The dead-end hollow fibre microfiltration module testing

Abstract

In this work, the hollow fibre membrane module designed for dead-end operations has been tested. The follow fibre cartridge operated from the outside to the inside during a filtration process, the membrane used was the polypropylene microfiltration membrane. Process characteristic measurements were carried out based on the pure water flux measurements. Next, the set of experiments dealing with microfiltration of model solutions was performed at different conditions. The influence of process parameters on the permeate flux was studied with the main aim to prevent the mebrane fouling. The set of experiments for "sustainable " flux determination was performed for water suspension of A-zeolite. From the results it followed that the fouling of the membrane was negligible for concentration of zeolite less than 3kg m-3. A physical model for transient cake build-up and the associated pressure difference growth for a dead-end microfilter employing a tubular membrane which removes the suspended particles by the sieving mechanism of surface filtration is suggested and discussed. Parameters of the model were determined by fitting of the experimental data.