Centrifugal membrane filtration -- Task 9

Abstract

The Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) has teamed with SpinTek Membrane Systems, Inc., the developer of a centrifugal membrane filtration technology, to demonstrate applications for the SpinTek technology within the US Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental management (EM) Program. The technology uses supported microporous membranes rotating at high rpm, under pressure, to separate suspended and colloidal solids from liquid streams, yielding a solids-free permeate stream and a highly concentrated solids stream. This is a crosscutting technology that falls under the Efficient Separations and Processing Crosscutting Program, with potential application to tank wastes, contaminated groundwater, landfill leachate, and secondary liquid waste streams from other remediation processes, including decontamination and decommissioning systems. Membrane-screening tests were performed with the SpinTek STC-X4 static test cell filtration unit, using five ceramic membranes with different pore size and composition. Based on permeate flux, a 0.25-{micro}m TiO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} membrane was selected for detailed performance evaluation using the SpinTek ST-IIL centrifugal membrane filtration unit with a surrogate tank waste solution. An extended test run of 100 hr performed on a surrogate tank waste solution showed some deterioration in filtration performance, based on flux, apparently due to the buildup of solids near the inner portion of the membrane where relative membrane velocities were low. Continued testing of the system will focus on modifications to the shear pattern across the entire membrane surface to affect improved long-term performance.