncies dissoltes i col·loïdals (DCS) d'efluents tractats de la indústria paperera (PMTE) per al seu reutilització en els diferents processos de fabricació de paper i cartó reciclatge. L'objectiu general d'aquesta investigació es va dividir en tres parts principals: i) descriu com trobar les condicions òptimes d'operació de quatre paràmetres de procés: pressió transmembrana (TMP), velocitat de flux creuat (CFV), temperatura i tall de pes molecular (MWCO) per a maximitzar el flux mitjà de permeat (Jp) i rebuig de la demanda química d'oxigen (COD) i minimitzar el descens del flux de permeado acumulat (SFD) utilitzant el mètode de Taguchi (Design Robust) i utility concept aplicat a un procés de UF a flux creuat en escala pilot, per a remoure DCS d'efluents tractats de la indústria paperera (PMTE), ii) el descens del flux de permeat i els mecanismes de embrutiment (fouling) de les membranes de UF embrutades amb PMTE es van examinar mitjançant models matemàtics semi-empírics. Els resultats per als diferents assajos de UF es van expressar en termes de variació del flux de permeat (Jp) en funció del temps per a verificar la precisió de l'ajust (major valor de R2 i menor valor de desviació estàndard) dels diferents models de Hermia adaptats a flux tangencial i del model de formació de coca en filtració a pressió constant ajustats a les dades experimentals, i iii) descriu mètodes d'identificació, caracterització i possibles orígens de les substàncies contaminants (foulants) en les membranes de UF. Tècniques com l'anàlisi física-química, FESEM, SEM-EDS, ATR-FTIR i 3DEEM es van dur a terme per a comprendre quina fracció dels contaminants són responsables per la formació d'incrustacions sobre la superfície i adsorció dins dels porus de les membranes. Els resultats obtinguts durant l'etapa d'optimització de paràmetres del processos van demostrar que TMP i MWCO tenen la major contribució en el Jp i SFD. En el cas de la taxa de rebuig de COD, els resultats van mostrar que MWCO té la major contribució seguida de CFV. Per consegüent, les condicions òptimes es van trobar per al segon nivell de TMP (2.0 bar), el tercer nivell del CFV (1.041 m/s), el segon nivell de la temperatura (15°C) i el tercer nivell de MWCO (100 kDa). Sota aquestes condicions òptimes d'operació Jp, rebuig de COD i SFD van aconseguir respostes de 81.15 L/m².h, 43.90% i 6.01 (al voltant de 28.96% per a (FD)), respectivament, valors dins del rang previst de l'interval de confiança del 95%. A més, els models de Hermia adaptats a UF en flux tangencial van ser capaços de predir amb gran precisió el descens del Jp i els mecanismes de embrutiment en funció del temps per a totes les membranes seleccionades (10, 30 i 100 kDa) i baix diferents condicions assajades de UF. Per tant, els models que presenten un major grau d'ajust són el bloqueig complet de porus (coeficient de determinació R2 >0.97) i bloqueig intermedi (R2 >0.96), seguit pel model de formació de coca (R2 >0.94), la qual cosa indica que estigues són els principals mecanismes de embrutiment de les membranes. Anàlisi de 3DEEM van revelar que la majoria de la matèria orgànica fluorescents en les membranes brutes eren proteïnes col·loidals (components similars a proteïnes I + II) i proteïnes macromoleculars (components similars a SMP). A més, polisacàrids (espècie cel·lulòsica) i substàncies com a àcids grassos i resinosos van ser identificades en les membranes contaminades mitjançant anàlisis ATR-FTIR, tals substàncies exerceixen un paper important en el embrutiment de les membranes. Per fi, anàlisi SEM-EDS per a les membranes embrutades amb PMTE es va detectar concentració de contaminants inorgànics (ions metàl·lics multivalents) especialment el Ca2+ que podria accelerar la formació coca en la àrea de la membrana. / [EN] In this PhD Thesis, the application of ultrafiltration process (UF) and membrane fouling phenomenon used to remove dissolved and colloidal substances (DCS) from paper mill treated effluent (PMTE) for reuse in different recycled paper and cardboard manufacturing processes was investigated. The overall goal of this research has been divided into three main parts: i) describes how to find optimal operating conditions of four controlling parameters, such as transmembrane pressure (TMP), cross-flow velocity (CFV), temperature and molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) for maximizing the average permeate flux (Jp) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) rejection, and minimizing the cumulative flux decline (SFD) using Taguchi method and utility concept for a cross-flow UF in pilot scale, used to remove DCS from a paper mill treated effluent (PMTE), ii) flux decline and fouling mechanisms of UF membranes fouled with PMTE were examined by theoretical modelling. The results from UF tests were expressed in terms of permeate flux (Jp) as a function of time to check modified Hermia's models adapted to crossflow filtration and cake formation in constant-pressure filtration, and iii) describes the Identification, characterization and possible origins of UF membrane foulants. Techniques such as chemical analysis, FESEM, SEM-EDS, ATR-FTIR and 3DEEM analysis were applied to understand which fraction of the foulants caused the fouling. This research found that the TMP and MWCO have the greatest contribution to the average permeate flux and SFD. In the case of the COD rejection rate, the results showed that MWCO has the highest contribution followed by CFV. The optimum conditions were found to be the second level of TMP (2.0 bar), the third level of the CFV (1.041 m/s), the second level of the temperature (15°C), and the third level of MWCO (100 kDa). Under these optimum conditions Jp, COD rejection and SFD resistance of 81.15 L/m2/h, 43.90% and 6.01 (around 28.96 % of (FD), respectively, were obtained and they were within of the predicted range at the 95% confidence interval. Furthermore, the results showed that the predictions of the modified Hermia's models adapted to cross-flow UF had good agreements with experimental data, under different conditions tested for PMTE. Therefore, it can be concluded that for all cases the best fit (higher accuracy) to the experimental data corresponds to the complete (coefficient of determination R2 >0.97) and intermediate (R2 >0.96) blocking, followed by the cake layer formation (R2 >0.94). Moreover, measurements of particle size distribution and zeta potential near the isoelectric point, showed a substantial reduction in colloidal compounds. The 3DEEM analysis revealed that the majority of the organic foulants with fluorescence characteristics on the fouled membranes were colloidal proteins (protein-like substances I+II) and macromolecular proteins (SMP-like substances). Further, polysaccharide (cellulosic specie), fatty and resin acid substances were identified on the fouled membrane by the ATR-FTIR analysis and they play an important role in membrane fouling. In addition, the membrane SEM-EDS analysis showed accumulate and adsorbed onto the membrane surfaces of inorganic foulants, such as multivalent metal ions and especially Ca2+ (acts as a binding agent) that could accelerate cake layer formation on the membrane. / Santos Sousa, MR. (2020). Optimization of Operation Parameters in Ultrafiltration by Experiment Design, Mathematical Modelling and Fouling Characterization of the Membranes Used to Remove Dissolved and Colloidal Substances from a Treated Paper Mill Effluent [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/155975 / TESIS

Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt die Untersuchung des Einflusses mineralischer Braunkohlebestandteile auf die Ansatzbildung an Wärmeübertrageroberflächen. Unter Ansatzbildung in braunkohlebefeuerten Dampferzeugern werden die Bildung und Ablagerung von Feststoffen in rauchgasbeaufschlagten Bereichen der Brennkammer und der Elektrofilter verstanden. Hierzu wurde auf Basis von thermodynamischen Modellrechnungen ein Prognosemodell entwickelt, mit dessen Hilfe das Ansatzbildungsverhalten von Braunkohlen aus dem rheinischen Revier vergleichbar und bewertbar gemacht werden kann. Über die Ermittlung reaktiver und nichtreaktiver Aschebestandteile werden Nicht-Gleichgewichtszustände erfasst. Darüber hinaus wird die Güte der entwickelten thermochemischen Prognosemodelle anhand betrieblicher und experimenteller Erfahrungen bewertet. Darauf basierend werden Grenzen und Möglichkeiten der rechnerischen Methoden zur Vorhersage des Ansatzbildungsverhaltens ermittelt.

Title: The study on interactions of functional surfaces with biological systems Author: Ivana Víšová Department: Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Department of optical and biophysical systems. Supervisor: RNDr. Hana Vaisocherová-Lísalová, Ph.D., Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Department of optical and biophysical systems. Abstract: This work is devoted to the study of processes influencing the performance of functional antifouling polymer brush coatings and their interactions with complex biological media. Specifically, both results of the fundamental and applied research on the i) functionalization processes influencing coating resistance, ii) tailoring of the physico-chemical properties of the antifouling coatings to minimize the nonspecific interactions with complex biological samples, and iii) behavior and performance of the polymer brush coatings in varying environments are presented. Acrylamide and methacrylamide-based polymer brushes with side hydroxyl, carboxybetaine, and sulfobetaine groups were studied, showing the great potential of their optimized copolymer structures as tunable antifouling functionalizable platforms for cell research or biosensor applications. Moreover, newly developed procedures for antifouling properties recovery after EDC/NHC...

Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka en alternativ slamningsreducerande teknik till spolning, som effektivt kan ta bort biologisk påväxt. Ultraljud undersöktes som en möjlig metod för att ta bort igenslamningen från omvänd osmos med ett spirallindat membran. Tidigare forskning har föreslagit att ultraljud skulle kunna vara effektivt på platta membran men inte på spirallindade membran, på grund av packningsdensiteten som spirallindan medför. Därför genomfördes inom denna studie försök med spirallindade membran och ultraljud, för att få en förståelse av dess effekter inom det spirallindade membranet. För det första undersöktes tidsberoendet av ultraljud, vilket visade liknande resultat som tidigare forskning, att ultraljudet uppnådde effekt inom några minuter. För det andra behandlades två membran en gång om dagen under 12 dagar, med undantag för dag 6 och 7. Ett behandlades med ultraljud och ett med spolning, och den mikrobiologiska kontamineringen i permeatet analyserades sedan. Det ultraljudsbehandlade membranet producerade mindre kontaminering under de 12 dagarna. Det krävs dock fler experiment och analyser för att bekräfta detta, eftersom tidsbegränsningar inte möjliggjorde repetitioner. En ekonomisk utvärdering genomfördes också för att undersöka möjligheten att implementera ultraljud i kommersiell skala. Den ekonomiska aspekten är en avvägning mellan vattenkostnad och energikostnad, som är beroende av geografiskt läge. Överlag indikerar resultaten att det sparade vattnet kostar mer än den energi som krävs, vilket är fördelaktigt för implementering av ultraljudsbehandling. Sammanfattningsvis visade ultraljudsbehandlingen bättre resultat än spolning inom några minuter, och hade även en ekonomisk fördel, men kostnaden för energi till vatten är beroende av geografisk plats. / The purpose of this study was to investigate an alternative fouling mitigation technique to flushing, that can efficiently remove biological fouling. Ultrasound was investigated as a possible method of removing fouling from a reverse osmosis spiral wound membrane. Previous research had suggested ultrasound to be efficient on flat sheet membranes but not on spiral wound membranes, due to the packing density. Therefore, this study conducted experiments on spiral wound membranes with ultrasound, as to get an understanding of its effects within the spiral wound membrane. Firstly, the time dependency of ultrasound was investigated, and showed similar results to that of previous research, that the ultrasound was efficient within a matter of minutes. Secondly, two membranes were subject to treatment once a day over the span of 12 days, with an exception for days 6 and 7. One was treated with ultrasound and one with flushing, and the microbiological contamination in the permeate was then analysed. The ultrasonically treated membrane produced less contamination throughout the 12 days. However, more experiments and analysis would be required to confirm this, as time constraints did not allow for repetitions. An economic assessment was also performed, as to evaluate the feasibility implementing ultrasound on a commercial scale. This is a weigh-off between water cost and energy cost, which is dependent on geographical location. Overall, the results indicate that the water saved costs more than the energy required though, which is favourable for the implementation of ultrasonic treatment. To conclude, the ultrasonic treatment showed better results than flushing within a matter of minutes, and also economically had an advantage but the cost of energy to water is relative to geographical location.

Micro-scale processing (MSP) techniques are miniaturized version of upstream and downstream conventional unit operations that are designed to accelerate the pace of bioprocess design and development. Previous ‘dead end’ filtration studies have demonstrated the usefulness of this concept for membrane filtration processes. However, these experiments were performed without stirring which is the most common strategy to control the effects of concentration polarization and fouling on filtration performance. In this work, the pressure-driven stirred conditions of a conventional stirred-cell module were integrated with a 96-well filter plate to develop a high throughput technique called ‘stirred-well filtration’ (SWF). The design allowed for up to eight constant flux filtration experiments to be conducted at once using a multi-rack programmable syringe pump and a magnetic lateral tumble stirrer. An array of pressure transducers was used to monitor the transmembrane pressure (TMP) in each well. The protein sieving behavior and fouling propensity of Omega™ ultrafiltration membranes were assessed via a combination of hydraulic permeability measurements and protein sieving tests in constant filtrate flux mode. The TMP profile during filtration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution was strongly dependent on the stirring conditions – for example the maximum TMP in the stirred wells were an average of 7.5, 3.8, and 2.6 times lower than those in the unstirred wells at filtrate fluxes of 12, 36, and 60 LMH (5, 15, and 25 μL/min) respectively. The consistency of the data across different wells for the same stirring condition was very good. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the SWF technique, the eight tests for a simple 2^2 factorial design-of-experiments (DOE) test with duplicates was run to evaluate the effect of solution pH and salt concentration on protein filtration. The combination of SWF with statistical methods such as DOE is shown to be an effective strategy for high-throughput optimization of membrane filtration processes. / Dissertation / Master of Applied Science (MASc)