Membrane Elements and Modules

Polymeric membrane elements and modules which consist of elements come in different sh4>es. The shape strongly determines the packing density of the element or module which is indicative of the available membrane filtration area per unit volume of the element or module the packing density, in turn, can affect the capital and operating costs of the membranes. The packing density is often balanced by other factors such as ease and cost of maintenance and replacement, energy requirements, etc. Most of the polymeric membranes are fabricated into the following forms tube, tubes-in-shell, plate-and-frame, hollow-fiber, and spiral-wound. 

Their historical developments and various membrane preparation methods will be discussed in Chapters 2 and 3, respectively. Chapter 4 reviews the general separation and non-separation properties of the membranes and the methods by which they are measured. Chapter 5 presents commercial membrane elements and modules and their application features which are followed by discussions of liquid-phase separation applications in Chapter 6. Many of those applications are commercially practiced. Potential gas separation and other applications (such as sensors and supports for liquid membranes) will be discussed in Chapter 7. 

In addition to the end seal issue just described, there is another critical material engineering issue facing membrane reactors. It concerns the connection between the membrane element and module housing or piping. In fact, this is considered to be one of the most critical issues to be addressed to make inorganic membrane reactors technically feasible and economically viable. 

The choice between membrane elements and modules for use in a FBMR is pdmadly determined by balancing the considerations of having a higher packing of bare membrane elements on one hand, and protecting the membrane elements from severe... 

J. Rogut, Fiber membrane elements and modules and methods of fabrication for improved fluid separations. US Patent 5,238,562, Aug. 24, 1993. 

Membrane systems consist of membrane elements or modules. For potable water treatment, NF and RO membrane modules are commonly fabricated in a spiral configuration. An important consideration of spiral elements is the design of the feed spacer, which promotes turbulence to reduce fouling. MF and UF membranes often use a hollow fiber geometry. This geometry does not require extensive pretreatment because the fibers can be periodically backwashed. Flow in these hollow fiber systems can be either from the inner lumen of the membrane fiber to the outside (inside-out flow) or from the outside to the inside of the fibers (outside-in flow). Tubular NF membranes are now just entering the marketplace. 

Plasmapheresis typically employs a membrane module of similar configuration as a high-flux hemodialyzer. Alternatively, a rotating membrane separation element is used in which the tendency of the blood cells to deposit on the membrane surface is counteracted with hydrodynamic lift forces created by the rotation. The membrane element and the associated plasmapheresis circuitry are shown in Fig. 49. Worldwide, about 6 million plasmapheresis procedures are performed annually using this system, making this one of the largest biomedical membrane applications after hemodialysis. 

The system array is determined at this point. The designer enters the number of pressure vessel per stage and the number of membrane elements or modules per pressure vessel. The program then calculates the number of elements in the stage. 

The module operation efficiency is determined on the one hand, by selectivity of membrane elements and sorption characteristics of ion-exchangers and on the other hand, by physico-chemical and radionuclide composition, concentration of suspended particles, salts and radionuclide activity levels. The integral decontamination-purification coefficients Kpurj t, depending on LRW radionuclide, physical and chemical composition, vary within 10 - 10 . Depending on composition of initial LRW and in compliance with on-line control data, MMSF can operate either imder the full-cycle mode involving all basic modules or imder reduced-cycle mode using only some of modules. 

The majority of gas separation applications use pressure difference as the driving force for the membrane separation. As such, the issues of sealing the ends of membrane elements and connecting the elements and the module or process piping are critical in providing gas-tight or essentially leakproof conditions. The seals and connections are necessary to prevent remixing of the permeate and the retentate streams. 

Besides the critical issue of containment and sealing, the choice of the materials for the membrane and other membrane reactor components affects the permeability and permselectivity, operable temperature, pressure and chemical environments and reaction performance. Important material parameters include the particular chemical phase, thickness, thermal properties and surface contamination of the membrane, membrane/support microstructure, and sealing of the end surfaces of the membrane elements and of the joining areas between elements and module components. The conventional permeability versus permselectivity dilema associated with membranes needs to be addressed before inorganic membrane reactors are used in bulk processing. 

Horizontal versus vertical membrane tubes or modules. Two general types of fluidized-bed membrane reactors have been tested. The first type places the membrane elements or modules perpendicular to the general direction of the fluidizing reaction gases (see Figures 10.14a and 10.14b). In the second type of FBMR, the membrane elements or modules are essentially parallel to the fluid flow direction inside the reactor, as schematically shown in Figure 11.50. It appears that the vertical type exhibits more advantages for practical implementation. 

The presence of vertical membrane elements or modules also helps to prevent bubble coalescence, thus favoring heat and mass transfer in the reactor. Their spacing should be sufficiently small so that the maximum number of the membrane tubes or modules may be provided in the reaction zone and large enough that no blockage or bridging of the fluidized bed occurs. 

Ceramic membranes (a) hollow-fiber elements and modules and (b) ultrafUtration unit for fruit juice clarification. (Courtesy Mempro Ceramics Corporation.)... 

Element/Module Element and module design for high-performance membranes... 

Diversity of Membrane Eiements and Configurations Currently, all membrane manufacturers offer their own design, size, and configuration of membrane elements and systems. The membrane systems differ by the type of filtration driving force (pressure versus vacuum), the size of the individual membrane elements, the size of the membrane vessels, the configuration of the membrane modules, the type of membrane element backwash, and the type of membrane integrity testing method and other factors. 

RO membrane performance in the utility industry is a function of two major factors the membrane material and the configuration of the membrane module. Most utility applications use either spiral-wound or hollow-fiber elements. Hollow-fiber elements are particularly prone to fouling and, once fouled, are hard to clean. Thus, applications that employ these fibers require a great deal of pretreatment to remove all suspended and colloidal material in the feed stream. Spiral-wound modules (refer to Figure 50), due to their relative resistance to fouling, have a broader range of applications. A major advantage of the hollow-fiber modules, however, is the fact that they can pack 5000 ft of surface area in a 1 ft volume, while a spiral wound module can only contain 300 ftVff. 

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