Unsteady-State Permeate Flux of Crossflow Microfiltration

Abstract

In this study a membrane filtration cell was installed to investigate the variation of permeate flux with filtration time under various operating conditions including crossflow velocity, pressure drop, particle concentration, membrane pore size, particle size, pH, and electrolyte concentration. The dimensions of the filtration channel in the CFMF cell were 6 cm x 0.6 cm x 0.036 cm, and the flow of the suspension in the channel was controlled under the laminar flow region. Spherical polystyrene latex particles of 0.303, 0.606, and 1.020 μm were used as the suspension particles in the experiments. The density of the particles was 1.05 g/cm³. It was found that the unsteady-state permeate flux increased with an increase in particle size, membrane pore size, or crossflow velocity, but decreased with an increase in particle concentration or electrolyte concentration in the suspension. A mathematical model based on mass balance and hydrodynamic theory was developed in this study. In addition, the effect of cake growth and particle concentration decline during experiments on the permeate flux were also considered in this model. This model predicts satisfactorily the unsteady-state permeate flux of CFMF under various operating conditions.     

Removal of Metal Ions from Liquid Solutions by Crossflow Microfiltration

Abstract

The applicability of crossflow microfiltration (CFMF) to the removal of metal ions from liquid solutions was studied. Three treatment processes were employed in this study. The first process was filtration of liquid solutions containing metal ions by CFMF. The second process was CFMF with membranes precoated by CaCO₃ cake. The third process used suspension flocculation as a pretreatment step before CFMF. It was found that CFMF or CFMF with precoated membranes could not remove the metal ions (Cu²⁺, Mn²⁺ and Fe²⁺) from water efficiently. On the contrary, CFMF with suspension flocculation as a pretreatment could remove the metal ions from water completely under suitable pH values. The unsteady-state permeate flux for CFMF with suspension flocculation increased with an increase in temperature but decreased with an increase in pH of the liquid solutions. In addition, an optimal permeate flux existed in the relationship among the permeate flux, crossflow velocity, membrane pore size, and pressure drop. Furthermore, the unsteady-state permeate flux obtained experimentally for CFMF with suspension flocculation could be predicted by a mathematical model developed previously if an equivalent diameter of the flocs in the suspension was used in the model.     

Effect of Pore Size and Particle Size Distribution on Granular Bed Filtration and Microfiltration

Abstract

The paper reviews the effect of particle size distribution and pore size distribution on granular bed filter and crossflow microfiltration performance. The experimental results of the granular bed filter with pollen particles in suspension showed that the presence of large particles improved the filter efficiency of smaller particles in suspension. Microfiltration results with bi and tri‐modal latex suspensions showed that the permeate flux and the quality were significantly affected by the particle size and its distribution, especially when the particle size was smaller than the pore size of the membrane. The mathematical model simulation results of granular bed filtration show that media pore size distribution is an important parameter of filtration for the particle removal and pressure drop across the filter.     

Tubular Membrane Filtration with A Side Stream and its Intermittent Backwash Operation

The tubular membrane filtration system is widely applied to solid-liquid separation processes. Any improvements to the filtration module would increase separation efficiency, thus reducing operating costs. In this experiment, PMMA powder with an average particle diameter of 0.8 µm was filtered by a ceramic tubular membrane with an average pore size of 0.2 µm, and the impacts of the operating variables, such as suspension concentration, the filtration pressure, and the crossflow velocity on the permeate flux were discussed. In order to understand the increased permeate flux, the proposed module is comparable to the tubular membrane filtration module, but with an additional side stream under the same filtration mass flow rate. In addition, variations of shear force on the membrane surface are analyzed by CFD simulation, and the influence of backwash operations on the permeate flux is discussed. The results show that the side stream membrane filtration increased the shear force on the membrane surface, reduced fouling on the membrane surface, and increased the permeate flux. Furthermore, a backwash operation with a side stream flow channel could effectively clean the particles deposited in the module, thus, increasing the permeate flux.     

面向过程的陶瓷膜材料设计理论与方法(Ⅰ)膜性能与微观结构关系模型的建立

提出了面向过程的陶瓷膜设计基本研究框架,分析了膜的孔径分布与悬浮液颗粒体系粒径分布对过滤过程的影响,提出采用堵塞因子来表征膜的初始堵塞污染情况,建立了颗粒体系微滤过程中的膜微观结构与性能关系新模型,不仅可以计算膜通量随时间的变化,且能预测陶瓷膜结构参数对膜通量的影响.模拟结果与实验值有较好的一致性.     

面向过程的陶瓷膜材料设计理论与方法(Ⅰ)膜性能与微观结构关系模型的建立

提出了面向过程的陶瓷膜设计基本研究框架 ,分析了膜的孔径分布与悬浮液颗粒体系粒径分布对过滤过程的影响 ,提出采用堵塞因子来表征膜的初始堵塞污染情况 ,建立了颗粒体系微滤过程中的膜微观结构与性能关系新模型 ,不仅可以计算膜通量随时间的变化 ,且能预测陶瓷膜结构参数对膜通量的影响 .模拟结果与实验值有较好的一致性     

Permeate flux decline in cross-flow microfiltration at constant pressure

Microfiltration processes are frequently used to separate solids from aqueous suspensions. The rejection of suspended matter is facilitated by means of a size exclusion mechanism and is affected by membrane properties, characteristics of the suspension and operating conditions. Therefore, the filtration performance of a single polymeric hollow-fibre membrane was investigated by monitoring the permeate flux decline for a filtration at constant transmembrane pressure (TMP). For these bench-scale experiments, a model suspension consisting of silica particles in xanthan gum solutions was used in order to represent the characteristics of biological suspensions such as activated sludge properly. In the framework of this study, it was confirmed that the permeate flux declines rapidly during the first stage of filtration until an equilibrium of particle deposition and entrainment is reached. The steady-state permeate flux was found to increase with an increase in cross-flow velocity, a decrease in solid concentration, a decrease in particle size (for this ratio of particle to pore diameter) and a decrease in apparent viscosity of the suspension. However, the equilibrium permeate flux was not affected by variations in TMP, which is in agreement with the limiting flux theory.     

FLUX ENHANCEMENT USING FLOW REVERSAL IN ULTRAFILTRATION

ABSTRACT

The effect of flow reversal on permeate flux in cross-flow ultrafiltration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been investigated experimentally. BSA is a well-studied model solute in membrane filtration known for its fouling and concentration polarization capabilities. Ultrafiltration experiments were performed with BSA feed solutions in a hollow-fiber membrane module. The BSA feed concentrations ranged from 0.01 to 5 wt% and were ultrafiltered at a transmembrane pressure of 20 psia. Permeate flux was determined both with and without the use of flow reversal for each concentration. The experimental results indicate that under flow reversal conditions, the permeate flux is enhanced significantly when compared with runs without flow reversal. The effect of flow reversal on flux enhancement is very pronounced for dilute BSA solutions.     

On the Relation between Filtrate Flux and Particle Concentration in Batch Cross flow Micro filtration

Abstract

The relation between the filtrate flux and particle concentration in batch cross flow micro filtration is investigated using a model based on classical filtration theory and the Kern–-Seaton theory of surface fouling. The model, which includes the effects of cake compressibility but not of membrane fouling, is solved for both laminar and turbulent tangential flows. It is found that the sole effect of cake compressibility is to reduce the flux without altering the general shape of the flux versus concentration curve. Fluxes which increase with increasing concentration are shown to be a result of enhanced cake removal due to the increased wall shear stress brought about by increased suspension viscosity. A sigmoidal relation between flux and concentration is reproduced by the model only if there is a reduction in the cake removal rate as the tangential flow regime changes from turbulent to laminar.     

Flux Improvement during Cross-flow Microfiltration of Wheat Starch Suspension using Turbulence Promoter

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the process variables (transmembrane pressure, flow rate, and concentration) on the permeate flux during the microfiltration of model starch suspensions, and to determine the conditions under which the use of Kenics statics mixer as a turbulence promoter is justified. A response surface methodology was used to examine the influence of the selected operating conditions on starch suspension microfiltration using a single channel ceramic membrane with 200 nm pore size. The experimental results clearly show that the improved performance of starch suspension cross-flow microfiltration can be obtained by using a Kenics static mixer, especially at lower flow rates. Compared to the operation without the turbulence promoter, the average permeate flux improvement during the filtration period ranged from 30% to 230%. As a result of the statistical analysis, the optimal conditions for starch suspension microfiltration were determined and applied to microfiltration of starch industry wastewater.     

面向过程的陶瓷膜材料设计理论与方法(Ⅱ)颗粒体系微滤过程中膜结构参数影响预测

以所建立的颗粒体系微滤过程中膜结构参数与渗透性能关系模型为基础,在膜孔径和颗粒粒径均为正态分布的理想条件下对膜孔径、膜厚度、孔隙率对膜稳态通量的影响进行模拟计算.结果表明：对于颗粒悬浮体系的分离存在最优膜孔径使膜通量最大,该最优孔径随颗粒平均粒径增大、颗粒粒径分布变窄而有所增大.模拟计算结果有助于深入理解膜微观结构对宏观性能的影响.     

Chromate Removal from Water Using Surfactant-Enhanced Crossflow Filtration

Abstract

Removal of chromate from water was investigated using the surfactant enhanced crossflow filtration technique in which the cationic surfactant, cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), was the carrier for the metal ions. The variation of chromate and surfactant rejections, and permeate flux with time were measured as a function of CTAB/chromate concentration ratio, while maintaining a constant transmembrane pressure drop, membrane pore size, and pH of the feed solution. The method was found to be effective in removing chromate from water. It was observed that the efficiency of chromate removal increased with increasing CTAB/ chromate ratio. It was also found that the chromate concentration had a significant effect on the CTAB concentration in the permeate and on the time taken to establish the secondary membrane which consists of a highly viscous surfactant phase in the hexagonal state in the absence of chromate. In the presence of chromate, permeate flux increased at the same CTAB concentration although the surfactant and chromate rejections decreased, indicating lowering of the secondary membrane resistance to permeate flow. These conclusions were confirmed by deadend filtration experiments which showed that the fouling index decreased by the addition of chromate while the opposite was valid when sodium chloride was present in the surfactant/water/electrolyte ternary system.     

Migration and Deposition of Submicron Particles in Crossflow Microfiltration

Abstract

The migration and deposition of submicron particles in laminar crossflow microfiltration is simulated by integrating the Langevin equation. The effects of operating conditions on the particle trajectories are discussed. It is found that the Brownian motion of particles plays an important role in particle migration under a smaller crossflow velocity of suspension or a smaller filtration rate. Based on the simulated trajectories of particles, the transported flux of particles arriving at the membrane surface can be estimated. The particle flux increases with an increase of filtration rate and with a decrease of particle diameter; however, the effect of crossflow velocity on the particle flux is not obvious. The forces exerted on particles are analyzed to estimate the probability of particle deposition on the membrane surface. The probability of particle deposition increases with an increase of filtration rate, with a decrease of crossflow velocity, with a decrease of particle diameter, or with an increase of zeta potential on the particle surfaces. The simulated results of packing structures of particles on the membrane surface at the initial stage of filtration show that a looser packing can be found under a larger crossflow velocity, a smaller filtration rate, or a smaller diameter of filtered particles. Crossflow micro-filtration experiments are carried out to demonstrate the reliability of the proposed theory. The deviation between the predicted and experimental data of filtration rate at the initial period of filtration is less than 10% when the Reynolds number of the suspension flow ranges from 100 to 500.     

Effect of cake layer structure on colloidal fouling in reverse osmosis membranes

A series of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration experiments was performed systematically in order to investigate the effects of various hydrodynamic and physicochemical operational parameters on a cake layer formation in colloidal and particulate suspensions. Bench-scale fouling experiments with a thin-film composite RO membrane were performed at various combinations of trans-membrane pressure (TMP), cross-flow velocity (CFV), particle size, pH, and ionic strength. In this study, silica particles with two different mean diameters of 0.1 and 3.0 μm were used as model colloids. Membrane filtration experiments with colloidal suspensions under various hydrodynamic operating conditions resulted that more significant permeate flux decline was observed as TMP increased and CFV decreased, which was attributed to the higher accumulative mass of particles on the membrane surface. Results of fouling experiments under various physicochemical operating conditions demonstrated that the rate of flux decline decreased significantly with an increase of the ionic strength as well as particle size, while the flux decline rate did not vary when solution pH changed. The experimentally measured cake layer thickness increased with a decrease in particle size and solution ionic strength. Furthermore, the model estimation of cake layer thickness by using a cake filtration theory based on the hydraulic resistance of membrane and cake layer was performed under various ionic strength conditions. The primary model parameters including accumulated mass and specific cake resistance were calculated from the cake layer resistance. This result indicated that the formation of cake layer could be closely related with solution water chemistry. The model estimated cake layer thickness values were in good agreement with the experimentally measured values.     

Experiment and calculation of filtration processes in an external-loop airlift ceramic membrane bioreactor

Air sparging is recognized as an effective way to increase permeate flux in membrane filtration processes. The application of air sparging with an external-loop airlift ceramic membrane bioreactor was studied at different gas flow rates, biomass concentrations and suction pressures. A 180% increase in permeate flux was obtained while filtering a 2 g/L activated sludge wastewater suspension with the airlift cross-flow operation for U_g=0.21 m/s. The mechanism of flux enhancement in the case of slug flow in tubular membrane was discussed. The region near the gas slug was divided into three different zones: falling film zone, wake zone and remaining liquid slug zone. Air sparging significantly lowered cake thickness and consequently cake resistances for the wake region and the falling film region. A novel model combining hydrodynamic of gas-liquid two-phase flow and cake resistance was developed to simulate the process. The model was validated with experimental data with an error of 8.3%.     

中空纤维膜外压全量过滤动态过程的数值模拟

建立了中空纤维膜外压式全量过滤的CFD模型,模拟膜丝长度、直径、渗透系数、装填密度、污染指数以及跨膜压差不同条件,得到通量分布和产水量的动态演变过程。研究结果表明：通量分布会随着过滤的进行而逐渐变得均匀,这种通量分布的自我调节作用在膜丝较长、较细,渗透性较好,装填密度较高,污染指数较高以及跨膜压差较高时更为明显;产水流量的倒数与累积产水量呈线性关系,但由于通量分布不均匀并且均匀性演变,这种线性关系区别于传统滤饼过滤模型;通过数据拟合得到了适用于中空纤维外压式全量操作的滤饼过滤关联式,可用于预测组件的性能和指导组件的设计。     

Fuzzy Modeling of the Permeate Flux Decline during Microfiltration of Starch Suspensions

Flux declines versus time during cross‐flow microfiltration of wheat starch suspensions were modeled using fuzzy logic systems under different conditions of transmembrane pressure, flow rate, and suspension concentration. Fuzzy modeling is one of the most efficient methods for empirical modeling, especially for non‐linear systems, and does not require any prior knowledge about the process. The influence of the process parameters on the dynamic behavior of the permeate flux was determined by comparing the permeate flux decline versus the volume curves, considering a constant value of the volumetric concentration factor during batch cross‐flow filtration. At the transient stages of the filtration process, the permeate flux was shown to be strongly dependent on all process parameters, within the examined range.     

Formation of the Gel Layer of Polymers and Its Effect on the Permeation Flux in Crossflow Filtration of Corynebacterium glutamicum Broth

ABSTRACT

The behavior of the permeation flux in crossflow filtration of Corynebacterium glutamicum broth was studied. In the beginning of filtration the permeation flux changed in accordance with the cake filtration model. The permeation flux agreed with the value calculated from the weight of the cell layer formed on the membrane per unit filtration area and the specific resistance of the cell layer measured in dead-end filtration. After cell deposition on the membrane, permeation resistance rapidly increased. The increase was due to the formation of the gel layer of the proteins and polysaccharides in the supernatant of the broth. When the circulation flow rate was raised, the weight of the cell layer reduced. However, the beginning of the rapid increase of permeation resistance came earlier and the apparent specific resistance of the cell layer increased. The higher the circulation flow rate, the higher the permeation flux at the beginning of the rapid increase of resistance. When the transmembrane pressure was lowered or the cell concentration was raised, the beginning of the rapid increase of the permeation resistance came earlier. The permeation flux at which the formation of the gel layer began was almost constant, even if the transmembrane pressure and the cell concentration were changed.     

Cross‐Flow Microfiltration of Fine Particles Suspended in Polymeric Aqueous Solution

Abstract

The filtration characteristics of cross‐flow microfiltration of fine particles suspended in polymeric aqueous solution are studied. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) submicron particles are suspended in polyacrylamide (PAA) aqueous solution to prepare the suspensions used in experiments. Effects of operating conditions, such as cross‐flow velocity, filtration pressure, and PAA concentration, on the filtration flux and the cake properties are discussed. The results show that an increase in cross‐flow velocity or filtration pressure causes the filtration flux to be higher, but the filtration flux decreases with an increase in PAA concentration. Since the flow behavior indices of three prepared suspensions are almost the same, the average specific filtration resistance of cakes under various cross‐flow velocities and PAA concentrations remain almost constant; and then the cake mass plays a major role in determining the filtration resistance and the filtration flux. A force balance model is derived for particle deposition on the membrane surface. Once the empirical coefficients are obtained from experimental data, the filtration flux at pseudo‐steady state can be predicted accurately.     

Use of a Helical Baffle for Red Wine Clarification on a Mineral Membrane

Abstract

We present the use of a helical baffle inserted in a mineral membrane (Carbosep) for the clarification of a highly charged red wine. Baffles of different geometries were made of stainless steel by winding a steel wire on a rod. The baffles were centrally placed. The wine was analyzed before and after its clarification for its filtration index, turbidity, color, and microbiological control. Experiments made at different transmembrane pressures and feed flow rates show that the permeate flux increased from 13 L/h·m² (without baffle) to 30 L/h·m² (with baffle). Long-term experiments at the same hydraulic dissipated energy gave a mean permeate flux of about 20 L/h·m² from a baffled membrane compared to 10 L/h·m² for a membrane without a baffle. The volume of permeate collected during the same time was 145% more for a baffled membrane. It was found that membrane fouling due to polarization concentration was reduced by a factor of 3 with the use of baffles. Analysis of permeate at three optical densities (420, 520, and 620 nm) and turbidity measurements confirm that the quality of the permeate was good. It is concluded that the presence of a baffle in the membrane did not change the characteristics of the filtered wine and that its use is very simple for the enhancement of permeate flux.