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FULL-SCALE VIBRATING PERVAPORATION MEMBRANE UNIT: VOC REMOVAL FROM WATER AND SURFACTANT SOLUTIONS
Citation:
Vane*, L M. AND F R. Alvarez*. FULL-SCALE VIBRATING PERVAPORATION MEMBRANE UNIT: VOC REMOVAL FROM WATER AND SURFACTANT SOLUTIONS. Presented at 12th National Meeting of the North American Membrane Society, Lexington, KY, 5/15-20/2001.
Description:
A commercial-scale vibrating membrane system with 10 square meters of membrane area was evaluated for the separation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from aqueous solutions by pervaporation. Experiments with surrogate solutions of up to five VOCs in the presence and absence of a surfactant were performed to compare performance of the full-scale vibrating system with that previously observed at the laboratory-scale as well as the performance of the same full-scale system during a recent field demonstration project. The primary process variables studied were vibrational amplitude, temperature, and liquid flow rate. VOCs studied included 1,1,1-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, toluene, tetrachloroethylene, and methyl tertbutyl ether. Data were obtained with two types of silicone rubber membranes - a thick (250 micron) fiberglass reinforced membrane and a more typical pervaporation membrane consisting of a 10 micron silicone layer on a microporous support. The full-scale vibrating system yhielded mass transfer coefficients comparable to those observed with a laboratory-scale vibrating membrane system and, under certain conditions, were comparable to those obtained with spiral wound pervaporation modules.