MEMBRANE CLEANING WITH PULSED ARILIFT PUMP
First Claim
1. A method of cleaning a membrane surface immersed in a liquid medium to dislodge fouling materials therefrom comprising the steps of:
- providing fluid flow in said medium; and
pulsing said fluid flow to provide a pulsed fluid flow which is random in at least one of magnitude, frequency and duration.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
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 (6) or set of membrane modules (5) and a device (11) for providing a generally randomly generated, pulsed fluid flow such that, in use, said fluid flow moves past the surfaces of said membranes (6) to dislodge fouling materials therefrom.
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Citations
56 Claims
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1. A method of cleaning a membrane surface immersed in a liquid medium to dislodge fouling materials therefrom comprising the steps of:
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providing fluid flow in said medium; and pulsing said fluid flow to provide a pulsed fluid flow which is random in at least one of magnitude, frequency and duration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. (canceled)
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10. A membrane module comprising;
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a plurality of porous membranes; and a device that provides pulsed fluid flow which is random in at least one of magnitude, frequency and duration such that, in use, said fluid flow moves past the surfaces of said membranes to dislodge fouling materials therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 30, 31, 32, 33, 39)
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15. (canceled)
- 20. A method of removing fouling materials from the surface of a plurality of porous hollow fiber membranes mounted and extending longitudinally in an array to form a membrane module, said membranes being arranged in close proximity to one another and mounted to prevent excessive movement therebetween, the method comprising the steps of providing a generally random, uniformly distributed pulsed gas bubble flow past the surfaces of said membranes, said distribution being such that said gas bubbles flow substantially uniformly between each membrane in said array to scour the surface of said membranes and remove accumulated solids from within the membrane module.
- 24. A membrane module comprising a plurality of porous hollow fiber membranes, said fiber membranes being arranged in close proximity to one another and mounted to prevent excessive movement therebetween, the fiber membranes being fixed at each end in a header, one header having one or more openings formed therein through which a generally random pulsed gas flow is introduced for cleaning the surfaces of said hollow fiber membranes.
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40. A water treatment system including a tank;
- a liquid chamber fluidly connected to the tank;
a gas chamber fluidly connected to the liquid chamber; and
a membrane module fluidly connected to the gas chamber. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43)
- a liquid chamber fluidly connected to the tank;
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44. A water treatment system comprising a liquid reservoir fluidly connected to a source of water;
- a gas/liquid chamber enclosing a first compartment and a second compartment, the first compartment fluidly connected to the liquid reservoir; and
a membrane separation vessel hydraulically connected to the second compartment. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46)
- a gas/liquid chamber enclosing a first compartment and a second compartment, the first compartment fluidly connected to the liquid reservoir; and
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47. A method of scouring a membrane module including:
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providing a chamber having a first compartment and a second compartment; establishing a hydraulic seal between the first compartment and the membrane module; at least partially filling the first compartment with a liquid and introducing a gas into the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A method of cleaning filtration membranes located in a vessel containing liquid comprising the steps of:
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providing a fluid within the liquid; and randomly pulsing said fluid within the liquid at a number of locations within the vessel. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56)
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Specification