Dresser Industries, Inc.

John M Michaels

Gerald A Croopnick

Marshall Montgomery

Donald G Paul

Richard A Morris

A membrane pack is constructed, which includes a highly porous carrier sandwiched between a pair of membrane structures that must be kept continuously wet, the pack having a hole and being sealed around the hole to prevent the passage of polluting liquid lying in the hole, into the porous carrier of the pack. The membrane pack is constructed by impregnating the carrier with a flowable polymer which can solidify, to leave a thin layer of the polymer on either surface of the carrier, and by then welding the polymer layers to membranes at either face of the carrier. Ultrasonic welding of the membrane structures to the carrier is performed while the membrane structures are wet, the ultrasonic welding dissipating moisture lying at the interface between the carrier and membrane structures to permit even hydrophilic polymers to be utilized.

Membrane pack and method of making

Apparatus is provided for collecting a plurality of samples of fluids in earth formations traversed by a well bore. The sampling apparatus includes an elongated body member adapted to carry an extensible and retractible fluid admitting probe which is selectively placed in sealing engagement with potentially producible earth formations. The fluid admitting probe is coupled to a fluid passage which is selectively placed into fluid communication with a fluid sample collection chamber. A selectively controllable pressure control system located in the fluid passage intermediate the fluid admitting probe and the sample collection chamber allows the flowing pressure within the formation fluid sample line to be maintained at any selected pressure level functionally related to hydrostatic pressure during fluid sample collection.

Apparatus for testing earth formations

A fluid purification apparatus of the type which includes a stack of membrane packs and a stack of gaskets located at the peripheral portions of the membrane packs to keep them separated from one another, wherein the gaskets have outer lands bearing on one another and surrounding the membrane packs, inner lands pressing against the faces of the packs to seal against them, and elongated bendable middle gasket portions connecting the inner and outer lands to allow the inner lands to adjust position so as to compensate for variations in thickness of the membrane packs.

Gasket arrangement for purification apparatus

Apparatus is described for purifying waste water or other feed fluid, which includes a stack of membrane packs wherein each pack contains a conduit sheet, a pair of support sheets of filter paper or the like, each lying against a face of the conduit sheet, and a pair of membranes each lying over a filter paper sheet. The pack has exit holes, and the filter paper extends up to the exit hole walls and has a region thereabout which is impregnated with an adhesive which seals the filter paper against the inflow of concentrate while also holding the filter paper to the conduit sheet and membranes. The packs are spaced apart by inner and outer gaskets, the radially inner gaskets having central holes forming a feed pipe for carrying the feed fluid to all the packs. The stack of membrane packs is rapidly rotated to provide centrifugal forces that help sweep away membrane-plugging material during radial flow of feed fluid from the feed pipe to the peripheries of the packs, and the exit holes of all of the packs are formed near their peripheries and are aligned to thereby form a concentrate-carrying 'pipe' with gaps that receive the concentrate.

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Irvine, CA, United States of America

John M Michaels