Novel disk modules for membrane separation processes

摘要

The reverse osmosis (RO) system at the Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF) at the Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina has experienced fouling from trace quantities of inorganics (Al, Fe, and Si) and l.E5-l.E7/ml bacteria. The bacteria are primarily produced in an upstream Hg-removal resin bed/activated carbon bed process. The bacteria adhere to the colloidal inorganics that are in the membrane feed at their solubility limits (having been precipitated and removed upstream by a ceramic microfilter system). The resulting bacterial/inorganic foulant adheres to the membrane surface and results in high feed pressures and poor salt rejection. The feed pressure increases because the membrane system at the ETF is designed to produce a constant rate of treated water, or permeate. This is accomplished by increasing the membrane feed pressure whenever permeate flow drops. These performance losses have been attributed to bacteria present in the feed, and several potential solutions have been proposed and demonstrated here at the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC). Advanced hybrid plate-and-frame modules have been developed that increase the applicability of membrane systems by using hydrodynamics rather than pretreatment to prevent membrane fouling.