Roland Winkler

Optimisation of the geometry of a polymeric Multibore® ultrafiltration membrane and its operational advantages over standard single bore fibres

Abstract The main advantage of inge Water Technologies’ Multibore® membrane geometry lies in the extreme durability of the membrane. Membrane breakage is virtually impossible, which gives it a real competitive edge over single bore membrane systems. One of the drawbacks was that the Multibore® took up more volume in comparison to seven single bore membranes, which led to a higher m2 price of the membrane as well as a lower packing density in a module. Further optimisations have now addressed these points so that the Multibore® is not only a much tougher membrane with an optimum microorganism rejection; now it can also achieve a higher packing density without any additional costs in comparison to single bore membranes.

Use of innovative inge® Multibore® ultrafiltration membranes for the treatment of challenging seawater

AbstractUltrafiltration (UF) has established itself as one of the key technologies in the water treatment industry over the last decade, providing superior filtrate water quality regardless of fluctuations in the feedwater quality and protecting downstream treatment steps. UF has demonstrated its advantages as seawater reverse osmosis pre-treatment for desalination application improving reverse osmosis membranes performances while extending their service life. In-depth knowledge of polymeric chemistry is mandatory for developing, manufacturing and operating new membranes. On-site evaluation of membrane performance on real water is also essential. Seawater properties can vary significantly depending on location and region. This makes it very important to pilot in order to understand the challenges and how to address them. This paper presents results obtained at different sites operating on seawater under particularly difficult conditions using inge® Multibore® membranes. The study describes membrane behavi...

Calculating particle log reduction values based on pressure decay tests on Multibore® hollow fibre membranes

Abstract The Multibore® hollow fibre membrane has a distinct advantage in comparison to other hollow fibre membranes due to its extreme durability, which prevents fibre breaks to a very high degree. The integrity of a system nevertheless will need to be checked in order to make sure no membrane damage has occurred. The integrity of the membrane system is normally tested by means of a pressure decay test (PDT). The results of this test have to be interpreted so that a plant operator knows the actual log reduction value (LRV) of the plant. This paper deals with this interpretation and a formula is derived from which the LRV can be calculated. The method is partially based on the ASTM D6908-6906 method in which case, the air flow in an integrity test is compared to the air flow through a complete membrane breakage. It is shown that the PDT is sensitive enough to be able to detect a single broken membrane in even the largest membrane racks and that a 4-LRV can be guaranteed as long as the pressure decay rate ...