Spiral Wound Bioreactor Upstream of Hyperfiltration Membranes
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Spiral wound hyperfiltration membrane assemblies suffer from biofouling due to bio-nutrient accumulation, leading to performance deterioration over time, despite existing methods that rely on oxidants or biostatic agents to mitigate biofouling.
Innovation Solution
A filtration assembly is designed with a spiral wound bioreactor assembly located upstream from the hyperfiltration membrane assembly, where the bioreactors consume bio-nutrients from the feed fluid, reducing biofouling by serially arranging multiple bioreactors within a common pressure vessel to treat the fluid before it reaches the membrane modules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If oxidants or biostatic agents are introduced to mitigate biofouling, then biofouling is reduced, but chemical consumption and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bioreactor enables the feed water to self-treat biofouling risks by biologically consuming nutrients before they reach the membrane, eliminating the need for external chemical dosing systems and oxidant injection infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful biofouling risk is extracted from the membrane system by placing a bioreactor upstream that removes nutrients before they can cause biofouling, isolating the membrane from the biochemical threats
2Productivity
If multiple bioreactors are serially arranged within a common pressure vessel, then bio-nutrient removal efficiency is enhanced, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple bioreactors are merged into a single common pressure vessel structure, allowing them to share housing, seals, and mounting infrastructure, which simplifies manufacturing compared to installing separate vessels while maintaining enhanced nutrient removal through serial biological treatment stages
Solution Approach 2:
The common pressure vessel serves multiple functions: it houses the bioreactors, provides structural support, maintains pressure, and facilitates serial flow through multiple treatment stages, reducing the need for separate components for each function
3Reliability
If bioreactors are placed upstream from hyperfiltration assemblies, then biofouling is reduced, but system complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bioreactors are nested within the same pressure vessel structure that houses the hyperfiltration assemblies, with the bioreactor occupying the central space and the membrane assemblies arranged around it, creating a compact integrated system that reduces overall footprint and simplifies piping
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration effectively reduces biofouling in the hyperfiltration assembly by depleting bio-nutrients, thereby maintaining the long-term performance and efficiency of the filtration process.
Implementation Method 1
the bioreactors consume bio-nutrients in feed liquid such that biofouling is reduced in the downstream hyperfiltration assembly
Implementation Method 2
Spiral wound 'hyperfiltration' membrane assemblies are used in a wide variety of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis fluid separations
Data Source
AI summary
A filtration assembly including: i) a hyperfiltration assembly including: a high pressure vessel including a feed port, concentrate port and permeate port, and a plurality of serially arranged spiral wound hyperfiltration membrane modules; ii) a bioreactor assembly including: a plurality of spiral wound bioreactors each comprising a flat sheet having two opposing bio-growth surfaces and a feed spacer spirally wound about an axis (Y); and iii) a fluid flow pathway adapted for fluid connection with a fluid feed source and extending in a parallel flow pattern through the bioreactors, and subsequently into the feed port of the high pressure vessel, successively through the spiral wound hyperfiltration membrane modules in a serial flow pattern and out of the concentrate port and permeate port.