Mathematical Modeling of Transport Phenomena in Electroosmotic Fluid Flow for Heat and Mass Transfer of Microplastics in a Renewable Energy-Powered Filtration System

The increasing presence of microplastics in aquatic environments poses significant ecological and health risks. This study presents a mathematical model for the transport phenomena in electroosmotic fluid flow designed for heat and mass transfer of microplastics in a renewable energy-powered filtration system. The model incorporates the coupled effects of electrokinetics, fluid dynamics, and thermal gradients to predict the behavior of microplastic particles in a microchannel filtration system. The governing equations are derived from the Navier-Stokes equations, Poisson-Boltzmann equation, and energy balance equations, considering the Joule heating effect due to the applied electric field. A higher-order perturbation method is employed to obtain approximate analytical solutions for the velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles. Parametric analysis is conducted to investigate the impact of key dimensionless parameters on the system's performance. The results provide insight into the efficiency of microplastic separation under varying electric field intensities, fluid properties, and temperature gradients, contributing to the optimization of renewable energy-powered filtration technologies.