Dow Global Technolgoies LLC

Filmtec Corporation

Xetex, Inc.

Jon E Johnson

Steven Douglas Jons

Matthew D Mittag

Michael A Fialkowski

Steven Rosenberg

Abhishek Shrivastava

Thomas M Lanz

Thomas N Haynes

Matthew Jon Hallan

Pam G Hinton

Lance Dallas Johnson

Gerald L Martin

Ephraim E Sparrow

Michael Fialkowski

A spiral wound filtration assembly including:

Spiral wound filtration assembly including integral bioreactor

A filtration assembly including: a hyperfiltration assembly including: a high pressure vessel including a feed port, concentrate port and permeate port, and a plurality of serially arranged spiral wound hyperfiltration membrane modules; a bioreactor assembly including: a low pressure vessel comprising a first and second port, and a plurality of spiral wound bioreactors located within the low pressure vessel with each bioreactor comprising a flat sheet having two opposing bio-growth surfaces and a feed spacer spirally wound about an axis; and a fluid flow pathway extending from a fluid feed source: into the first port of the low pressure vessel, through the bioreactors and out the second port of the low pressure vessel, and into the feed port of the high pressure vessel, through the membrane modules and out of the concentrate port and permeate port.

Filtration assembly including spiral wound bioreactors and membrane modules positioned in separate pressure vessels

A filtration assembly including: i) a hyperfiltration assembly including: a high pressure vessel including a feed port, concentrate port and permeate port, and a plurality of serially arranged spiral wound hyperfiltration membrane modules; ii) a bioreactor assembly including: a plurality of spiral wound bioreactors each comprising a flat sheet having two opposing bio-growth surfaces and a feed spacer spirally wound about an axis (Y); and iii) a fluid flow pathway adapted for fluid connection with a fluid feed source and extending in a parallel flow pattern through the bioreactors, and subsequently into the feed port of the high pressure vessel, successively through the spiral wound hyperfiltration membrane modules in a serial flow pattern and out of the concentrate port and permeate port.

Filtration assembly including spiral wound bioreactors and hyperfiltration membrane modules

A filtration element including a cylindrical housing enclosing a fluid filtration media extending along an axis (X) between opposing ends with a first and second end cap located at each end, wherein each end cap includes: i) an annular surface co-extensive with the housing, and ii) outer face laying in a plane perpendicular with the axis (X). The outer face of at least one end cap comprises an annular groove. A face seal including a base is located within the annular groove. A flexible lip extends axially from the base and axially beyond the outer face of the end cap and is adapted to engage with an abutting outer face of an end cap of an adjacently positioned filtration element.

Filtration element with end cap and face seal

A spiral wound element and a seal assembly comprising: a ring-shaped seal disposed about a portion of an outer periphery of the element, a secondary pathway and a valve that selectively permits fluid flow through the secondary pathway.

Spiral wound element and seal assembly

New methods and apparatus are described for assessing the integrity of a separation module or filtration system. A principle embodiment concerns use of a transient pulse of challenge species to probe a spiral wound module. The resulting time-dependent concentration of challenge species in the permeate is detected, recorded, and compared to a reference. An apparatus is further claimed for detecting permeate conductivity at multiple points within the permeate collection tube of a spiral wound module. Also disclosed is a process whereby the permeate stream from a filtration system is concentration by a high recovery membrane apparatus prior to measurement of challenge species concentration.

Method for testing separation modules

The present invention is directed toward membrane leaf packets, spiral wound modules and methods for making and using the same. The subject leaf packet comprises a membrane sheet folded upon itself and reinforced with sealant and tape along at least a portion of the fold on the back side of the membrane sheet.

Membrane leaf packet with reinforced fold

The present invention is an improved feed spacer, spiral wound element incorporating said feed spacer, filtration system and a method for making and using the same. In one embodiment the present invention includes an improved spiral wound element having: a central collection tube with a plurality of openings along its length to receive permeate; at least one filtration envelope extending outwardly from and wound about the tube and at least one feed spacer sheet wound about the collection tube wherein the feed spacer sheet being in planar contact with the outer surface of at least one filtration envelope. The feed spacer sheet is a net comprising a first set of substantially parallel filaments crossed with a second set substantially parallel filaments to form a plurality of parallelograms having an acute angle less than 70&#xb0;, the net oriented such that a line bisecting said acute angle is approximately parallel to the axis of the central collection tube and wherein the net has a strand thinning parameter greater than 1.3.

Spiral wound element with improved feed space

A separation end cap adapted for connecting adjacent separation elements is provided. The end cap may be located at the distal ends of a separation element and is adapted for connection with a permeate tube located within the separation element. In one embodiment the end cap includes an inner hub for receiving an O-ring to seal against an inner hub of an end cap on an adjacent separation element. The inner hub of the end cap may be spin-welded to the outer surface of the permeate tube. A locking structure on an outer hub of the end cap co-acts with a locking structure on an end cap of an adjacent separation element to releaseably lock the end caps and, therefore, adjacent separation elements. The locking structure preferably provides a predetermined axial force on the O-ring to seal the connection between permeate tubes of adjacent separation elements. The locking structure may also provide audible and/or visual feedback that the locking of adjacent end caps has been achieved

Separation membrane end cap

An improved air-to-air, heat-and-moisture exchanger is described which facilitates the simultaneous transfer of both heat and water vapor between two streams of air while greatly inhibiting the transfer of pollutant gases. A rigid encasement supports a stack of flat, thin-film composite membranes that are held in parallel, spaced-apart relation, thereby forming a box-shaped exchanger. The membranes are synthesized by interfacial polymerization, a process whereby a thin, non-porous film may be uniformly deposited onto a porous substrate material. The thin film is hydrophilic so as to provide high water vapor flux together with excellent selectivity against the transfer of other gases and vapors. The substrate provides mechanical support. Each of the parallel sheets of composite membrane in the stack separates two continuously flowing streams of air, one comprised of the air being exhausted from a building and the other comprised of the fresh air brought in to replace the exhausted air, thereby providing simultaneous heat transfer and moisture transfer between the streams while selectively restricting the transfer of the pollutant gases found in the exhaust air.

Growing community of inventors

Plymouth, MN, United States of America

Jon E Johnson