Membrane systems, modules

Membrane modules have found extensive commercial appHcation in areas where medium purity hydrogen is required, as in ammonia purge streams (191). The first polymer membrane system was developed by Du Pont in the early 1970s. The membranes are typically made of aromatic polyaramide, polyimide, polysulfone, and cellulose acetate supported as spiral-wound hoUow-ftber modules (see Hollow-FIBERMEMBRANEs). 

FIG. 22-75 Air fractionation by membrane. O2 in retentate as a function of feed fraction passed tbrougb tbe membrane (stage cut) showing tbe different result with changing process paths. Process has shell-side feed at 690 kPa (abs) and 298 K. Module comprised of hollow fibers, diameter 370 im od X 145 im id X 1500 mm long. Membrane properties (X = 5.7 (O2/N2), permeance for O2 = 3.75 X 10 Barrer/cm. Coutiesy Innovative Membrane Systems/ Fraxair)... 

Kev>erse Osmosis (RO) Membranes A type of membrane system for treating oily wastewater is currently undergoing commercialization by Bend Research, Inc. The system uses a tube-side feed module that yields high fluxes while being able to handle high-sohds-content waste streams (Ref. 25). Another type of reverse osmosis technique is being designed to yield ultrapurified HF recovered from... 

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. 

TFF membrane systems generally use a common feed distributed among parallel modules with a collection of common retentate and common permeate streams. In some applications, it is also useful to plumb TFF modules with the retentate in series where the retentate flow from one module provides the feed flow to the next module. This type of configuration is equivalent to increasing the length of the retentate channel. Permeate flows may or may not be plumbed together. 

Synthesis. The synthases are present at the endomembrane system of the cell and have been isolated on membrane fractions prepared from the cells (5,6). The nucleoside diphosphate sugars which are used by the synthases are formed in the cytoplasm, and usually the epimerases and the other enzymes (e.g., dehydrogenases and decarboxylases) which interconvert them are also soluble and probably occur in the cytoplasm (14). Nevertheless some epimerases are membrane bound and this may be important for the regulation of the synthases which use the different epimers in a heteropolysaccharide. This is especially significant because the availability of the donor compounds at the site of the transglycosylases (the synthases) is of obvious importance for control of the synthesis. The synthases are located at the lumen side of the membrane and the nucleoside diphosphate sugars must therefore cross the membrane in order to take part in the reaction. Modulation of this transport mechanism is an obvious point for the control not only for the rate of synthesis but for the type of synthesis which occurs in the particular lumen of the membrane system. Obviously the synthase cannot function unless the donor molecule is transported to its active site and the transporters may only be present at certain regions within the endomembrane system. It has been observed that when intact cells are fed radioactive monosaccharides which will form and label polysaccharides, these cannot always be found at all the membrane sites within the cell where the synthase activities are known to occur (15). A possible reason for this difference may be the selection of precursors by the transport mechanism. 

Efficient extraction of proteins has been reported with reverse micellar liquid membrane systems, where the pores of the membrane are filled with the reverse micellar phase and the enzyme is extracted from the aqueous phase on one side of membrane while the back extraction into a second aqueous phase takes place at the other side. By this, both the forward and back extractions can be performed using one membrane module [132,208]. Armstrong and Li [209] confirmed the general trends observed in phase transfer using a glass diffusion cell with a reverse micellar liquid membrane. Electrostatic interactions and surfactant concentration affected the protein transfer into the organic membrane and... 

Design of the membrane module system involves selection of the membrane material the module geometry, eg, spiral-wound or hollow-fiber product flow rate and concentration solvent recovery operating pressure and the minimum tolerable flux (9,11). The effects of these variables can be obtained from laboratory or pilot experiments using different membranes and modules. The membrane module as well as the solvent recovery can be chosen to minimize fouling. Spiral-wound modules are widely used because these offer both high surface area as well as a lower fouling potential. 

Figure 19.3. Tubular and plate-and-frame membrane modules for reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration, (a) Construction and flow pattern of a single 1 in. dia tube with membrane coating on the inside in Table 19.4, the Ultracor model has seven tubes in a shell and the Supercor has 19 [Koch Membrane Systems (Abcor)]. (b) Assembly of a plate-and-frame ultrafiltration module (Danish Sugar Co.), (c) Flow in a plate-and-frame ultrafiltration module.

In the experiments we have used two approaches. First, we have simulated the kinetics of a bistable optical system in the Debye relaxation appoximation for different forms of potential by means of electronic analog simulation. Secondly, we have investigated the kinetics of a double-cavity membrane system (DCMS) driven by two modulated laser beams at different wavelengths. This system is known to display optical bistability [111]. 

Plate-and-frame modules were one of the earliest types of membrane system. A plate-and-frame design proposed by Stem [110] for early Union Carbide plants to recovery helium from natural gas is shown in Figure 3.38. Membrane, feed spacers, and product spacers are layered together between two end plates. The feed mixture is forced across the surface of the membrane. A portion passes through the membrane, enters the permeate channel, and makes its way to a central permeate collection manifold. 

Figure 3.40 Typical tubular ultrafiltration module design. The membrane is usually cast on a porous fiberglass or paper support, which is then nested inside a plastic or steel support tube. In the past, each plastic housing contained a single 2- to 3-cm-diameter tube. More recently, several 0.5- to 1.0-cm-diameter tubes, nested inside single housings, have been introduced. (Courtesy of Koch Membrane Systems)...

Figure 8.22 Photograph of an Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. PRISM membrane system installed at an ammonia plant. The modules are mounted vertically...

A typical flow diagram of a membrane system for C3+ liquids recovery is also shown in Figure 8.34. The natural gas is fed to modules containing a higher-hydrocarbon-selective membrane, which removes the higher hydrocarbons as the permeate stream. This stream is recompressed and cooled by a cold-water exchanger to condense higher hydrocarbons. The non-condensed bleed... 

The competitiveness of membrane systems in this application is very sensitive to the selectivity of the membranes for propane, butane and higher hydrocarbons over methane. If the membranes are very selective (propane/methane selectivity of 5-7, butane/methane selectivity of 10-15), the permeate stream from the main set of modules will be small and concentrated, minimizing the cost of the recompressor. Currently, silicone rubber membranes are being considered for this application, but other, more selective materials have been reported [55],... 

The principal problem hindering the development of commercial systems for organic/organic separations is the lack of membranes and modules able to withstand long-term exposure to organic compounds at the elevated temperatures required for pervaporation. Membrane and module stability problems are not... 

The pretreatments, described above, that deliver a particulate-free stream at 38 °C to the amine system provide a ready-made feed for processing via membrane modules. This feed can be used with simple and efficient membranes, new structured sorbents, membrane + structured sorbent hybrid systems or more advanced super H2 selective membranes. These membrane systems can simplify and condense the flow sheet in Figure 7.10, thereby enabling a more compact plant with less piping and associated maintenance concerns. 

A comprehensive presentation of all membrane types, modules and geometries is beyond the scope of this chapter, reference available membrane books for details [12,17, 55, 60, 71, 77,90]. The examples in Figure 16.2 are an illustration of a typical membrane module and installation. The most widespread FS membrane system is mounted as a spiral-wound (SW) unit. In the SW example the actual membrane module is shown together with how they are mounted inside a pressure vessel. A typical installation is shown where several pressure vessels are subsequently mounted in a stack. Pressurized HF units are typically operated as a crossflow system. In the example shown the HF modules are mounted vertically and arranged in a skid. Several variations of the theme can be found depending on the type of module and the manufacturer, where Figure 16.2 is not specific to a particular item. 

In Table 16.2 some of the typical characteristics of the various types of membranes and configurations are given. In MBR systems SW membrane modules are not used as the channels within the spiral are prone to clogging when the feed water has high suspended-solids concentrations. Tubular membrane systems are not common either as they tend to become very expensive due to the low area to volume ratio. Commercial MBR systems today are normally based on immersed FS configurations or H F/CT configurations. 

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