OPTIMAL FIBER SPACING IN EXTERNALLY PRESSURIZED HOLLOW FIBER MODULE FOR SOLID LIQUID SEPARATION

Flux decline and clogging mechanism in hollow fiber bundle by activated sludge and kaolin clay suspensions were investigated experimentally. Filtration characteristics of hollow fiber bundles consisting of 10 fiber threads but different in packing density were observed. The main reason for severe flux decline was due to the accumulation of particles at the space in between fibers. The results showed that there was no particle accumulation when fiber packing density beta was lower than a critical value beta(a). Maximum filtration flux and maximum membrane productivity Q/V(r) which is defined as the filtration rate per unit volume of bundle, were obtained below and at this point, respectively. When fiber packing density beta was increased, accumulation of particles happened and flux declined rapidly to a minimum, then increased to a maximum and then decreased when surface clogging predominated in the case of activated sludge filtration, but remained almost constant for the case of kaolin clay suspensions. The critical point where accumulation of particles started was related to cross flow velocity. The higher the cross flow velocity,the higher the value of beta(a) obtained.