Effects of Module Configuration on Hollow Fiber Filtration Fouling and Permeability

In the present study, an orthogonal array design was adopted to investigate effects of operational parameters including aeration intensity, membrane configuration and fiber length on membrane fouling in a lab scale. Mean membrane permeability decrease rate over the operation time was used to evaluate membrane fouling rate (MFR). In a constant pressure filtration mode of 15kPa, fiber length and aeration intensity were found to have a negative influence on MFR，and membrane configuration also had an obvious influence on MFR. The three factors in influencing MFR is in the order of fiber length>module configuration>aeration intensity. The experiments results also showed that the mean specific permeability displayed a slightly rise in the range of 60-100cm and the modules of two permeate outlet attain the best mean specific permeability in all the modules. According to this work, it show that membrane module design have a significance on membrane optimization.