Low fouling conditions in dead-end filtration: Evidence for a critical filtered volume and interpretation using critical osmotic pressure

Yolaine Bessiere (1) , Nouhad Abidine (2) , Patrice Bacchin (1)

1 LGC - Laboratoire de Génie Chimique
2 Aquasource - Aquasource

This paper presents experiments showing the existence of a critical filtered volume (CFV) when operating colloid dead-end filtration. The CFV is here defined as the filtered volume below which there is no irreversible (with respect to a break in the filtration) fouling on the membrane surface: it has thus the same meaning as cross-flow critical flux but applied to a dead-end process. The existence of the CFV is demonstrated when filtering stable latex or clay suspensions in constant-flux filtration experiments with alternating rinses: in contradiction to the current view, an irreversible deposit is not formed as soon as dead-end filtration begins. This critical filtered volume is shown to be dependent on the suspension stability and to be fully linked to the permeate flux: for 80 and 110 l h-1 m-2 the CFV is respectively 82 and 65 l m-2 for latex particles. Analyses of results are made by depicting the transition between concentration polarisation and deposit formation considering a critical osmotic pressure which appears to be a characteristic of the fouling potential of a suspension. The results are discussed in the light of how this concept could lead to an interesting way to control and develop a strategy to operate filtration in dead-end mode.

Mots clés: critical conditions; osmotic pressure; fouling test; deposit formation; dead-end filtration

Domaines: Génie des procédés

Yolaine Bessiere, Nouhad Abidine, Patrice Bacchin. Low fouling conditions in dead-end filtration: Evidence for a critical filtered volume and interpretation using critical osmotic pressure. Journal of Membrane Science, 2005, 264 (1-2), pp.37-47. ⟨10.1016/j.memsci.2005.04.018⟩. ⟨hal-00201135⟩