CHARACTERIZATION OF GEL CONCENTRATION IN ULTRAFILTRATION OF OIL-IN-WATER EMULSION

Abstract

Processing of oil-in-water emulsions with conventional ultrafiltration membranes leads to rapid membrane fouling and flux decline and it is generally uneconomic because of this problem. The major hurdles to be overcome in the development of a practical industrial unit are concentration polarization and fouling. This paper presented a new model for the calculation of the gel concentration at the membrane surface. The model includes the following influence factors: transmembrane pressure, feed concentration, mass transfer coefficient, membrane resistance and so on. In the present experimental conditions, the gel concentration for FP 055A ultrafiltration membrane is about 30 vol%.