Membrane
Configurations
Department Editor: Kate Torzewski
M
embrane polymers are pack-
aged into a configuration,
commonly called a device
or an element. The most-common
element configurations (figure) are
tubular, capillary fiber, spiral wound,
and plate and frame.
TUBULAR
Made from ceramic, carbon,
stainless steel or a number of
thermoplastics, tubular elements
have inside diameters from 1/4
in. up to about 1 in. Typically, the
membrane is coated on the inside
of the tube, and the feed solution
flows through the interior (lumen)
from one end to the other, with
the permeate passing through the
wall and collected on the outside
of the tube.
CAPILLARY (HOLLOW FIBER)
These elements are similar to the
tubular element in design. They
are, however, smaller in diameter
and usually consist of unsupport-
ed membrane polymers, which re-
quire rigid support on each end.
This support is provided by an
epoxy “potting” of a bundle of the
fibers inside a cylinder. The feed
flow is either down the interior of
the fiber or around its outside.
SPIRAL WOUND
This type of element is made from
an envelope of sheet membrane,
wound around a permeate
tube that is perforated to al-
low collection of the permeate.
Feed water becomes purified by
passing through one layer of the
membrane and flowing into the
permeate tube. This is by far the
most common configuration in
water-purification applications.
PLATE AND FRAME
This kind of element employs
sheet membrane, stretched over a
frame to separate the layers and
facilitate collection of the perme-
ate, which goes to a center tube.
CHOOSING A CONFIGURATION Tubular
In selecting a membrane configu- Porous
Membrane substrate
ration, it is important to consider
how the packing density and con- Concentrate
centration polarization of each Feed
configuration affects membrane
fouling resistance.
Permeate
Packing density. From the perspec-
tive of cost and convenience, it is Capillary
beneficial to pack as much mem- Permeate
flow
brane area into as small a volume Hollow fibers
as possible. The higher the packing
Concentrate
density, the greater the membrane Feed
area enclosed in a device of a
given volume, and, generally, the
lower the cost of the membrane
element. The disadvantage of Spiral wound
Feed Concentrate
membrane elements having
high packing density is Permeate
their greater propensity flow Permeate
flow
for fouling, as outlined in
the table.
Concentration polarization. Membranes
Concentration polarization is the ac- Feed
cumulation of rejected particles to an spacer
extent that transport to the membrane Plate and frame
surface becomes limited. It reduces Concentrate
the permeability of the solvent and
can lead to a limiting flux and a
Cartridge
higher fouling tendency. Membranes
The type of membrane module used
Feed
in a process affects the influence of
Permeate
concentration polarization; and it is
difficult to balance high fluxes and
low fouling with low investment and
operating costs. Tubular modules can COMPARISON OF MEMBRANE ELEMENT
CONFIGURATIONS
accommodate high cross flow and
large particles, but their capital costs Element Packing Fouling
configuration density* resistance**
and ratio of relative price to mem-
Capillary filter medium high
brane area are considerably higher
than those for spiral-wound modules. Plate and frame low high
Spiral-wound modules, on the other
Spiral wound medium moderate
hand, enjoy the advantages of lower
Tubular low high
installed costs and easier changeout.
* Membrane area per unit volume of element
Channel height can be varied by the
** Tolerance to suspended solids
use of distance keepers, also known
as spacers.
References
Capillary membrane modules can be
1. Cartwright, P., Membranes for Process Water
backwashed inline during filtration to Reuse, Chem. Eng., June 2004, pp. 38–42.
remove particles from the membrane 2. Baird, A., Making High-Purity Water, Chem.
or to add chemicals from the permeate Eng., May 2005, pp. 36–43.
side. Like tubular modules, they have 3. Buecker, B., Microfiltration for CPI Wastewater,
Chem. Eng., May 2007, pp. 63–65.
high investment costs, but their ability to
4. Lipnizki, J., Strategies for Controlling Membrane
backwash at regular intervals reduces the Fouling, Chem. Eng., September 2007, pp.
potential for fouling. 62–64.