Effect of glass ball insertion on vortex-flow microfiltration of oil-in-water emulsion

A new vortex-flow membrane module with glass balls was developed to enhance the permeate flux through a flat-sheet membrane. As a preliminary study for a practical application of our new module configuration, the effects of operating parameters on the microfiltration of an oil-in-water emulsion were investigated. The glass balls used in this study had an average diameter of 4 mm and an average weight of 0.08 g, giving an average density of 2.39 g/ cm³. The number of glass balls inserted into the module was 500, leading to an effective volume fraction of 0.23. Under the same operating conditions, a significant flux enhancement was observed in the presence of glass balls. The flux enhancement due to the presence of glass balls increased with the feed flow rate. The influence of glass balls on the flux enhancement was found to be most significant when the emulsion was more highly concentrated, indicating that the mechanism of this enhancement is based on the disruption of the concentration boundary layer.     

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。     

往复旋转管式陶瓷膜超滤脱脂奶水溶液的研究

往复旋转管式陶瓷膜过滤系统通过膜组件往复旋转在膜表面反复产生高剪切率,达到减缓膜污染的效果。在相同操作条件下,与单向旋转过滤和死端过滤相比较,往复旋转过滤具有更好的减缓膜污染的作用。本实验利用往复旋转膜过滤装置超滤脱脂奶水溶液,考察了各种参数对该膜系统过滤特性的影响。实验结果表明,料液浓度增大,膜通量减小;过高的操作压差将会抑制膜通量增加;旋转速度增大,膜表面剪切强化作用增强,膜通量相应增大;膜稳态通量随往复旋转周期增大呈现先增大后减小的趋势。当料液速度达到膜组件转速时,瞬时反方向旋转膜组件,膜表面产生最大的剪切率,膜稳态通量也达到最大值。能耗分析表明,往复旋转过滤较单向旋转过滤单位通量能耗低。     

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.     

流体流动型态对膜通量影响的实验和计算流体力学研究

This paper reports a study on the role of fluid flow pattern and dynamic pressure on the permeate flux through a micro filtration membrane in laboratory scale. For this purpose, a dead-end membrane cell equipped with a marine type impeller was used. The impeller was set to rotate in the clockwise and counter clockwise directions with the same angular velocities in order to illustrate the effect of rotation direction on permeate flux. Consequently, permeate fluxes were measured at various impeller rotational speeds. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) pre-dicted dynamic pressure was related to the fluxes obtained in the experiments. Using the CFD modeling, it is proven that the change in dynamic pressure upon the membrane surface has direct effect on the permeate flux.     

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.     

The application of fluid dynamic gauging in the investigation of synthetic membrane fouling phenomena

In order to improve the performance of membrane processes there is a need to understand the basic phenomena occurring at the membrane and in the bulk fluid. Fluid dynamic gauging (FDG) is a technique that has been used previously to measure the thickness and strength characteristics of a fouling layer on solid surfaces. Here, its application has been extended to investigate the nature of fouling deposition on membranes in dead-end and cross-flow microfiltration. Two modes of FDG measurement are demonstrated, wherein either (i) the mass flow rate of liquid withdrawn through the gauge or (ii) the pressure drop across the nozzle, are fixed. In dead-end filtration, the deposition of ballotini on a polymeric membrane is monitored quantitatively via measurements of thickness and the permeate flux. FDG has also been integrated with imaging techniques to study the deposition and removal processes. In cross-flow, FDG proved to be able to monitor the growth of fouling layers during molasses processing.     

Critical fouling conditions induced by colloidal surface interaction: from causes to consequences

Critical fouling conditions (CFC) are defined as the process operating conditions leading to the formation of multilayer irreversible fouling at the membrane surface. This irreversible fouling is the result of a phase transition in the accumulated matter from a dispersed phase (concentration polarisation) to a condensed phase (deposit or gel formation): the spinodal decomposition. Properties of concentrated colloid dispersions and their related phase transitions are integrated into a classical filtration mass balance via colloidal osmotic pressure, II. This then allows us to define CFC for both cross-flow and dead-end filtration. These CFC are expressed in terms of critical pairs of operating conditions: the set permeate flux/boundary layer thickness (directly linked to cross-flow velocity) in cross flow and the critical set permeate flux/filtered volume in dead end.     

Transient solute adsorption incorporated modeling and simulation of unstirred dead-end ultrafiltration of macromolecules: An approach based on self-consistent field theory

An unsteady state mass transfer model of unstirred dead-end ultrafiltration module has been developed in the present study. The dynamic membrane surface concentration is evaluated using a modified self-consistent field theory, which enables the development of an algorithm to incorporate the contribution of solute adsorption in the membrane surface concentration dynamics. Knowing the corrected membrane surface concentration, permeate flux and permeate side concentration is determined using osmotic pressure model and flux–rejection relation as predicted by irreversible thermodynamics. The time evolution of all the different process variables is achieved by solving two component balance equations developed at the membrane surface and in the solution phase respectively. The basic feature of the model is the incorporation of adsorbed fraction in the unsteady state membrane surface concentration. For the validation of the proposed model, experiments were conducted with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA)/water as feed in a standard unstirred batch ultrafiltration module fitted with Polyethersulfone (PES) membrane of 30 kDa molecular weight cut-off (MWCO). The model predicted flux and the permeate concentration were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Modeling of fouling layer deposition in cross-flow microfiltration during tomato juice clarification

The effect of parameters, such as transmembrane pressure and axial flow rate, on membrane fouling during tomato juice clarification were studied by cross-flow microfiltration using flat sheet polyvinylidenefluoride membranes. The effect of fouling on permeate flux was modeled using a classical constant pressure dead-end filtration equation and its modified form for cross-flow filtration. The main physico-chemical properties of tomato juice were evaluated. The clarified juice was very similar to the feed except for insoluble solids and lycopene, which were concentrated in the retentate. Cake formation was identified as the main reason for flux decline. At different axial flow rates, the fouling mechanism evolves from cake filtration to an intermediate pore blocking mechanism with increasing pressure.     

Impact of module design on the performance of membrane bioreactors treating municipal wastewater

Membranes are located in a membrane module that physically seals and isolates the feed stream from the permeate flux in membrane bioreactors (MBRs). Therefore, module type, structure, and geometrical configuration are critical design considerations affecting membrane performance in MBRs. In this study, impact of membrane module design on treatment and filtration performance of MBRs was investigated. For this purpose, two flat sheet membrane modules with different outlet structures and module geometries, including rectangular- and D-shaped, were tested. In addition to the differences in outlet structure and module geometry, size of circular structures which supported membranes in rectangular- and D-shaped modules differed from each other. Considering the results, permeate quality was not affected from the change in the module design. However, the most remarkable impact of the module design was observed on the transmembrane pressure (TMP) evolution and fouling potential. D-shaped membrane module including smaller circular structures resulted in a decrease in fouling potential and thus, this module could be operated longer time in comparison to rectangular-shaped membrane module without a severe TMP increase. The observed differences in TMP increase and fouling potential lead to the hypothesis that module design is a critical factor affecting filtration performance in MBRs.     

Treatment of effluents from the regeneration of ion exchangers using the MD process

The membrane distillation (MD) process for the treatment of wastewater from ion-exchanger regeneration was proposed. The precipitation of salt deposits on the membrane surface was observed when such wastewater was directly used as a feed. A rapid decline of the permeate flux from 532 to 410 dm³/m²d was found. The problem of fouling was significantly diminished by the addition of Ca(OH)₂ to the wastewater followed by filtration. The improvement of MD module performance was achieved after such pretreatment. The degree of water recovery equal to 50% was obtained without significant variations of the permeate flux. However, when the pretreated feed was subjected to two-fold concentration, precipitation of the silicon compounds was observed. The deposit caused clogging of the inlets of capillary membranes and resulted in a gradual decline of the module efficiency. The two-fold concentrated feed was then treated by sedimentation and filtration, which permitted a further concentration of obtained retentate and enhanced the degree of water recovery to 75%.     

超声在陶瓷膜处理乳化含油废水中的作用研究

Ultrasonic field was applied in the treatment of oil emulsification wastewater by ZrO2 ceramic mem-brane. The permeate flux, rejection ratio in the filtration process and recovery ratio of flux in the membrane cleaning process were measured. Great improvement in the permeate flux and rejection ratio have been observed for the membrane process enhanced by the ultrasonic field. The permeate flux of water through the membrane was about 210L.m^-2.h^-1 and the oil rejection ratio was over 99.9% under the optimal ultrasonic treatment conditions, which were 8W of ultrasonic power, 7cm of ultrasonic probe length introduced into the membrane channel and the same ultrasonic radiation direction as the wastewater flow. The resistance of the membrane process was compared between the cases with and without ultrasound, and the total resistance was reduced 68% by the use of ultrasound, Four methods including water cleaning, water cleaning under sonication, chemical cleaning and chemical cleaning under sonication were used to recover membrane flux. It was found that the flux recovery ratio increased with the increase of ultrasonic cleaning power. In addition, the use of chemical agents combining with ultrasonic irradiation showed a synergistic effect, which resulted in the highest cleaning efficiency and the shorter cleaning time.     

Flux decline during ultrafiltration of kraft black liquor using different flow modules: a comparative study

Ultrafiltration of black liquor was studied in three different modules, namely, radial cross flow, rectangular cross flow and stirred cell over a wide range of operating conditions. Effects of different cut-off membranes on the permeate flux and observed rejection were also studied in the stirred cell module. Effects of operating conditions, e.g. pressure difference, Reynolds number and feed concentration on the permeate flux and observed rejection were also investigated. Such comparative study may be useful to select a suitable module, membrane and a set of optimum operating conditions to achieve a desired quantity and quality of permeate flux. A comparative analysis of flux decline for different modules is also presented using a simple resistance-in-series model.     

往复旋转中空纤维膜处理脱脂奶水溶液

采用一种往复旋转中空纤维膜超滤装置处理脱脂奶水溶液,考察了该膜过滤装置的结构参数、膜组件旋转参数以及料液的特征参数等对膜渗透通量衰减的影响。结果表明,旋转角速度越大,膜丝距中空轴轴心越远,往复旋转中空纤维膜的剪切强化作用越好;往复旋转周期的优化则需考虑如何使料液流场流速与膜丝转速之间的矢量迭加在膜表面产生的速度梯度更大,单纯增大或减小旋转周期均会弱化剪切强化的效果。在同样操作参数下,往复旋转方式比死端过滤及单向旋转方式的膜过滤更利于延缓膜通量衰减。     

Effects of retained natural organic matter (NOM) on NOM rejection and membrane flux decline with nanofiltration and ultrafiltration

Two natural source waters containing natural organic matter (NOM) with different physical and chemical characteristics were dead-end filtered using five types of membranes having different material and geometric properties. In this study retained dissolved organic carbon (DOC) per unit membrane area is introduced as a better parameter compared to permeate volume, time, and delivered DOC to provide a reasonable comparison of NOM rejection and flux-decline trends. Retained DOC/NOM was calculated, which influences NOM concentration polarization at the membrane interface, and transport measurements of NOM rejection and flux decline were made. Molecular weight (MW) distribution measurements (by size exclusion chromatography) were used to calculate the average MW of the NOM. This persuasively demonstrated that the nominal molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of a membrane is not the unique predictor of rejection characteristics for NOM composites. The charge density of NOM from the source waters was measured to estimate its effects on NOM rejection and flux decline during filtration. The contact angle of the membranes was used to determine hydrophobic interactions between NOM and membrane. All filtration measurements were performed at approximately the same permeate flow rate in order to minimize artifacts from mass transfer at the membrane interface. ESNA having a nominal MWCO of 200 Daltons showed NOM rejection greater than 95% and flux decline lower than 10% under a condition of a retained DOC of 0.5 mg C/cm² for the feed source waters. The other membranes having larger membrane pores (nominal MWCOs ranging from 8,000 to 20,000 Daltons) than the ESNA showed NOM rejection ranging from 68% to 86% and flux decline ranging from 5% to 17% at the same retained DOC for the waters.     

Effect of hydrophilic/hydrophobic fractions of natural organic matter on irreversible fouling of membranes

Natural organic matter (NOM) has been identified as a major factor affecting membrane processes performances, but its impact is difficult to quantify from global parameters such as organic carbon content. The extent of fouling due to the different fractions of NOM from surface water has been examined in dead-end ultrafiltration using criteria such as flux decline and irreversibility in regard with organic matter rejection. The most important flux decline was observed during the filtration of the hydrophilic acids fraction whereas fulvic acids led to the most irreversible fouling. Furthermore, the hydrophilic fraction lost its fouling character when mixed with other fractions underlining that interactions between numerous components are possibly more important than the composition itself.     

RESISTANCE OF A GEL LAYER DURING ULTRAFILTRATION OF CASEIN SOLUTION

Ultrafiltration flux decay during ultrafiltration of casein solution is examined on the basis of a gel resistance model. Specific resistance of the gel layer was measured by the analysis of dead-end flow permeate flux. The structure of the gel, based on its specific resistance, has been discussed. A semi-empirical relationship, including the deposition and back transport kinetics and gel resistance, gives reasonable agreement with the observed flux decline.     

Steady State Permeate Flux Estimation in Cross-Flow Ultrafiltration of Protein Solution

In the membrane separation process, the cross-flow configuration in which the fluid flows parallel to the membrane is widely utilized. Due to the shear stress exerted by the tangential feed flow, the accumulation of the retained species in the membrane is reduced, and the nearly steady state operation can be attained. The determination of steady state permeate flux is significant in the design and optimization problem. Several mechanisms of transport phenomena have been proposed to estimate the steady state permeate flux such as concentration polarization and Brownian diffusion, shear-induced diffusion, inertial lift, and surface transport. Another approach is using dimensional analysis to give the correlation equation with the operating condition instead of a deep focus on mechanism. In this study, we apply the model proposed in our previous study to predict the steady state permeate flux from the experimental data. After that, a new method using dimensional analysis is also developed to predict the steady state permeate flux from the operating conditions such as the trans-membrane pressure, the feed flow rate, and the feed volume fraction in a wide range. The correlation equation provides a good estimation of the experimental results.     

Benefits of High Shear Rate Dynamic Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis: A Review

Dynamic filtration permits to increase permeate flux and membrane selectivity, as compared to crossflow filtration. It consists in creating the shear rate by a disk rotating near the membrane or by rotating or vibrating the membrane, avoiding the need for large feed flow rates. The benefits of high shear rates are important in microfiltration and ultrafiltration, but they are even larger in nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO). The reduction in concentration polarization by high shear rate can increase the permeate flux by a ratio of 3 to 5 as compared to a spiral wound module and augments also solutes rejection as their diffusive transfer through the membrane is reduced by a factor of 4 to 5. This paper describes available dynamic filtration modules suitable for NF and RO and reviews the treatment of dairy effluents, desalination, oil emulsions, and oligosaccharides recovery using a rotating disk module or a VSEP module with vibrating membranes and compares their performances with those of crossflow filtration. These examples confirm the high potential of dynamic NF and RO when operated at high shear rate and high TMP. The availability of large rotating NF ceramic membrane disks could permit the fabrication of highly efficient modules.