Importance

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Abstract

A module is disclosed for use as a membrane device, comprising, a shell with fluid couplings removably affixed to each of its ends and at least one non-disassemblable cartridge operably held within the shell. The cartridge is constructed from plural wafers sequentially coaxially aligned, each wafer consisting essentially of a generally planar frame and an array of hollow fibers of selectively permeable material adhesively held by their ends in opposed portions of the border of the frame, without initially potting the ends. Each frame has a central through-passage, and multiple frames together define an axial through passage in each cartridge through which a feedstream is typically flowed in 'outside-in' flow. Each opposed portion of border is provided with longitudinal, laterally spaced apart grooves in its upper surface and the fibers trained in the grooves, and successive wafers are bonded together. The bores of the fibers are in open fluid communication with the permeate zone in the shell. Arrays lie in a plane substantially orthogonal to the direction of flow of the feedstream, and fibers of one array are staggered relative to those in a successive array. The ends of the fibers are post-potted by filling a potting channel formed by elongated slots in opposed portions of the borders of successive frames, the ends of which successive slots are in open fluid communication. Several cartridges may be coaxially 'ganged' or 'stacked' to provide the required filtration area. The cartridges may be removably disposed in the shell, or secured therein so that the entire module may be discarded when its efficiency is unacceptably low.

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First Claim