Crossflow microfiltration of water-in-oil emulsions using corrugated membranes

The crossflow microfiltration of a 30% (w/w) water-in-oil emulsion is repor ted, using kerosene as the organic phase and hydrophobic PTFE membranes, wi th a mean pore size of 0.2 mum. The flux performance of corrugated membrane s is compared with that of flat membranes and shows that a marked enhanceme nt in flux is obtained with corrugated membranes. The influences of crossfl ow velocity, flow channel height and transmembrane pressure on flux rate ar e reported. The effect of varying the angle of corrugations on the overall flux performance is also examined. Measurement of mass transport rates at c orrugated solid surfaces, using the limiting current technique, are reporte d and correlated in terms of channel Reynolds number. The mass transport ra te and membrane flux rate show a similar dependency on crossflow velocity a nd Reynolds number. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.