High-solids cross flow filtration and separation solutions for dewatering oil/water emulsions sector - Water and Wastewater
Emulsified oil in wastewater can be problematic for industries wanting to discharge or recycle it, such as the automotive, aerospace, textile and plastics industries. Oil concentrations from these industries may range from 1,000 to more than 100,000ppm in wastewaters, but discharge limits are often below 100ppm. Today, recycle and reuse are needed for any viable water source. To reuse or recycle wastewater, oil levels of less than 30ppm are required.
Applications & Industries Served Overview
Onsite treatment is essential to economically support manufacturing facilities. Typically no chemical pre-treatment is required, only filtration through the Porex Tubular Membrane Filters (TMF™) which can be used for dewatering oil/water emulsions of up to 50% oil. This oil rich concentrate can often be used for heating purposes such as in greenhouses and boiler feed. Reuse offers many benefits, including eliminating the high cost of disposal. Treated water (called filtrate or permeate) from the TMF system can be used directly in a range of applications such as degreaser bath top-up and floor washing, or it can be sent to a RO system to generate water for boiler feed.
The Porex TMF modules are specifically designed for this type of high oil treatment system. Our exclusive patented materials and processes provide extremely durable and consistent membrane modules that have been proven over than twenty years of flow maintenance performance. Porex Filtration provides system design and operation assistance to OEM partners assuring a reliable, efficient and cost-effective treatment system.
Designing a TMF System for Dewatering Oil/Water Emulsions
The TMF system design (see above) is a cross flow membrane system that uses the filtrate flow inside the membrane module tubes to continuously scour the membrane surface. This action cleans the membrane surface, greatly increasing flux rates when compared to conventional membranes.
The oil contaminated water flows through a series of membrane modules placed end to end. Over time, the oil concentration increases in the concentration tank. Typically, after a week of continuous operation, feed flow to the concentration tank is stopped and the wastewater is allowed to ‘batch down’ to allow for maximum oil/solids concentration.
Filtrate that passes through the membrane typically has an SDI of less than 1 and can often be used directly for a number of processes or it can be fed into an RO system for further treatment without any significant additional processing. The TMF system eliminates multiple treatment steps often used to treat oily wastewater such as chemical dosing, clarification, bag filters, multimedia filters, carbon filters and high energy consumption evaporators. The Porex TMF can often eliminate all the pretreatment steps saving equipment cost, footprint, maintenance, and operating costs.
The Porex TMF system can be designed in a number of different ways according to the requirements of the end user. Clean in Place (CIP) processes as well as complete system automation are common designs. Multiple pore size options and multiple module configurations allow for diverse treatment options depending upon requirements.
Porex Filtration provides high quality membrane filtration modules for use in water and wastewater treatment systems. We work with qualified distributors and OEM system builders who provide complete systems.
Porex Filtration provides high quality membrane filtration modules for use in water and wastewater treatment systems. We work with qualified distributors and OEM system builders who provide complete systems.