Developments in membrane technology for water treatment

Membrane technology is widely accepted as a means of producing various qualities of water from
surface water, well water, brackish water and seawater. Membrane technology is also used in industrial
processes and in industrial wastewater treatment, and lately membrane technology has moved into the
area of treating secondary and tertiary municipal wastewater and oil field produced water. In many
cases one membrane process is followed by another with the purpose of producing water of increasing
purity and quality for various purposes. One type of membrane may thus enhance the fimction of
another to meet goals ranging from disposal of wastewater to production of drinking water from
unexpected sources. In this way membrane technology offers the possibility of managing the total water
resources in a region, which is of special interest in geographical areas where the natural water
resources are scarce. The spiral wound membrane element configuration is the most widely used due to
its high packing density and relatively low price.

Some technological advance in the area of innovative new membranes and application concepts for
spiral wound membrane elements. Spiral wound elements span the four commonly defined membrane
technologies, which are microfiltration (0.01-O microns), ultrafiltration (500- 100,000 Da), nanofiltration
(100-500 Da), and reverse osmosis (up to 100 Da). A sandwich consisting of two membrane sheets with
an inserted permeate carrier is glued together and to complete the membrane package a feed spacer is
inserted between the opposing membrane surfaces. The membrane package is wound around a
perforated central tube through which the permeate exits the element. The physical shape of a
membrane element is secured by applying a suitable outer wrap. The physical and chemical properties
ofthe various materials, including the membrane, are chosen according to the operating parameters.
This is acceptable for conventional pure water applications, but for more complex membrane
applications these limitations must be diminished or removed. Advanced materials and material science
have been applied to the membranes, materials and construction of spiral wound elements.

Spacer characterization and pressure drop modelling in spacer-filled channels for ultrafiltration

A correlation has been developed that allows the characterization and design of net-like feed channel
spacers in any combination of geometric characteristics: angle, mesh size, thickness, strand size and
voidage. Flow visualization was used to determine the flow path in a spacer-filled channel and to assess
the effect of spacer characteristics on fluid mixing. Pressure losses in the spacer-filled channel have been
modelled by inclusion of viscous drag on the channel walls and spacer, form drag of the spacer and
kinetic losses due to directional flow change. This semi-empirical model permits evaluation of spacer
perform- ance. Grobers mass transfer laminar flow correlation for developing concentration and
velocity profiles was modified to account for spacer geometry. The equation obtained predicts mass
transfer in spacer- filled channels with a deviation of less than 10% for the majority of spacers tested.
The penalty for improving flux is increased pressure loss along the channel. An illustrative economic
analysis which includes operating costs (which are pressure drop related) and capital costs (which are
flux related) is used to identify optimal spacer designs for ultrafiltration.
Optimal channel spacer design for ultrafiltration

Ultrafiltration experiments have been performed with a Dextran T500 solution in a thin chan- nel fitted
with various types and orientations of spacer. Mass transfer can be described by a lam- inar flow type of
correlation, whereas channel pressure loss is best described by turbulent flow effects. In both cases, and
particularly for pressure loss, the performance varies significantly with the characteristic angle of flow
diversion induced by the spacer. An analysis of processing costs, including equipment and operating
(energy) components, shows that optimal spacers can be iden- tified. For the range of conditions
considered the minimum cost is found for a spacer with a characteristic angle of ca. 80. The minimum
varies with feed concentration and flow-rate.

FLUID FLOW IN AN IDEALIZED SPIRAL WOUND MEMBRANE MODULE

Analytical and numerical solutions for steady laminar incompressible flow in an idealized spiral wound
membrane (annular) duct are developed and computed. Axial and radial velocity profiles and axial
pressure distributions for injection and suction are presented. The analytical method uses a
perturbation technique in wall Reynolds num- ber (Re,) to solve the Navier-Stokes problem. The usual
assumptions of uniform injection or suction and similar velocity profiles with axial distance are invoked.
For most membrane processes where Re, < 1, the analytical solution is sufficient and the assumptions
are valid after the developing entrance region. For Re, > 1, numerical calculations reveal that similarity in
the velocity profiles (assumed for the analytical development) disappear and that the radial velocity
profile exhibits inflections. These results could be used for estimating pumping requirements and for
effecting design changes in spiral wound modules.

Mass transfer andpressure loss in sniml wound modulps

The performance of a spiral wound element, i.e. permeate flow and quality can IX calculated by

numerical integration of balance equations. The same is valid for the calculation of optimal element

geometry. For this a computer program is required which needs reliable input data regarding

geometrical parameters and transport characteristics. This paper presents some experimental data for

pressure drop and mass-transfer characteristics in spiral wound elements and in spacer-filled flow

channels. The experimental results and the computer program were used to calculate the performance
of a spiral wound element and its possible design variations.