| 摘要 |
<p>A high-voltage electrostatic device (10) is used to improve the performance of a membrane-separation process (90), particularly in a reverse-osmosis unit, wherein species of a given ionic polarity are separated from water. The device (10) is immersed in the water flowing across the membranes in the membrane units (72) and is operated continuously at very high voltages, preferably greater than 30,000 volts DC. The charge on the wetted surface of the suspended particles is altered by the electrostatic field so generated and is found to reduce biofilm formation, thereby materially enhancing the performance of the membrane-separation system (90). The application of high-voltage electrostatic fields is also found to reduce corrosion of metallic surfaces in the system.</p> |
