High Pressure Stainless Braided Hose with End Fittings, 48

Most separations and flux through membranes are controlled by the nature of the fluid. For salt rejecting membranes (RO and NF), the dominant variables are operating pressure and osmotic pressure (a solute concentration-dependent property which reduces net operating pressure with increased solute concentrate).

Generally, permeate flux increases as the operating pressure increases; however, due to physical limitations of membranes, there is a practical limit above which increasing the operating pressure provides little or no flux increase. The fluid velocity across the membrane, controlled by the feed pump rate and concentrate control valve, is another important operating parameter. As the fluid velocity increases, the amount of mixing of the feed solution in the fluid layer directly above the membrane surface increases. The removal of fluid through the membrane (permeate) results in accumulation of rejected solutes in this layer, referred to as the boundary layer.

The accumulation of solutes in the boundary layer can contribute a significant resistance to permeate flux through the membrane and is often the factor most limiting permeate flux. Increasing the feed solution velocity across the membrane and using turbulence promoting foulant spacers, provides the optimal combination for boundary layer mixing to mitigate solute accumulation. However, considerations of energy expenditures and mechanical stress limitations of the membrane and the test cell system result in practical limitations for crossflow velocity. To find maximum permeate flux, we set the feed flow (and consequently the crossflow velocity) to a maximum practical rate and increase the operating pressure incrementally while monitoring the flux output.

Typically, a given operating pressure can be found that will yield maximum permeate flux specific to the feed solution and feed flow. If the feed is recirculated and the solute concentration changes, then the optimal operating pressure may change and typically decreases as solute concentration increases unless the osmotic pressure becomes significant. For systems operated with recirculating feed, it may be more optimal to operate at a pressure somewhat lower than the maximum pressure initially determined and may result in greater total permeate flux over time.