Compact spiral-wound filter elements, modules and systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11311841-B2
Application number	US-201916428189-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 31, 2019
Priority date	Jun 25, 2014
Publication date	Apr 26, 2022
Grant date	Apr 26, 2022

Abstract

The present invention provides compact spiral-wound filter elements having cassette-like performance. The invention further provides filtration systems (e.g., TFF systems) and processes (e.g., SPTFF processes) employing compact spiral-wound filter elements having cassette-like performance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of producing a feed screen, comprising hot-roll calendaring a woven fiber screen to a final height of 350 μm or less and flattening or removing tangent points on an outer surface of the feed screen, wherein said feed screen is reversibly expandable and compressible and, wherein said feed screen increases cross flow velocity when used in a feed channel and thereby promotes a high turbulence near the membrane surface as compared to a feed screen without flattening and removal of tangent points.

2. A feed spacer comprising a woven fiber screen having a height of 350 μm or less and flattened or removed tangent points on an outer surface of the feed screen and wherein said feed spacer is configured to expand to maintain contact with a surface of a filtration membrane during operation when used in a feed channel, said feed spacer being reversibly expandable and compressible wherein said feed screen increases cross flow velocity in the feed channel and thereby promotes a high turbulence near the membrane surface as compared to a feed screen without flattening and removal of tangent points.

3. The spiral-wound filter element of claim 2 , wherein the filter membrane layers are in planar contact with the calendared outer surfaces of the feed spacer.

4. A spiral-wound filter element comprising a feed spacer of claim 2 .

5. The spiral-wound filter element of claim 4 , further comprising: a permeate screen having a height of 300 μm or less.

6. The spiral-wound filter element of claim 5 , wherein the feed spacer is imprinted into the filtration membrane.

7. The spiral-wound filter element of claim 6 , wherein at least one surface of the feed spacer is imprinted up to 65 μm into the filtration membrane.

8. The spiral-wound element of claim 5 , further comprising a housing, wherein an annular space between the filtration membrane and the housing is blocked.

9. The spiral-wound filter element of claim 5 , wherein the filtration membrane is a microfiltration membrane or an ultrafiltration membrane.

10. The spiral-wound filter element of claim 5 , wherein said permeate screen compresses less than 130 μm in height under compression of about 50 pounds per square inch (psi).

11. A tangential flow filtration (TFF) system comprising at least one filter element of claim 4 .

Assignees

• Emd Millipore Corp

Inventors

• Steen Jonathan
• Gagne Jr George A

Classifications

• B01D61/145 Primary

  Ultrafiltration · CPC title

• B01D63/107

  Specific properties of the central tube or the permeate channel · CPC title

• B01D63/103

  Details relating to membrane envelopes · CPC title

• B01D61/025 Primary

  Reverse osmosis; Hyperfiltration · CPC title

• C02F1/444

  by ultrafiltration or microfiltration · CPC title