Installation for making water potable with submerged filtering membranes

• US 5,607,593 A
• Filed: 11/30/1994
• Issued: 03/04/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: OTV SA SA
• Original Assignee: Omnium Detraitements et Devalorisation
• Inventors: Cote, Pierre, Moulin, Catherine, Desbos, Gilbert, Faivre, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): FORTUNA, ANA M
• Application Number:
  US08/346,858
• Time in Patent Office: 825 Days
• Field of Search: 210/195.2, 210/257.2, 210/256, 210/258, 210/758, 210/760, 210/765, 210/704, 210/323.2, 210/330, 210/332, 210/220, 210/663, 210/333.01, 210/333.1, 210/652 , 210/660, 210/321.69, 210/791, 261/76, 261/94, 261/21, 261/DIG. 42
• US Class Current: 210/650
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2313/08 Flow guidance means within the module or the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2313/26 Specific gas distributors or gas intakes
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2315/06 Submerged-type; Immersion type
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2321/04 Backflushing
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2321/168 Use of other chemical agents
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2321/185 Aeration
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 61/147 Microfiltration
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 61/16 Feed pretreatment
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 61/18 Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 63/024 with a single potted end
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 63/043 with separate tube sheets
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 65/02 Membrane cleaning or sterilisation ; Membrane regeneration
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 65/08 Prevention of membrane fouling or of concentration polarisation
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 65/102 Detection of leaks in membranes
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/441 by reverse osmosis
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/442 by nanofiltration
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/78 with ozone C02F1/4672 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 9/20 Portable or detachable small-scale multistage treatment devices, e.g. point of use or laboratory water purification systems

Abstract

A water-treatment installation, notably with a view to making water potable, includes a reactor demarcating at least one treatment chamber, the reactor comprising a conveying assembly to convey the water to be treated into the chamber; a removing assembly for removing the floated pollutants and a removing assembly for removing the decanted pollutants; a plurality of filtration membranes laid out within the chamber and submerged in the water to be treated; a demarcating assembly for demarcating a filtration zone around each of the membranes; carrying and circulating member guiding a current of water to be treated in the filtration zone along a preferred direction, the carrying and circulating member including ozone-injection assembly; and a recovering assembly recovering the permeate at an outlet of the filtration membranes.

Claims

1. A water-treatment installation for filtering and purifying water, notably with a view to making water potable, comprising:

a reactor demarcating at least one treatment chamber, comprising means for conveying water to be treated into said chamber, means for removing from said water floated pollutants, and means for removing decanted pollutants, said means connected to said reactor;

a plurality of filtration membranes being disposed within said chamber and submerged in the water to be treated;

means for demarcating a filtration zone around each of said membranes;

carrying and circulating means for guiding a current of the water to be treated in said filtration zone along a preferred direction, said carrying and circulating means including ozone-injection means for injecting ozone into said filtration zone;

means for recovering permeate at an outlet of said filtration membranes; and

wherein said preferred direction is a flow of the current of water tangential to said membranes.

2. An installation according to claim 1, wherein said demarcating means which demarcate the filtration zones are constituted by sheaths each surrounding one membrane, said sheaths having a plurality of holes that enable a passage of the water to be treated in said preferred direction of treatment.

3. An installation according to claim 1, wherein said membranes and said demarcating means which demarcate the filtration zone around each of said membranes have a vertical position within said treatment chamber.

4. An installation according to claim 1, wherein said reactor is provided with a wall to which said membranes are fixedly joined, said wall forming a double chamber constituted by a treatment chamber and by a permeate-recovery chamber.

5. An installation according to claim 4, wherein said wall forms a bottom for said treatment chamber.

6. An installation according to claim 4, wherein said wall between the treatment chamber and the permeate-recovery chamber is provided with means for injecting, into said membranes, a fluid for washing the membranes.

7. An installation according to claim 6, further comprising a backwashing pump enabling said membranes to be washed in a reverse current by said permeate, the backwashing pump being communicated with a permeate storage container for storing the permeate outside of the permeate-recovery chamber and said permeate-recovery chamber.

8. An installation according to claim 6, further comprising means for injecting, ,in reverse current, an aqueous monophase mixture of water and ozone in backwashing operations.

9. An installation according to claim 4, further comprising an air compressor, the air compressor enabling injection of pressurized air into said permeate-recovery chamber.

10. An installation according to claim 9, further comprising means for injecting compressed air into the permeate-recovery chamber.

11. An installation according to claim 4, wherein said treatment chamber is located at an upper location in said reactor, and the permeate-recovery chamber is placed at a lower location in said reactor.

12. An installation according to claim 1, wherein said ozone-injection means are constituted by means for forming ozone bubbles and include means for dissolving ozone in water.

13. An installation according to claim 1, further comprising means for recovering a residual ozone.

14. An installation according to claim 1, wherein each of said membranes are constituted by a set of hollow fibers used in external/internal filtration mode.

15. An installation according to claim 14, wherein said hollow fibers are plugged at one of their ends, the other end communicating with said recovering means for recovering the permeate.

16. An installation according to claim 14, wherein said ozone-injection means include at least one supply tube going through said membranes along a longitudinal axis of each of the membranes, in parallel to said hollow fibers, said at least one supply tube enabling the ozone to be conveyed from a supply network provided above said membranes down to a base of said membranes.

17. An installation according to claim 14, wherein said ozone-injection means comprise porous structures.

18. An installation according to claim 7, wherein said porous structures are set up at a base of said membranes.

19. An installation according to claim 14, wherein said sheaths demarcating the filtration zones have lower holes into which the water penetrates and upper holes by which the water and carrying fluid escape, the water having a rising motion tangential to said membranes.

20. An installation according to claim 17, wherein said means for recovering the permeate comprise at least one suction pump.

21. An installation according to claim 1, further comprising means recirculating the water present in said treatment chamber.

22. An installation according to claim 21, wherein said recirculating means include at least one recirculation loop on which ozone-supply means are set up.

23. An installation according to claim 22, further comprising at least one hydro-injector provided on said at least one recirculation loop, said at least one hydro-injector enabling dispersal of the ozone given by the ozone-supply means in the water flowing through said recirculation loop.

24. An installation according to claim 22, further comprising at least one saturator provided on said recirculation loop, said saturator enabling dissolving, under high pressure, of the ozone given by the ozone-supply means in the water flowing through said recirculation loop.

25. An installation according to claim 1, further comprising refining units for refining water treated, said units being set up at an outlet of said reactor.

26. An installation according to claim 25, wherein said refining units are selected from a group consisting of a nanofiltration membrane or reverse osmosis membranes.

27. A filtration set for treatment of water, notably with a view to making potable, wherein said set comprises:

a treatment chamber comprising means for conveying the water to be treated into said treatment chamber, means for removing floated pollutants and means for removing decanted pollutants;

a filtration membrane surrounded by a sheath demarcating a filtration zone, said membrane being disposed within said treatment chamber;

a wall to which said membrane is fixed, defining a bottom in said treatment chamber and demarcating a zone for recovering permeate; and

ozone-injection means for creating a current of water within said sheath.

28. A method for treating water, notably with a view to making the water potable, said method comprising the steps of:

filtering the water through a plurality of membranes submerged in the water to be treated in a reactor;

preparing a filtration zone around each of the membranes;

carrying along a current of water in the filtration zone in a preferred direction by the use of carrying and circulating means that include ozone-injection means; and

recovering permeate at an outlet from said membranes.

29. A method according to claim 28, further comprising a step of eliminating at least a part of pollutant matter dissolved in the water to be treated by adding to said treatment chamber at least one reagent that is a coagulant, adsorbent or oxidant.

30. A method according to claim 28, further comprising a step of injecting compressed air into a permeate-recovery chamber of said reactor to check integrity of the membranes.

31. A method according to claim 28, further comprising a step of regenerating said membranes by washing with ozone.

32. An installation according to claim 31, wherein the regenerating step including a step of washing with a cleansing solution containing at least one chemical, said treatment chamber of the installation being a vessel for mixing and recycling of said cleansing solution.

33. A water-treatment installation, notably with a view to making water potable, comprising:

a reactor demarcating a chamber into a permeate-recovery chamber and a treatment chamber, the reactor comprising means for conveying water to be treated into said chamber, means for removing floated pollutants, and means for removing decanted pollutants;

a plurality of filtration membranes being disposed within said chamber and submerged in the water to be treated;

means for demarcating a filtration zone around each of said membranes;

carrying and circulating means for guiding a current of the water to be treated in said filtration zone along a preferred direction, said carrying and circulating means including ozone-injection means for injecting ozone into said filtration zone;

means for recovering permeate at an outlet of said filtration membranes; and

a wall, disposed between the treatment chamber and the permeate-recovery chamber, being provided with means for injecting, into said membranes, a fluid for washing the membranes.

34. An installation according to claim 33, further comprising means for injecting, in reverse current, an aqueous monophase mixture of water and ozone in backwashing operations.