Methods of making a hollow fiber membrane element adapted for use in water treatment and osmotic processes

摘要

A method of making a membrane element adapted for use in water treatment and osmotic pressures, the method comprises providing a plurality of spacer structures having given dimension, placing one or more spacer structures on a hollow fiber (“HF”) assembly platform, extending rows of HFs with spaces having given width therebetween over the one or more spacer structures aligned with the longitudinal axis of the HF assembly platform, forming a membrane element comprising a stack of alternating rows of HFs and intervening spacer structures wherein each HF comprises a hydrophilic semipermeable membrane being adapted to achieve salt rejection of 98.5% or more and exhibiting a surface tension of 35 dynes/cm or more and the given dimensions, a first width and a second width are effective to maintain a Reynolds Number of 3000 or more and the stack maintaining a mechanical integrity at feed pumping pressure of 30 bars or higher.

主权项

1. A method of making a membrane element adapted for use in water treatment and osmotic processes, the method comprising:
a. providing a plurality of spacer structures having given dimensions; b. placing one or more first spacer structures on a hollow fiber (“HF”) assembly platform; c. extending a first row of first hollow fibers (“HFs”) with first spaces having a first width therebetween over the one or more first spacer structures aligned with the longitudinal axis of the HF assembly platform, forming a first longitudinal row of first HFs, wherein each HF comprises a hydrophilic semipermeable membrane defining an elongated lumen, the hydrophilic semipermeable membrane being adapted to achieve salt rejection of 98.5% or more and exhibiting a surface tension of 35 dynes/cm or more; d. placing one or more second spacer structures having the given dimensions over the first row of HFs aligned with the one or more first spacer structures; e. extending an adjacent row of HFs with second spaces having a second width therebetween across the one or more second spacer structures aligned with the longitudinal axis of the HF assembly platform; f. repeating (d)-(e) with additional rows of HFs and spacer structures, forming the membrane element comprising a stack of alternating rows of HF and intervening spacer structures, wherein the given dimensions, the first width, and the second width are effective according to flow dynamic calculations to maintain a Reynolds Number of 3,000 or more, the stack having a desired total stack depth, the stack maintaining a mechanical integrity at feed pumping pressure of 30 bars or higher, wherein vertically aligned adjacent surfaces of the stacked spacer structures define potting chambers at opposed ends of the HFs, the potting chambers defining an inner surface having predetermined dimensions.