Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 109 views

    FILMTEC Membranes System Design: Plug Flow vs. Concentrate Recirculation

    Uploaded by

    tatoo1
    This document compares plug flow and concentrate recirculation systems for reverse osmosis desalination. Plug flow systems pass the feed through once, gradually concentrating it, while recirculation systems reuse a portion of the concentrate. Recirculation allows higher recovery rates but has higher salt passage. A multi-stage system can use either approach, with recirculation providing more uniform pressures and easier fouling control. Key differences are summarized in a table.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    FILMTEC Membranes System Design: Plug Flow vs. Concentrate Recirculation

    Uploaded by

    tatoo1
    109 views4 pages
    This document compares plug flow and concentrate recirculation systems for reverse osmosis desalination. Plug flow systems pass the feed through once, gradually concentrating it, while recirculation systems reuse a portion of the concentrate. Recirculation allows higher recovery rates but has higher salt passage. A multi-stage system can use either approach, with recirculation providing more uniform pressures and easier fouling control. Key differences are summarized in a table.

    Original Description:

    ro plant

    Original Title

    6- Plug Flow

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    This document compares plug flow and concentrate recirculation systems for reverse osmosis desalination. Plug flow systems pass the feed through once, gradually concentrating it, while recirculation systems reuse a portion of the concentrate. Recirculation allows higher recovery rates but has higher salt passage. A multi-stage system can use either approach, with recirculation providing more uniform pressures and easier fouling control. Key differences are summarized in a table.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    109 views4 pages

    FILMTEC Membranes System Design: Plug Flow vs. Concentrate Recirculation

    Uploaded by

    tatoo1
    This document compares plug flow and concentrate recirculation systems for reverse osmosis desalination. Plug flow systems pass the feed through once, gradually concentrating it, while recirculation systems reuse a portion of the concentrate. Recirculation allows higher recovery rates but has higher salt passage. A multi-stage system can use either approach, with recirculation providing more uniform pressures and easier fouling control. Key differences are summarized in a table.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 4

    Tech Manual Excerpt

    Page 1 of 4 * Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company Form No. 609-02051-1004



    FI LMTEC Membr anes
    System Design: Plug Flow vs. Concentrate Recirculation

    Pl ug Fl ow vs.
    Conc ent r at e
    Rec i r c ul at i on
    The standard RO system design for water desalination applications is the plug flow concept.
    In a plug flow system, the feed volume is passed once through the system. A certain fraction
    Y of the feed passes across the membrane to produce permeate. The feed is gradually
    concentrated and leaves the system at a higher concentration.

    Concentrate recirculation is employed when the number of elements is too small to achieve
    a sufficiently high system recovery with plug flow. Concentrate recirculation systems can
    also be found in special applications like process liquids and waste waters. In systems with
    internal concentrate recirculation, a fraction of the concentrate stream out of the module (or
    stage) is directed back to the feed side of the module (or stage) and mixed with the feed
    stream.

    Multi-stage systems can also be designed with internal concentrate recirculation for each
    stage, using a separate recirculation pump. For example, the system shown in Figure 3.5
    can be designed with concentrate recirculation instead of plug flow, see Figure 3.6.

    Figure 3.6 Two-stage system with internal concentrate recirculation




















    The main advantage of the recirculation concept is the defined feed flow rate to the modules
    regardless of the degree of fouling of preceding modules and the changes in feed water
    composition. Further aspects of the recirculation concept are mentioned in Batch vs.
    Continuous Process (Section 3.2), and Single-Module System (Section 3.3). A comparative
    summary is given in Table 3.3.




    Table 3.3 Comparison of plug flow and recirculation systems

    Pl ug Fl ow vs.
    Conc ent r at e
    ec i r c ul at i on (c ont .) R

    Parameter Plug flow Recirculation
    Feed composition Must be constant Can vary
    System recovery Must be constant Can vary
    Cleaning circuit More complicated Simple
    Compensating fouling More difficult Easy
    Membrane pressure from feed inlet to concentrate end Decreasing Uniform
    Power consumption Lower Higher (15 - 20%)
    Number of pumps (investment, maintenance) Lower Higher
    Extension, varying the membrane area More difficult Easy
    Taking individual stages of multi-stage systems in/out of service Not possible Possible
    System salt passage Lower Higher


    The apparent salt passage of the system, SP
    s
    , also called system salt passage, is defined
    as the concentration of a compound (may be a certain ion, an organic compound or TDS) in
    the permeate (C
    p
    ) related to its concentration in the feed water (C
    f
    ):
    f
    p
    s
    C
    C
    = SP Eq. 1

    In plug flow systems, SP
    s
    is a function of the system recovery Y and the membrane salt
    passage SP
    M
    :
    ( )
    Y
    Y
    M
    s
    SP
    1 1
    SP

    = Eq. 2

    where the membrane salt passage is defined as the concentration of a compound in the
    permeate (C
    p
    ) related to its average concentration on the feed-concentrate side (C
    fc
    ):
    fc
    p
    M
    C
    C
    = SP Eq. 3

    In systems with internal concentrate recirculation, however, there is an additional
    dependence on the Beta number , which is defined as
    module the leaving flow e concentrat
    module the leaving flow permeate
    = Eq. 4

    For systems with the concentrate being partly recycled to the feed stream, the system salt
    passage is
    ( )
    ( ) ( ) + + +
    +
    =
    1 1
    1 1
    SP
    SP
    SP
    Y Y
    M
    M
    s
    Eq. 5

    For high system recoveries, the system salt passage of a recirculation system is much
    higher than that of a plug flow system. This is demonstrated by a sample calculation, see
    Figure 3.7. The difference is less, however, for multi-stage systems with recirculation loops
    for each stage. The system salt passage of such a system (for an example, see Figure 3.6)
    has to be calculated by application of Eq. 5 to each stage.





    Page 2 of 4 * Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company Form No. 609-02051-1004

    Page 3 of 4 * Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company Form No. 609-02051-1004
    Pl ug Fl ow vs.
    Conc ent r at e
    Rec i r c ul at i on (c ont .)
    Figure 3.7 System salt passage for a plug flow and a concentrate recirculation
    system


    ( = 0.3)
    S
    y
    s
    t
    e
    m

    S
    a
    l
    t

    P
    a
    s
    s
    a
    g
    e

    (
    F
    r
    a
    c
    t
    i
    o
    n
    )
    System Recovery Y (Fraction)




















    When the recirculated concentrate stream approaches zero, the number approaches
    1/[(1/Y) 1], and the recirculation system becomes a plug flow system. A compromise
    between plug flow and recirculation systems is the tapered recirculation system with a
    declining number of parallel modules per stage when viewed in feed flow direction (see
    Figure 3.8).

    The recirculation pumps can be tailored in such a way that only a minor part of the
    concentrate leaving the stage is recycled while the major part is flowing to the next stage (or
    to the concentrate outlet, for the last stage). Then, there are almost plug flow conditions, but
    the advantages of the recirculation concept are still present.

    Figure 3.8 Tapered recirculation system




    Page 4 of 4 *Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company Form No. 609-02051-1004
























































    FILMTEC
    TM
    Membranes
    For more information about FILMTEC
    membranes, call the Dow Liquid
    Separations business:
    North America: 1-800-447-4369
    Latin America: (+55) 11-5188-9222
    Europe: (+32) 3-450-2240
    Pacific (ex. China): +800-7776-7776
    China: +10-800-600-0015
    http://www.filmtec.com
    Notice: The use of this product in and of itself does not necessarily guarantee the removal of cysts and pathogens from water.
    Effective cyst and pathogen reduction is dependent on the complete system design and on the operation and maintenance of
    the system.

    Notice: No freedom from any patent owned by Seller or others is to be inferred. Because use conditions and applicable laws
    may differ from one location to another and may change with time, Customer is responsible for determining whether products
    and the information in this document are appropriate for Customers use and for ensuring that Customers workplace and
    disposal practices are in compliance with applicable laws and other governmental enactments. Seller assumes no obligation or
    liability for the information in this document. NO WARRANTIES ARE GIVEN; ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
    MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED.

    You might also like