PRO / Modified Osmosis Kit for CF016, Includes: Membrane Support Plate (316SS) and 31mil Spacer(PP)

lease refer to the following diagram to examine recommended feed flow rates for the crossflow cell you are working with.

Feed spacers are used to mimic the hydrodynamic conditions of large-scale membrane modules by changing the flow regime and creating turbulence inside the feed channel of our membrane test cells.   

For more information on feed spacers incorporated into our test cells, please visit here.

The “mil” measurement represents 1/1000th of an inch. Therefore, the thicknesses are 0.017, 0.031, 0.047, 0.065 inches (17, 31, 47, and 65 mil, accordingly). 

Permeate carriers, also known as “permeate water carriers” are aids that are installed between two layers of the flat sheet membranes in a spiral wound element. The main application of this collection layer is to prevent the membrane layers from closing in on each other under high-pressure operations and also facilitate the collection of permeate water. 

Yes, you may attempt to reuse flat sheet membranes. However, you may find it difficult to achieve a leak free seal. The cell body o-rings necessarily compress the membrane during installation and the physical action of separating the membrane from the o-rings during removal may cause damage. This damage can impede that ability to achieve a leak free seal when the membrane is reused.

Sterlitech recommends to install all plastic fittings by hand using PTFE tape. If a plastic NPT or compression fitting starts to leak during operational testing, tighten the fitting carefully until the leaking stops. Excessive tightening may break the fitting or damage other components.

If the fittings is broken and stuck in the cell top, use a spiral flute extractor bit or similar tool to release the portion of the fitting in the cell top. If the cell top becomes cracked from removal efforts, a replacement can be purchased.

For supported crossflow membranes, the membrane active side (smooth side) should be facing the feed stream and the support side (rough side) should be facing the permeate stream. For the Sterlitech Sepa CF, CF042, and CF016 test cells, the membrane side (smooth side) would face down toward the feed stream.

During high-pressure filtration processes, the membrane sheet inside the cell may deflect outwards into the feed channel.  This occurs due to variations in pressure during operation. This movement can cause rubbing against O-rings which can result in abrasion, possibility rupture, in the membrane sheet. Therefore, a piece of material (shim) can also be placed between the membrane layer and the test cell to take up the free space and help to prevent movement.   

For more information on shims incorporated into our test cells, please visit here. 

Q: What is the pore size for the sintered stainless steel membrane support in the CF016 and CF042 test cells?

A: The pore size of the sintered stainless steel membrane support is approximately 20 microns.