Filtration monitoring and control system
First Claim
1. A method of determining the fouling effect of a feedstream on a filter having known characteristics, said method comprising the steps of:
- i) passing the feedstream through a filter having known characteristics;
ii) determining the change in resistance to flow of the feedstream across the filter, either continuously or over a number of time intervals; and
iii) using the information determined from step ii), calculating a feed fouling index (FFI) representative of fouling characteristics of the feedstream with respect to the filter, where ##EQU6## with FFI=Feed Fouling Index, Δ
R=change in resistance, V=volume of feedstream filtered and, Δ
(V/A)=change in the ratio of volume of feedstream filtered to filter area.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for determining the fouling effect of a feedstream on a filter having known characteristics disclosed. The method comprises passing the feedstream through a filter (5) having known characteristics; determining the change in resistance to flow of the feedstream across the filter, either continuously or over a number of time intervals and from this data, calculating a feed fouling index (FFI) representative of the fouling characteristics of the feedstream with respect to the filter. A method and apparatus for monitoring the operation of a filtration system is also disclosed the method comprising sampling system parameter values at selected locations within the filtration system at a predetermined sampling rate; generating a parameter profile characteristic from the sampled parameter values at predetermined intervals of time; and analysing the parameter profile characteristic to determine correct operation of the filtration system. A further method and apparatus of monitoring and controlling a filtering system based on backwash efficiency is also disclosed, the method comprising determining resistance values of filtering elements used in the filtering system at predetermined times during the backwash cycle of the system by monitoring a number of operating parameters of the system; calculating a backwash efficiency value representative of the efficiency of the backwash cycle of the filtering system using the resistance values determined; and controlling the operation of the filtering system in dependence on the value of the backwash efficiency calculated.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of determining the fouling effect of a feedstream on a filter having known characteristics, said method comprising the steps of:
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i) passing the feedstream through a filter having known characteristics; ii) determining the change in resistance to flow of the feedstream across the filter, either continuously or over a number of time intervals; and iii) using the information determined from step ii), calculating a feed fouling index (FFI) representative of fouling characteristics of the feedstream with respect to the filter, where ##EQU6## with FFI=Feed Fouling Index, Δ
R=change in resistance, V=volume of feedstream filtered and, Δ
(V/A)=change in the ratio of volume of feedstream filtered to filter area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An on-line method of monitoring and controlling a filtering system, said method comprising the steps of:
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i) determining a resistance value of filtering elements used in the filtering system by monitoring a number of operating parameters of the system; ii) calculating a feed fouling index (FFI) representative of the fouling characteristics of the feedstream with respect to the filtering system using the resistance value determined in i), where ##EQU7## with FFI=Feed Fouling Index, Δ
R=change in resistance, V=volume of feedstream filtered and Δ
(V/A)=change in the ratio of volume of feedstream filtered to filter area; andiii) controlling operations of the filtering system in dependence on the value of the feed fouling index calculated.
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6. An off-line method of determining the potential fouling effect of a feedstream, said method including the steps of:
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i) passing a sample of the feedstream at a predetermined pressure through a filter having known characteristics; ii) determining a change in resistance to flow of the feedstream across the filter, either continuously or over a number of time intervals; and iii) using the information determined from step ii), calculating a feed fouling index (FFI) representative of fouling characteristics of the feedstream sample on the known filter, where ##EQU8## with FFI=Feed Fouling Index, Δ
R=change in resistance, V=volume of feedstream filtered and Δ
(V/A)=change in the ratio of volume of feedstream filtered to filter area. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for use in determining the potential fouling effect of a feedstream comprising:
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a filter having known properties; means to pass a sample of the feedstream through said filter at a predetermined pressure; means for measuring the change in resistance to flow of the feedstream through the filter over time; and means for calculating quantitatively a feed fouling index (FFI) indicative of potential fouling effect of the feedstream on the filter based on the measured change in resistance to flow, where ##EQU9## with FFI=Feed Fouling Index, Δ
R=change in resistance, V=volume of feedstream filtered and Δ
(V/A)=change in the ratio of volume of feedstream filtered to filter area, so as to estimate the potential fouling effect of the feedstream on other known filters. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of monitoring the operation of a filtration system comprising the following steps:
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a) sampling system parameter values at selected locations within the filtration system at a predetermined sampling rate; b) generating a parameter profile characteristic from the sampled parameter values at predetermined intervals of time; c) determining the change in resistance to flow of the feedstream across the filter, either continuously or over a number of time intervals, where ##EQU10## with R=resistance, Δ
P=change in pressure across the filter, A=filter area, η
=viscosity of the feedstream and Q=flow across the filter; andd) determining optimal operations of the filtration system using the information determined from steps a) to c). - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. An apparatus for monitoring the operation of a filtration system comprising:
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a) means for sampling system parameter values at selected locations within the filtration system at a predetermined sampling rate; b) means for generating a parameter profile characteristic from the sampled parameter values at predetermined intervals of time; c) means for determining the change in resistance to flow of the feedstream across the filter, either continuously or over a number of time intervals, where ##EQU11## with R=resistance, Δ
P=change in pressure across the filter, A=filter area, η
=viscosity of the feedstream and Q=flow across the filter; andd) means for determining optimal operations of the filtration system using the information determined from means a) to c). - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of monitoring and controlling a filtering system, said method comprising the steps of:
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i) determining resistance values of filtering elements used in the filtering system at predetermined times during the backwash cycle of the system by monitoring a number of operating parameters of the system; ii) calculating a backwash efficiency value representative of the efficiency of the backwash cycle of the filtering system using the resistance values determined in i), where ##EQU12## and BWE=backwash efficiency, and Ri =resistance at time i; and
iii) controlling operations of the filtering system in dependence on the values of the backwash efficiency calculated. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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27. Apparatus for monitoring and controlling a filtering system comprising:
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i) means for determining resistance values of filtering elements used in the filtering system at predetermined times during the backwash cycle of the system by monitoring a number of operating parameters of the system; ii) means for calculating a backwash efficiency value representative of the efficiency of the backwash cycle of the filtering system using the resistance values determined in i), where ##EQU13## and BWE=backwash efficiency, and Ri =resistance at time i; and
iii) means for controlling operations of the filtering system in dependence on the values of the backwash efficiency calculated. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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Specification