The MBR Book: Principles and Applications of Membrane

202 The MBR Book
Table 4.5 Membrane product specifications (see also Appendix D)
Supplier Membrane Pore size, Diameter d Specific Proprietary name,
(configuration, �m or separation surface membrane or
material) (�), mm area* �, m �1 module
Berghof MT, PES 0.08 9 110 HyPerm-AE
or PVDF 0.12 HyperFlux
Brightwater FS, PES 0.08 9 110, 47 MEMBRIGHT ®
Toray FS, PVDF 0.08 7 135 Toray
Kubota FS, PE 0.4 8 115 Kubota
Colloide FS, PES 0.04 10 133 Sub Snake
Huber FS, PES 0.038 6 160, 90 VRM
Millenniumpore MT, PES 0.1 5.3 180 Millenniumpore
Koch-Puron HF, PES 0.05 2.6 (3.5) 314, 125 Puron
Zenon HF, PVDF 0.04 1.9 (3.0) 300 ZW500C-D
Norit X-Flow MT, PVDF 0.038 5.2 320, 30 F4385
8 290, 27 F5385
Siemens-Memcor HF, PVDF 0.04 1.3 (2.5) 334 B10R, B30R
Mitsubishi Rayon HF, PE 0.4 0.54 (1.7) 485, 131 SUR
HF, PVDF 0.4 2.8 (2.9) 333, 71 SADF
Asahi Kasei HF, PVDF 0.1 1.3 (1.3) 710, 66 Microza
Polymem HF, PS 0.08 0.7 (1.1)–1.4 800 WW120
Ultraflo HF, PAN 0.01–0.1 2.1 (0.7) 1020 SS60
Motimo HF, PVDF 0.1–0.2 1.0 (0.9) 1100, 735 Flat Plat
* Refers to elements; italicised figures refer to modules.
sidestream HF systems exist for full-scale operating plant, although such systems
have been commercialized (by Ultraflo and Polymem). Unlike most FS systems,
almost all HF products are immersed in a separate tank from the main bioreactor.
Moreover, the majority of HF MBR membrane products currently on the market are
vertically mounted and PVDF based (Table 4.5), the exceptions being the Koch-
Puron membrane which is PES, the Polymem PS membrane, the Ultraflo PAN membrane
and the Mitsubishi Rayon SUR module, which is PE material and also
horizontally oriented. All HF products are in the coarse UF/tight MF region of selectivity,
having pore sizes predominantly between 0.03 and 0.4 �m. All vertically
mounted HF systems are between 0.7 and 2.5 mm in external diameter. Distinctions
in HF MBR systems can be found mainly in the use of reinforcement of the membrane
(essential for those HF elements designed to provide significant lateral movement)
and, perhaps most crucially, the air:membrane contacting.
The impact of aeration is influenced by the membrane spatial distribution. An
examination of the specific surface area (or packing density �: the membrane area
per unit module volume) reveals that, as expected, the packing density tends to
increase with decreasing filament or tube diameter. The reinforced braided HF membranes,
namely the Zenon and Puron products, thus tend to provide lower specific surface
areas. The MTs, although larger in i.d. than the HFs are in outside diameter, can
nonetheless provide a high packing density because of the degree of tessellation possible
(Fig. 4.32): tubes can be packed together without any requirement for separation,
whereas HFs must provide flow channels for the sludge retentate. With the exception