Membranes flow rates

The performance characteristics of the membrane, flow rate and applied differential pressure, may also affect microbial particle passage experiments. The rate at which a liquid is able to pass tiirough a membrane is defined by the equation... 

This equation indicates that at a constant differential jnessure across the membrane, flow rate will decrease as the effective filtration area becomes clogged by particles. Experiments are normally performed, therefore, at constant differential pressure (usually in the range of 30-50 psig) but with a diminishing flow rate, or at a constant flow rate obtained by progressively increasing the differential pressure across the membrane. 

Filter Selection. A variety of product- and process-related factors govern filter selection. Considerations include the characteristics of the fluid to be filtered, ie, its chemical composition and compatibiHty with the filtration system (inclusive of the membrane, filter hardware, piping, etc), the level of bioburden present, specifications on effluent quaHty, the volume of product to be filtered, flow rate, and temperature. 

Improvements ia membrane technology, vahdation of membrane iategrity, and methods to extend filter usage should further improve the performance of membrane filters ia removal of viral particles. Methods to improve or extead filter life and iacrease flow rates by creating more complex flow patterns could possibly be the focus of the next generation of membrane filters designed to remove viral particles. 

Adsorption systems employing molecular sieves are available for feed gases having low acid gas concentrations. Another option is based on the use of polymeric, semipermeable membranes which rely on the higher solubiHties and diffusion rates of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide in the polymeric material relative to methane for membrane selectivity and separation of the various constituents. Membrane units have been designed that are effective at small and medium flow rates for the bulk removal of carbon dioxide. 

A = 4.05 X lO " cm/(s-kPa)(4.1 X 10 cm/(s-atm)) and = 1.3 x 10 cm/s (4)//= 1 mPa-s(=cP), NaCl diffusivity in water = 1.6 x 10 cm /s, and solution density = 1 g/cm . Figure 4 shows typical results of this type of simulation of salt water permeation through an RO membrane. Increasing the Reynolds number in Figure 4a decreases the effect of concentration polarization. The effect of feed flow rate on NaCl rejection is shown in Figure 4b. Because the intrinsic rejection, R = 1 — Cp / defined in terms of the wall concentration, theoretically R should be independent of the Reynolds... 

Factors affecting RO membrane separations and water flux include feed variables such as solute concentration, temperature, pH, and pretreatment requirements membrane variables such as polymer type, module geometry, and module arrangement and process variables such as feed flow rate, operating time and pressure, and water recovery. 

When pure water is forced through a porous ultrafiltration membrane, Darcy s law states that the flow rate is direcdy proportional to the pressure gradient ... 

Membrane Limitations Chemical attack, fouling, and compaction are prominent problems with RO and NF membranes. Compaction is the most straightforward. It is the result of creep, slow cold flow of the polymer resulting in a loss of water permeability. It is measured by the slope of log flux versus log time in seconds. It is independent of the flux units used and is reported as a slope, sometimes with the minus sign omitted. A slope of—0.001, typical for noncelhilosic membranes, means that for every threefold increase in log(time), 10 seconds, a membrane looses 10 percent of its flux. Since membranes are rated assuming that the dramatic early decline in permeability has already occurred, the further decline after the first few weeks is veiy slow. Compaction is specific to pressure, temperature, and envi-... 

Fouling is the term used to describe the loss of throughput of a membrane device as it becomes chemically or physically changed by the process fluid (often by a minor component or a contaminant). A manifestation of fouling in cross-flow UF is that the membrane becomes unresponsive to the hydrodynamic mass transfer which is rate-controlling for most UF. Fouling is different from concentration polarization. Both reduce output, and their resistances are additive. Raising the flow rate in a cross-flow UF will increase flux, as in Eq. 

The retention efficiency of membranes is dependent on particle size and concentration, pore size and length, porosity, and flow rate. Large particles that are smaller than the pore size have sufficient inertial mass to be captured by inertial impaction. In liquids the same mechanisms are at work. Increased velocity, however, diminishes the effects of inertial impaction and diffusion. With interception being the primary retention mechanism, conditions are more favorable for fractionating particles in liquid suspension. 

The first successful chiral resolutions through enantioselective membranes have been published recently, but few cases are applicable to the preparative scale, mainly due to mechanical and technical limitations. Low flow rates, saturation of the chiral selectors and loss of enantioselectivity with time are some of the common problems encountered and that should be solved in the near future. 

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