U.S. Filter Wastewater Group, Inc.

Siemens Industry, Inc.

Siemens Water Technologies Pte. Ltd.

Evoqua Water Technologies Pte. Ltd.

Usf Filtration & Separations Group Inc.

Other

Pall Seitzschenk Filtersystems Gmbh

Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials Singapore Pte, Ltd

Fufang Zha

Roger William Phelps

Peter Zauner

Thomas William Beck

Warren Thomas Johnson

David John Cox

Gerin James

Joseph Edward Zuback

Edward John Jordan

Robert James McMahon

Zhiyi Cao

Clinton V Kopp

Joachim Muller

Cinzia Lea

Georg Schnieder

Etienne Ulysse Brois

Gary C Ganzi

Bruce Gregory Biltoft

Wenjun Liu

Tomasz Swiatek

Huw Alexander Lazaredes

Jessica Stiller

Matthew Kuzma

George Schneider

Edward Joseph Zuback

Sargon Barkho

Anthony James Stubbs

Robert James Mcmahon

Clinton Virgil Kopp

A method of cleaning a membrane surface immersed in a liquid medium with a fluid flow, including the steps of providing a randomly generated intermittent or pulsed fluid flow along the membrane surface to dislodge fouling materials therefrom. A membrane module is also disclosed comprising a plurality of porous membranes () or a set of membrane modules () and a device () for providing a generally randomly generated, pulsed fluid flow such that, in use, said fluid flow moves past the surfaces of said membranes () to dislodge fouling materials therefrom.

Membrane cleaning with pulsed airlift pump

In accordance with aspects and embodiments, a filtration system is provided comprising a membrane module comprising an upper header and a lower header, a plurality of hollow fiber membranes having an upper end potted in the upper header and a lower end potted in the lower head, a cage at least partially surrounding the plurality of hollow fiber membranes, and a screen in contact with and surrounding the cage, the filtration system further comprising an aeration cap coupled to the lower header of the membrane module. The screen may protect the hollow fiber membranes from damage from coarse contaminants contained in the feed liquid, may improve module integrity, and may improve the efficiency of the filtration system.

Membrane module protection

A method of cleaning a porous polymeric membrane having a feed side and a permeate side including the steps of introducing a fluid containing a cleaning agent to the permeate side of a membrane allowing the cleaning agent to contact the permeate side of the membrane for a predetermined time, and contact the pores of the membrane, or introducing a fluid containing a cleaning agent to the feed side of a membrane; applying a transmembrane pressure to force the fluid containing the cleaning agent from the feed side to the permeate side of the membrane; allowing the cleaning agent to contact the permeate side of the membrane for a predetermined time, and contact the pores of the membrane. Preferably a concentration gradient between the feed side fluid and the lumen side fluid containing the cleaning agent causes cleaning agent to diffuse into the feed side fluid. Pressure may be applied to the fluid containing a cleaning agent to dislodge, where present, dissolved and undissolved solid from the membrane pores. The pressure may be applied in a pulsed fashion, and can be by way of compressed air at a pressure not more than the membrane's bubble point. The methods of the present invention may be preceded by, or followed with a backwash.

Chemical clean for membrane filter

Methods for cleaning polymeric microfiltration or ultrafiltration membranes. The membrane may be contacted with a first cleaning solution including at least one oxidising agent. A second cleaning solution including at least one reducing agent may then be introduced to the membrane and first cleaning solution. The oxidising and reducing agents may undergo a neutralisation reaction to form an oxidation-neutral mixed cleaning solution. The membrane may be simultaneously cleaned during the neutralisation reaction.

Method of cleaning membranes

Water treatment membrane cleaning with pulsed airlift pump

A method of filtering solids from a liquid suspension comprising providing a pressure differential across the walls of permeable, hollow membranes () immersed in the liquid suspension contained in a vessel (), the liquid suspension being applied to the outer surface of the porous hollow membrane () to induce and sustain filtration through the membrane walls. Some of the liquid suspension passes through the walls of the membranes () to be drawn off as permeate from the hollow membrane lumens, and at least some of the solids are retained on or in the hollow membranes or otherwise as suspended solids within the liquid surrounding the membranes (). The method includes the steps of suspending the flow of the liquid suspension to the vessel (); reducing the volume of liquid suspension within the vessel (); suspending the filtration process; cleaning the membranes () by dislodging at least some of the solids retained on or in the membranes (); and removing the liquid containing dislodged solids from the vessel ().

Reduction of backwash liquid waste

A method of backwashing a membrane filtration system comprising at least one permeable membrane, preferably a hollow fiber membrane, the method comprising the step of applying a pressurized gas at a variable pressure to permeate remaining present in the system when filtration process is stopped or suspended to provide liquid for backwashing pores of the permeable membrane during a backwashing process. Also provided are methods of filtering solids from a liquid suspension using alternating liquid backwash pressures.

Membrane system backwash energy efficiency

A membrane module includes at least one hollow fiber membrane; a first resin layer formed around an end of the at least one hollow fiber membrane; and a second resin layer chemically bound to the first resin layer, wherein the second resin layer is of greater flexibility than the first resin layer.

Membrane module

A method of cleaning a membrane filtration module (), the module () including at least one membrane () located in a feed-containing vessel (), the membrane () having a permeable wall which is subjected to a filtration operation wherein feed containing contaminant matter is applied to one side of the membrane wall and filtrate is withdrawn from the other side of the membrane wall. The method comprising the steps of: suspending the filtration operation; performing a cleaning process on the membrane wall to dislodge contaminant matter therefrom into liquid surrounding the membrane (); performing a high velocity sweep of the feed-containing vessel () to remove the liquid containing the dislodged contaminant matter; and recommencing the filtration operation. An improved gas scouring method is also disclosed.

Method of cleaning membrane modules

A method of controlling fouling in a membrane filtration system () of the type where gas is used to clean or scour the membranes () wherein the method includes supplying the gas to the system with a continuously variable flow rate. A continuously variable valve arrangement () is also disclosed.

Continuously variable aeration

A membrane module () including a plurality of porous membranes () extending in an array and mounted, at least at one end, in a header (). The header () has a number of distribution apertures () for distributing a fluid into the module () and along a surface or surfaces of the membranes (). An elongate chamber () having one open end () and another end is in fluid communication with the distribution apertures () for distributing the fluid to the distribution apertures ().

Mixing chamber

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West Ryde, Australia

Fufang Zha