Feed channel

Solids nd Colloids. Suspended soHds can accumulate at the membrane surface, creating an additional resistance to flow through the membrane as well as a possible feed channel, such as that for a spiral-wound module plugging and subsequently a decrease in flux. Prevention of this type of fouling lies in the removal of the suspended soHds, which can be accompHshed using filters and screens prior to arrival at the RO unit. 

Cake layer formation builds on the membrane surface and extends outward into the feed channel. The constituents of the foulant layer may be smaller than the pores of the membrane. A gel layer can result from denaturation of some proteins. Internal pore fouling occurs inside the membrane. The size of the pore is reduced and pore flow is constricted. Internal pore fouling is usually difficult to clean. 

Feed flow across feed channel spacer... 

Spiral-wound modules consist of several flat membranes separated by turbulence-promoting mesh separators and formed into a Swiss roll (Figure 16.18). The edges of the membranes are sealed to each other and to a central perforated tube. This produces a cylindrical module which can be installed within a pressure tube. The process feed enters at one end of the pressure tube and encounters a number of narrow, parallel feed channels formed between adjacent sheets of membrane. Permeate spirals roward the perforated central tube for collection. A standard size spiral-wound module has a diameter of about 0.1m, a length of about 0.9 m and contains about 5 m2 of membrane area. Up to six such modules may be installed in series in a single pressure tube. These modules make better use of space than tubular or flat sheet types, but they are rather prone to fouling and difficult to clean. 

The central element of this reactor is an elongated channel in which small catalyst particles can be filled to give a mini-packed bed (Figure 3.20) [79, 80]. Gas streams enter this reaction zone as a mixture via an interleaved channel section, which also prevents the small particles penetrating the gas-feed channels. A similar type of microstmctured frit is placed at the end of the packed bed for the same function. 

Metal/siHcon mixer 40 tm 300 pm feed channel width depth Slit depth in steel 60 pm housing... 

Interdigital micro mixers comprise feed channel arrays which lead to an alternating arrangement of feed streams generating multi-lamellae flows [39 2]. If processes have to be carried out with extended residence times (> 1 s) and/or at a temperature level different from the mixing step, tubes have to be attached to the interdigital micro mixers. Their internals comprise millimeter dimensions or below, if necessary. 

Asymmetric membranes have a tight, low-permeability, retentive zone that performs the desired separation and a more open, high-permeability zone that provides mechanical strength to the overall membrane. This structure is particularly critical to the economic viability of reverse-osmosis membranes. Asymmetric membranes operated in TFF mode must have the tight side facing the feed channel so that particles are retained on its surface and can be acted upon by the tangential flow. Asymmetric membranes operated in NFF mode can... 

Steady-state component and solvent mass balances can be written for single-pass operation by considering an incremental area element dA in the axial or flow direction for a feed channel, module, or membrane... 

Pretreatment and Cleaning Pretreatment is commonly used to extend membrane life and increase recovery. The representative pretreatment train for water purification applications in Fig. 20-61 controls feed channel clogging, mineral scaling, fouling by organic films and microorganisms, and oxidants that can degrade the membranes. 

Osmotic Pinch As the feed travels along the feed channels, friction losses lower the feed pressure. Solvent flux along the feed channel dewaters the feed and increases solute concentration and osmotic pressure. For a recovery or conversion ratio CR, a module solute retention R, and an inlet solute concentration of c , the bulk concentration cj, is... 

Equations (20-66) and (20-67) present single-pass formulas relating retentate solute concentration, retentate crossflow, permeate flow, and membrane area. For relevant low-feed-concentration applications, polarization is minimal and the flux is mainly a function of pressure. Spiral or hollow fiber modules with low feed channel and permeate pressure drops are preferred. 

Table 5.3 Approximate Feed Channel Depths and Barrel Groove Dimensions as a Function of Barrel Diameters [49]...

Barrel Diameter, mm Feed Channel Depth, mm Grove Width, mm Maximum Number of Grooves... 

Grooved bore extruders are common on European extruders up to barrel diameters of about 120 mm and on some applications up to 150 mm diameter [44]. For a 60 mm diameter machine, the maximum feed channel depth for a PP resin application is about 5 mm and 6 mm for HDPE resin applications channel depths are not much larger than this for larger diameter machines. Ingen Housz and Meijer [44]... 

Figure 6.6 Melting profiles for a 63.5 mm diameter extruder running an ABS resin at 60 rpm for screws with a 8.89 mm deep feed channel, 6 diameters of feed section, and a metering channel depth of 3.18 mm (C = 2.8) (a) 8 diameters of transition section for R = 0.00342, and (b) 4 diameters of transition section for R = 0.00684 [13, 14]. The pushing flights are on the right side of the section photographs...

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