Ultrafilteration System

ULTRAFILTRATION SYSTEM (UF)
PRINCIPAL
• Ultrafiltration system is a tangential flow, pressure driven

filtration process that separates particles on the basis of their
molecular size.
• The Particle with higher size/molecular weight are rejected

while the particles with lesser size pass through.
PRINCIPAL
 What can UF Remove

Non reactive silicates, Colloids, Algae, Bacteria, Coiliform, Viruses,
Proteins etc.
 What UF Reduced –
TOC, Color Components, SDI etc.
 What UF will not remove –

Salts, Gasoline, Sugar, Alcohol, Smaller, Molecular Weight
molecules etc.
ULTRAFILTRATION TECHNOLOGY
 Permeate : The System that passes through Ultrafiltration

Membrane.
 Reject : Waste Stream from Ultrafiltration which carries

the rejected impurities e.g. retained particles, colloids,
bacteria etc. at higher concentration than that of feed.
 Feed : Input to Ultrafiltration System Feed Flow =

Permeate Flow + Reject Flow
 Average Trans Membrane Pressure :

Difference in pressures between the permeate and the
mean of the feed inlet and outlet pressures.
Average Trans Membrane Pressure = (Pi + Po)/2 – P.

Where P = Permeate Pressure, Pi = Inlet Pressure,
Po = Outlet Pressure
 Backflush :
Permeate is pumped through the fibre in the reverse
direction, it loosens and lifts off any material on the
surface of membrane
 Forward Flush :
Opening of rejects valve and purging out solids
accumulated with feed water before backflush operation
in dead end filter.
 Gross Flux :
Rate at which product water flows through the membrane,
usually expressed in gallons per square foot of membrane
per day or gfd.
 %Recovery (R):
It is the ratio of permeate flow to feed flow
e.g. = (Permeate flow/Feed Flow) X 100
 Molecular Weigh Cut Off (MWCO):

Indicates lowest molecular weight of specie that will be
retained by the membrane
 Reverse Flow:
Reversing flow direction of feed, which generally refers
to downward flow in vertically installed cartridge.
 Chemically Enhanced Backflush:

Dosing Chemicals in membrane through backflush line
for removal of species adsorbed in membrane pore.
ADVANTAGES OF ULTRAFILTRATION
 Physical Barrier Filtration:

Positive barrier between feed and product water handles highly
turbid waters (100 NTU+)
reduces turbidity, silicates and TOC
 Consistent water quality :

Product water quality is independent of feed variability.
Expect 0.1 NTU, even with 250 NTU feed water
 Non Fouling Membrane:

Designed for high TSS and Colloids
 Reduce Operation Cost:

Lower than conventional treatment
ADVANTAGES OF MEMBRANE FILTER
 Improves downstream RO performance :

Higher flux, Longer life, fewer Cleanings
 Chemical-Free Treatment Technique :

Eliminates Coagulants and Flocculants
No residual chemicals in the filtered water
Eliminates handling and safety issues
No constant operator attention
 Chlorine Compatible ; High/Low pH resistant :

250 ppm Chlorine; Caustic pH 13, Acids pH 1.5
 Replaces Multimedia Filters and Clarifiers :

Direct filtration of source water
 Environmentally Attractive:
Spent water recycle
ADVANTAGES OF MEMBRANE FILTER
 Improves Polishing Ion Exchange Performance :

Reduces silicates
Accepted & proven technology for colloidal silica removal
 Smaller Space Requirements:

Approximately 20-25% of conventional treatment
Smaller civil & building requirements
 Modular Design for Easy Expansion:
 Less Manpower Requirements:

Fully Automated Systems
 Long Membrane Life:

Typically 5 Years; often more
PERMEATE QUALITY
 Complete removal of suspended solids.
 Partial removal of dissolved matter (organics) through

binding through suspended matter
 Removal of Micro-Organisms :
• Log 6 removal of bacteria
• Log 4 removal of Viruses
 Superb quality as RO feed water (Low SDI)

MEMBRANE CONFIGURATION
 Based on construction of the membrane, it is classified

into three categories,
• Hollow Fibre
• Tubular
• Spiral
1. Cartridge
2. Cartridge Support
3. K-Ring
4. Face Seal
5. Permeate Adapter (Internal)
6. O-Ring, Cartridge End
7. End Cap
8. O-Ring, End Cap End
9. Coupling
10.Sanitary Gasket
11.Barb Adapter
12.Sanitary Coupling
ULTRAFILTRATION MEMBRANE
HOLLOW FIBRE MEMBRANE

 Membranes extruded into the shape of a pipe or straw

- “Fibre” of inside diameter 0.8 mm – 8 mm
 Many such fibres are bundled together and inserted into a

pipe (PVC or Polysulphone).
 Epoxy is injected into the pipe ends, surrounding the

outside diameter of all the fibres. This creates separation
between feed and permeate
 Waste water is pumped into the end of the pipe and travels
through the ID of each fibre under pressure. Clean water
passes through the walls of each fibre and collects in the pipe.
 Concentrated Solids get accumulated in the fibre in case of

dead end filter or discharged through reject in cross flow filter,
while cleaning water is discharged at atmospheric pressure.
 Used in low solids concentrations, low disposal cost situation.

 Advantage :
Energy Efficient
Compact
Can be backflushed
Less prone to plugging than spirals
 Disadvantages:
Low Temperature Resistance
Pre-filtration may be required
FEED WATER LIMITING CONDITIONS
Parameters Value Problem if the condition

is exceeded
pH during 4-9 Membrane Damage due

operation to hydrolysis
pH during 2.5 – 13 Membrane damage due to

cleaning hydrolysis
Chlorine 250 mg/l@10pH Membrane due to

Tolerance oxidation
Turbidity < 1 NTU Membrane Fouling

FEED WATER LIMITING CONDITIONS
Parameters Value Problem if the condition

is exceeded
Suspended Solids Membrane Fouling
Temperature < 40oC Membrane Damage
Organics Membrane Fouling
Bacteria Membrane Fouling
Heavy Metals <0.1 ppm Membrane scaling due to

(Fe, Mn) metal hydroxide
DESIGN
MEMBRANE OPERATION LIMITING CONDITIONS
Maximum feed Pressure : 50 psi
Maximum Trans Membrane Pressure : 40 psi
Maximum Operating Temperature : 40oC
Chlorine Tolerance : 250 mg/l @ pH 10.0
Feed pH during Operation : 4-6
Feed pH during cleaning : 2.5 – 13.0
Maximum Back Pressure : 22 psi

DESIGN PARAMETERS
 Backflush :
• Flux 250 lmh (150 gfd)
• Duration 40-60 Seconds
• Frequency – 20-30 minutes
 Pump Feed Pressure :

• UF Feed Pressure – 2 to 2.5 Bar
• Backflush Pressure – 3 Bar
 Pre-filtration :
• 500 micron if sand filter is installed in pretreatment
• 200 micron if no sand filter is installed in the pre-treatment
Pre-FILTER
Pre-FILTER
DESIGN STEPS
 Decide flux of operation
 Decide frequency of back flush and Time
 Decide frequency of chemical cleaning and Time
 Select Membrane
 Find Gross Production of Membrane
 Net Production of Membrane is equal to gross product per membrane

minus water required in back flush minus product loss due to downtime for
back flush
 No. of Membrane = Permeate flow required / Net Production per module
 Recovery = (Gross Permeate Production – Permeate loss during

back flush) / Gross Permeate Production
DESIGN STEPS
 Feed pump flow = No. of Membranes X Gross

(m3/hr.) Permeate flow per Membrane
 Back flush pump flow = Membrane (ft2) X 150gfd

(m3/hr.) 6336
 Dosing Pump flow (lph) =

Back flush flow X chemical dosed (ppm)
20 X Conc. Of Chemical (%) X Density of Chemical
Ultra filtration SKID

Ultra filtration SKID

FOULING
 Precipitation of colloidal, suspended solids or growth of

bacteria in the membrane. It shows increase in pressure /
Reduction in TMP
 Fouling is deposition of living or non-living particles over the

membrane
 Oil in free form will cause fouling of membrane
 Heavy metals like Fe, Mn, Al can cause fouling of UF

FOULING
 Biological Growth (e.g. algea) can form slime in the membrane and
cause fouling
 Organic flocculent (Polymer) carried over from pretreatment can

cause irreversible fouling of the membrane
 Particles coming from pretreatment –

e.g. – Resin bead, filter media, packing
 Precipitates carried over from clarifier etc.
 Presence of above foulants reduces the flux through the membrane

during operation

Ultrafilteration System

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ULTRAFILTRATION SYSTEM (UF)

• Ultrafiltration system is a tangential flow, pressure driven

• The Particle with higher size/molecular weight are rejected

 What can UF Remove

 What UF will not remove –

 Permeate : The System that passes through Ultrafiltration

 Reject : Waste Stream from Ultrafiltration which carries

 Feed : Input to Ultrafiltration System Feed Flow =

 Average Trans Membrane Pressure :

Average Trans Membrane Pressure = (Pi + Po)/2 – P.

 Molecular Weigh Cut Off (MWCO):

 Chemically Enhanced Backflush:

 Physical Barrier Filtration:

 Consistent water quality :

 Non Fouling Membrane:

 Reduce Operation Cost:

 Improves downstream RO performance :

 Chemical-Free Treatment Technique :

 Chlorine Compatible ; High/Low pH resistant :

 Replaces Multimedia Filters and Clarifiers :

 Improves Polishing Ion Exchange Performance :

 Smaller Space Requirements:

 Modular Design for Easy Expansion:

 Less Manpower Requirements:

 Long Membrane Life:

 Complete removal of suspended solids.

 Partial removal of dissolved matter (organics) through

 Superb quality as RO feed water (Low SDI)

 Based on construction of the membrane, it is classified

HOLLOW FIBRE MEMBRANE

HOLLOW FIBRE MEMBRANE

 Membranes extruded into the shape of a pipe or straw

 Many such fibres are bundled together and inserted into a

 Epoxy is injected into the pipe ends, surrounding the

HOLLOW FIBRE MEMBRANE

 Concentrated Solids get accumulated in the fibre in case of

 Used in low solids concentrations, low disposal cost situation.

HOLLOW FIBRE MEMBRANE

Parameters Value Problem if the condition

pH during 4-9 Membrane Damage due

pH during 2.5 – 13 Membrane damage due to

Chlorine 250 mg/l@10pH Membrane due to

Turbidity < 1 NTU Membrane Fouling

Parameters Value Problem if the condition

Suspended Solids Membrane Fouling

Temperature < 40oC Membrane Damage

Organics Membrane Fouling

Bacteria Membrane Fouling

Heavy Metals <0.1 ppm Membrane scaling due to

Maximum feed Pressure : 50 psi

Maximum Trans Membrane Pressure : 40 psi

Maximum Operating Temperature : 40oC

Chlorine Tolerance : 250 mg/l @ pH 10.0

Feed pH during Operation : 4-6

Feed pH during cleaning : 2.5 – 13.0

Maximum Back Pressure : 22 psi

 Pump Feed Pressure :

 Decide flux of operation

 Decide frequency of back flush and Time

 Decide frequency of chemical cleaning and Time

 Find Gross Production of Membrane

 Net Production of Membrane is equal to gross product per membrane

 No. of Membrane = Permeate flow required / Net Production per module

 Recovery = (Gross Permeate Production – Permeate loss during