Vertical cylindrical skein of hollow fiber membranes and method of maintaining clean fiber surfaces
USRE42669E1 · kind E1 · reissue
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 20, 2000 |
| Grant date | Sep 6, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 20, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC —)General
Abstract
A gas-scrubbed vertical cylindrical skein of “fibers” has their opposed terminal portions held in headers unconfined in a modular shell, and aerated with a cleansing gas supplied by a gas-distribution means which produces a mass of bubbles serving the function of a scrub-brush for the outer surfaces of the fibers. The skein is surprisingly effective with relatively little cleansing gas, the specific flux through the membranes reaching an essentially constant relatively high value because the vertical deployment of fibers allows bubbles to rise upwards along the outer surfaces of the fibers. The effectiveness is critically dependent upon the length of each fiber in the skein. That length is in the range from at least 0.1% more than the fixed distance between opposed faces of the skein's headers, but less than 5% greater than the fixed distance. Lack of tension allows the fibers to sway in bubbles flowing along their outer surfaces making them surprisingly resistant to being fouled by buildup of deposits of inanimate particles or microorganisms in the substrate. For use in a large reservoir, a bank of skeins is used with a gas distributor means which has fibers preferably >0.5 meter …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.