Liquid purification or separation – Casing divided by membrane into sections having inlet – Each section having inlet
Patent
1994-06-06
1996-09-10
Savage, Matthew O.
Liquid purification or separation
Casing divided by membrane into sections having inlet
Each section having inlet
210346, 210486, 210490, 210496, 21050025, 21050026, 2105101, B01D 2502
Patent
active
055542824
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the technical field of the molecular or particulate separation using separation elements, generally called membranes and constituted from inorganic materials.
More particularly, the invention relates to an inorganic filtration unit adapted to concentrate, sort or extract, modular or particulate species contained in a liquid medium which exerts a given pressure on the membrane.
The object finds a particularly advantageous application in the field of nano-filtration, ultra-filtration, micro-filtration, filtration or reverse osmosis.
PRIOR ART
The prior art has proposed, in Patent FR 2 061 934, a filtration unit of inorganic nature constituted by stacked filtration elements. A first network of channels, parallel to one another, of circular section, is arranged on the opposite faces of two consecutive filtration elements. The surface of the channels is coated with a separating layer ensuring filtration of a liquid medium circulating inside the first network of channels. The filtration elements are arranged to comprise a second network of channels of circular section extending in a direction perpendicular to that of the channels of the first network. The channels of the second network are intended to recover the filtrate having passed through the filtration elements from the separating layers.
The channels of the two networks open out on the four sides of the filtration unit thus constituted. The sides of the unit are intended to receive plates arranged to comprise independent pipes for conducting the liquid medium to be treated and for recovering the filtrate, adapted to communicate respectively with the first and the second network of channels. The use of such plates presents drawbacks insofar as they necessitate a perfect seal between the four sides of the unit and the added plates. Moreover, the operation of assembly of the plates cannot be easily carried out during the process of manufacturing the unit, which prevents industrial manufacture of such a filtration unit. It must also be considered that the one-piece nature of such a module imposes that it be produced from a porous material. The performance of the module is thus reduced due to the thickness of the walls that it implies.
In the state of the art, Patent Application FR-A-2 262 550 also discloses a module intended for energy exchange and capable of being applied to the domain of filtration. Such a module is constituted from a one-piece porous element, inside which are arranged at least two independent networks of parallel layers of regularly intersecting channels. The channels of each network are connected together by pipes.
Such a module, which has been designed to constitute a heat exchanger, is unsuitable to perform a function of filtration.
Indeed, this module is made from a porous material, in the form of a one-piece element, leading to obtaining a low-performance module due to the thickness of the walls, which causes a considerable pressure drop. Furthermore, such a module may comprise reinforcing bridges forming continuities of matter and designed to join two opposite separating walls in order to increase the mechanical strength of the walls. The use of such reinforcing bridges reduces the capacity of filtration for the same surface of matter used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to overcome the various drawbacks of the prior art by proposing an inorganic filtration unit designed, on the one hand, to comprise at least one and preferably two circulation networks tight with respect to each other, respectively for the liquid medium to be treated and the filtrate, and, on the other hand, to present an optimized capacity of filtration with respect to the volume of matter used.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an inorganic filtration unit designed to allow industrial manufacture integrating in its process of manufacture the production of the pipes for supplying the liquid to be treated and the pipes for recovering the filtrate.
To attain this ob
REFERENCES:
patent: 4069157 (1978-01-01), Hoover
Savage Matthew O.
T.A.M.I. Industries (Societe Anonyme)
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