Cake thickness measurement with an optical laser sensor

This technique for measurement of cake thickness makes use of a He-Ne laser beam and an optical captor; it relies on the absorption of light by the ca ke. Measurement of the thickness is made at a single point on the membrane and it is assumed that the cake build-up is uniform along the whole area of the membrane. This technique estimates the growth of cake under real cross flow microfiltration conditions without disturbing the deposition phenomena . The objective of the present study is to validate the dynamic measurement of cake formation and to understand the fundamental mechanisms of fouling in crossflow filtration processes.