Critical flux in cross-flow ultrafiltration of protein solutions

The effect of solute size relative to membrane pore size on the critical flux during the ultrafiltration of protein solutions was investigated using the constant pressure method. Hydrophilic regenerated cellulose membranes with a cut-off of 10, 30 and 100 kg mol⁻¹, model proteins and skimmed milk solutions were used. The critical flux mainly increased with the pore size of the ultrafiltration membrane. The lowest critical fluxes, 40-50 L m⁻²h⁻¹, were obtained with the retentive 10 kg mol⁻¹ cut-off membrane. This membrane had a very low permeability and, thus, the critical fluxes were achieved at high transmembrane pressures (TMP): 1.7-2.3 bar. With the 100 kg mol⁻¹ cut-off membrane critical fluxes were obtained at 0.2 bar TMP, which were around 100 L m⁻² h⁻¹, slightly declining with increasing protein molar mass. In skimmed milk experiments the permeate flux decreased when the protein molecules were enzymatically split to peptides. A critical flux for skimmed milk solution could not be found unless the protein concentration was diluted to 0.3-w% or lower. The results with model proteins were then compared to those obtained with skimmed milk resulting in β-lactoglobulin being the worst foulant.     

Vibration-enhanced compaction of filter cakes and its influence on filter cake cracking

Filter cake cracking is a common problem in cake filtration that can be avoided by compacting the filter cake prior to air-blowing. Here, we present a new method for compaction by applying vibration in the form of oscillatory shear. The shrinking and cracking behavior of the model material is analyzed by combining laser displacement measurements and image analysis. Then, the compaction results are presented and discussed regarding the process time and energy consumption. Finally, we show how compaction by oscillatory shear influences the cracking behavior of the filter cake. Significant reduction in cracking could be achieved.     

Granular-bed filtration assisted by filter cake formation 3. Penetration of filter cakes by a monodisperse aerosol

For several types of granular solids (sands, silicon carbide and copper shot), penetrations have been measured for a monodisperse aerosol (1.1 μm Dow microspheres) passing through fly ash deposited upon horizontal surfaces of the solids. Fractional penetrations can run as low as 10⁻⁵. Pressure drop data for dust cake/granular medium combinations are also given. The data illustrate significance of dust autohesivitiy and dust/granular solid adhesivity for granular-bed filtration assisted by dust cake formation.     

Filtration in coal liquefaction: preparation of filter aid from filter cake

In this study the preparation of filter aid from filter cake is considered. Two methods of preparation, carbonization at 550–600 °C and combustion at 800–1000 °C, are used and the optimum conditions determined. The performance of the products is assessed as both a precoat and body feed by comparison with a commercial grade of diatomite. It is shown that efficient filter aids, with performances comparable to that of diatomite, may be produced from filter cake.     

Temperature effect on the pressure drop across the cake of coal gasification ash formed on a ceramic filter

In order to predict the pressure drop across the cake of coal gasification (CG) ash formed on ceramic filter, an empirical equation was developed taking into account several factors, such as the face velocity, ash load, shape factor and size of particles, and especially the operating temperature. The hot air stream of well classified fine particles of CG ash was simulated as the syngas derived from the coal gasification process. The pressure drop behavior and cleaning efficiency of the filter were carefully investigated within the temperature range from room temperature to 673 K. The pressure drop across the ash cake was dominantly governed by the air viscosity, which increased with temperature. It was well expressed by the previously reported-empirical equation [J.H. Choi, Y.C. Bak, H.J. Jang, J.H. Kim, and J.H. Kim, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 21(3) (2004) 726.] with the modification of the viscosity term in the equation for different temperatures. The residual pressure drop rate across the ash cake also increased while the cleaning efficiency of the ceramic filter decreased as temperature increased.     

Effects of pore size, suspension concentration, and pre-sedimentation on the measurement of filter medium resistance in cake filtration

Theoretical and experimental study was conducted on the factors influencing the measurement of filter medium resistance by Ruth’s equation. It was determined that a filter medium having small pore size does not always give high filter medium resistance. The appropriate pore size of filter medium for filtration was analysed. The resistances of filter media measured with thick suspensions by Ruth’s equation have negative values. This phenomenon can be analyzed as the effect of sedimentation during the long filtration time due to thick suspension. When sedimentation occurs before the start of filtration, the filter medium resistance measured by Ruth’s equation gives a large value. It was determined that the result of the filtration of sediment was included in the filter medium resistance. A new method for measuring filter medium resistance by the filtration of the sediment is proposed. This method excludes the effects of suspension concentration and pre-sedimentation.     

Determination of cake properties in ultrafiltration of nano‐colloids based on single step‐up pressure filtration test

The single step‐up pressure filtration test was developed to determine the pressure dependence of average specific resistance of the cake formed in ultrafiltration of a variety of nano‐colloids over a wide range of pressure drops across the cake. The values of the average specific resistance at extremely low pressures were obtained from only the flux decline data through the use of the distinct time variation of the pressure drop across the cake generated by using the ultrafiltration membrane with a high hydraulic resistance under the low filtration pressure in the first step of filtration. The values at higher pressures were obtained from the time variation of the filtration rate induced by a stepwise increase in the pressure. The correlations between the average specific cake resistance and the pressure drop across the cake were evaluated using only the flux decline data for a variety of different proteins and nanoparticles. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 289–299, 2014     

Influence of Ca and Na ions in backwash water on ultrafiltration fouling control

The effect of calcium and sodium in backwash water on the fouling control of ultrafiltration is investigated on a bench scale. Besides permeate of ultrafiltration and demineralized water, solutions with different calcium or sodium concentrations were used for backwash. The results show that backwashing with demineralized water is better than with permeate of ultrafiltration. The backwash efficiency decreases when calcium and sodium are added in demineralized water for backwash. That is probably because the presence of calcium and sodium in backwash water increases the Ca-bridging effect between the negatively charged membrane and the negatively charged NOM, and compresses the double layer of the membrane and the NOM, leading to a strong adhesion force on the membrane.     

Investigations of the coupled effect of cake-enhanced osmotic pressure and colloidal fouling in RO using crossflow sampler-modified fouling index ultrafiltration

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of using the resistivity and deposition rate data from Crossflow Sampler-Modified Fouling Index Ultrafiltration (CFS-MFI_UF) measurements to determine the coupled effects of colloidal fouling and cake enhanced osmotic pressure (CEOP) effect. Cake filtration derived from CFS-MFI_UF was combined with a CEOP model to predict the crossflow RO fouling profile under constant flux filtration. The prediction based on resistivity, I′ from CFS-MFI_UF measurement alone was found to underestimate the RO fouling for high salinity solutions. However, when incorporating the mass information from the CFS-MFI_UF test to account for the CEOP effect, the prediction showed good agreement with the TMP profile of the RO system. The results indicated that the CFS-MFI_UF test which includes the CEOP effect is a very promising technique to provide an estimation of the RO colloidal fouling profile. When the changes of cake thickness and porosity throughout the filtration were considered, the predicted TMP profile based on the model clearly indicated a two-stage of fouling profile which agreed well with the experimental data. Additional studies on the effects of cake thickness and porosity on CEOP highlighted the important influence of cake structure on CEOP.     

Modeling of Fouling in Three Ultrafiltration Cell Configurations: Swirl,Plane and Axial Annular

Membrane fouling is a complex phenomenon induced by various chemical or physical factors. Several models can be used in order to predict flux. In this paper, models extracted from the literature are compared with experimental data collected in our laboratory during ultrafiltration of bentonite suspensions for three different cell designs (a classical plane unit and two annular units, one fitted with a tangential inlet inducing a swirling decaying flow, the other generating a pseudo axial flow). Mass transfer coefficients are measured by means of an electrochemical method for the two axial cell designs and are further included in the gel model predicting the limiting ultrafiltration flux. In ultrafiltration, the particles retained by the membrane will accumulate in the immediate vicinity of its surface to form a layer of higher particle concentration involved in the gel model. This concentration is also determined experimentally. Nevertheless, the gel model is not able to predict the permeation flux during ultrafiltration of bentonite suspensions in different cell designs. A modification of the erosion model, which takes into account the cell configuration, is also presented.     

Fouling of nanofiltration and ultrafiltration membranes applied for wastewater regeneration in the textile industry

Textile effluents usually contain high concentrations of inorganics as well as organics, and the therefore difficult to treat. Membrane processes can be used for many of these wastewaters in the textile industry. Two typical examples are discussed: (1) the use of nanofiltration for the treatment of exhausted dye baths, in view of water recycling, and (2) the use of ultrafiltration for the removal of spin finish from waste water resulting from rinsing of textile fibres. Both applications are in principle feasible, but in practice the process is negatively influenced by membrane fouling. In the first application, fouling is assumed to be caused by (ad)sorption of organic compounds, which has a large influence because of the high concentrations used in textile dyeing. Furthermore, the high salt concentrations result in a decrease of the effective driving force because of the high osmotic pressures obtained for typical dye baths. Experimental results are discussed, and the applicability of nanofiltration is related to the characteristics of the dye baths for different dyeing methods. In the second application, the concentration of organic compounds is relatively low, but because of the hydrophobic nature of the spin finish compounds, a significant effect of membrane fouling is expected. An improvement is suggested by using nanofiltration membranes instead of ultrafiltration membranes.     

Filtration and dust cake experiment by ceramic candle filter in high temperature conditions

Particulate collection at high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) is important in an advanced coal power generation system not only to improve the thermal efficiency of the system, but also to prevent the gas turbine from erosion and to meet the emission limits of the effluent gas. The specifications for particulate collection in those systems such as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) and Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion (PFBC) require absolutely high collection efficiency and reliability. Advanced cyclone, granular bed filter, electrostatic precipitator, and ceramic filter have been developed for particulate collection in the advanced coal power generation system. However, rigid ceramic filters and granular bed filters among them show the best potential. The problems experienced of these systems on performance, materials, and mechanical design were investigated. Ceramic candle filters have the best potential for IGCC at this moment because they have nearly the highest efficiency compared with other filtering systems and have accumulated many reliable design data from many field experiences. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency of ceramic filters and stability of material against high temperature and longterm operation condition by applying fly ash on the surface of the filter and relation of pressure drop and dust cake thickness. Experimental conditions were 50 hours at 450 °C, 650 °C and 850 °C.     

Experimental study of cake formation on heat treated and membrane coated needle felts in a pilot scale pulse jet bag filter using optical in-situ cake height measurement

Pulse-jet bag filters are frequently employed for particle removal from off gases. Separated solids form a layer on the permeable filter media called filter cake. The cake is responsible for increasing pressure drop. Therefore, the cake has to be detached at a predefined upper pressure drop limit or at predefined time intervals. Thus the process is intrinsically semi-continuous. The cake formation and cake detachment are interdependent and may influence the performance of the filter. Therefore, understanding formation and detachment of filter cake is important. In this regard, the filter media is the key component in the system. Needle felts are the most commonly used media in bag filters. Cake formation studies with heat treated and membrane coated needle felts in pilot scale pulse jet bag filter were carried out. The data is processed according to the procedures that were published already [Powder Technology, Volume 173, Issue 2, 19 April 2007, Pages 93-106]. Pressure drop evolution, cake height distribution evolution, cake patches area distribution and their characterization using fractal analysis on different needle felts are presented here. It is observed that concavity of pressure drop curve for membrane coated needle felt is principally caused by presence of inhomogeneous cake area load whereas it is inherent for heat treated media. Presence of residual cake enhances the concavity of pressure drop at the start of filtration cycle. Patchy cleaning is observed only when jet pulse pressure is too low and unable to provide the necessary force to detach the cake. The border line is very sharp. Based on experiments with limestone dust and three types of needle felts, for the jet pulse pressure above 4 bar and filtration velocity below 50 mm/s, cake is detached completely except a thin residual layer (100-200 μm). Uniformity and smoothness of residual cake depends on the surface characteristics of the filter media. Cake height distribution of residual cake and newly formed cake during filtration prevails. The patch size analysis and fractal analysis reveal that residual cake grow in size (latterly) following regeneration initially on the base with edges smearing out, however, the cake heights are not leveled off. Fractal dimension of cake patches boundary falls in the range of 1-1.4 and depends on vertical position as well as time of filtration. Cake height measurements with Polyimide (PI) needle felts were hampered on account of its photosensitive nature.     

高粘度物料滤饼沟流的形成与特征

描述和分析了滤饼横向沟流和纵向大毛细管的形成和发展特征,横向沟流以毛细管入口处结构剪切破坏为基本特征,而纵向大毛细管的形成及进一步扩大,对过滤质量立即产生破坏性影响。滤饼二端的压差与流量过大或剧烈波动是这 2种特殊现象的根本原因。通过对毛细管中非牛顿流动分析,滤饼二端压差与流量的乘积与毛细管内的剪切应力、剪切速率的关系得到初步明确。     

The role of hydrodynamic conditions and solution chemistry on protein fouling during ultrafiltration

This study investigates the effect of hydrodynamic conditions and solution chemistry on protein fouling during ultrafiltration. Drastic flux reduction was observed at high initial flux and/or low cross-flow velocity. A limiting flux existed during BSA filtration, beyond which membrane flux cannot be sustained. Further increase in pressure over the limiting value did not enhance the stable flux. The rate and extent of BSA fouling were also strongly dependent on the feedwater composition, such as BSA concentration, pH, and ionic strength. Foulant concentration had no effect on the stable flux, although the rate approaching to the stable flux increased proportionally with increasing foulant concentration. Fouling was most severe at the isoelectric point of BSA (pH 4.7), where the electrostatic repulsion between foulant molecules is negligible. Membrane fouling became less severe at pHs away from the isoelectric point. Increasing ionic strength at pH 3.0 promoted severe fouling likely due to electric double layer (EDL) compression. On the other hand, the flux behavior was insensitive to salt concentration at pH 4.7 due to the lack of electrostatic interaction. At a solution pH of 5.8, effect of ionic strength on long-term flux behavior was directly opposite to that on the transient behavior. While the long-term flux was lower at higher ionic strength due to EDL compression, the transient behavior was also affected by the BSA retention of the membrane.     

Fouling of WO3 nanoparticle-incorporated PSf membranes in ultrafiltration of landfill leachate and dairy a combined wastewaters: An investigation using model

As fouling has always been a major drawback of membrane technology, qualitative and quantitative understanding of membrane fouling mechanisms therefore becomes vital in order to help push membrane separation technologies forward. In this study, firstly, self-cleaning Polysulfone(PSf) membranes were synthesized by incorporation of WO_3nanoparticles(0–2 wt%) and subsequent UV irradiation for efficient ultrafiltration(UF)of landfill leachate and dairy wastewater. The membrane surface properties were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and contact angle analysis. It was found that UV-irradiated membranes exhibited higher percent COD removals due to the hydrophilicity and photocatalytic properties of nano-WO_3. Subsequently, in order to analyze the fouling behavior of the membranes, a set of experimental data from cross-flow ultrafiltration of municipal landfill leachate and industrial dairy wastewater at 25 °C was obtained. A new model of membrane fouling was proposed based on a resistance in series concept and was fitted well with all experimental data sets.Almost all relative errors of prediction provided by the proposed model were less than 2.5%. In addition, it was revealed that this newly-developed model exhibited smooth transition between the common successive twostep pore blockage-cake filtration phenomena and thus eliminates the need to use separate equations for different mechanisms.     

二水法磷酸生产中滤饼板结的原因及对策

二水法磷酸生产中,萃取磷酸料浆中所含大量细小的、不稳定的半水石膏结晶在过滤洗涤时发生水合作用,它是导致滤饼板结的主要原因,并提出相应的防范措施.