Bubbly flows in a column with submerged hollow fiber membranes

Abstract

Experiments of bubbly flows in a column with submerged hollow fiber membranes are carried out to discuss the relation between bubbly flow characteristics and fouling control. Two kinds of liquids, water and xanthan gum-water solution (XG-W), are used as the liquid phases. The relaxation rates of membranes are set at 0.0 or 0.5%. The number of small bubbles with ellipsoidal shapes in water are larger than that in XG-W, while large bubbles with spherical cap shapes are remarkably observed in XG-W in spite of the presence of membranes. The rate of large bubbles is enhanced in XG-W due to bubble coalescence. The gas holdup in water is higher than that in XG-W. The gas holdup becomes higher due to the presence of membranes and membrane relaxation in both water and XG-W. For discussion on fouling control due to bubbly flows, experiments are carried out to remove pseudo sludge attached to hollow fiber membranes. The relaxation of membranes enhances the removal rate of pseudo sludge. The mean removal rate, which is the mean value of the removal rate of each membrane, increases with increasing the gas holdup. This relation is well expressed by a linear regression in the present experimental range regardless of the liquid property and membrane relaxation, that is, the gas holdup has a prospect of an indicator for estimating fouling probability.