Piezoelectrically Assisted Ultrafiltration

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Abstract
We have demonstrated the feasibility of using piezoelectrically assisted ultrafiltration to reduce membrane fouling and enhance the flux through ultrafiltration membranes. A preliminary economic evaluation, accounting for the power consumption of the piezoelectric driver and the extent of permeate flow rate enhancement, has also shown that piezoelectrically assisted ultrafiltration is cost effective and economically competitive in comparison with traditional separation processes. Piezoelectric transducers, such as a piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) disc or a piezoelectric horn, driven by moderate power, significantly enhance the permeate flux on fouled membranes, presumably because they promote local turbulence. Several experiments were conducted on polysulfone and regenerated cellulose UF membranes fouled during filtration of model feed solutions. Solutions of poly(ethylene glycol) and of high-molecular weight dextran were used as models. We found that we could significantly increase the permeate flux by periodically driving the piezoelectric transducer, horn or PZT disc, by application of moderate power over short periods of time, from 20 to 90 seconds. Enhancements as high as a factor of 8 were recorded within a few seconds, and enhanced permeate fluxes were maintained over a prolonged period (up to 3 hours). The prolonged flux enhancement makes it feasible to drive the piezoelectric transducer intermittently, thereby reducing the power consumption of the piezoelectric driver. As piezoelectric drivers of sonically assisted ultrafiltration, PZT disc transducers are preferred over the piezoelectric horn because of their small size and ease of adaptability to ultrafiltration test cells. The horn transmits sonic energy to the UF membrane through a titanium element driven by a separate piezoelectric transducer, but a piezoelectric ceramic disc transmits energy directly to the UF membrane. Moreover, because piezoelectric ceramic elements can be fabricated in several configurations, they are potentially feasible for piezoelectrically driven ultrafiltration spiral-wound membrane modules.