Lecture 5
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Ultrafiltration (UF)
It is a separation process using membranes with pore sizes in the range of 0.1 to 0.001 micron.
• Typically, UF membranes will remove high molecular-weight substances, colloidal
materials, and organic and inorganic polymeric molecules.
• Low molecular-weight organics and ions such as sodium, calcium, magnesium chloride,
and sulfate are not removed by UF Membranes.
• Because only high-molecular weight species are removed, the osmotic pressure
differential across the UF Membrane surface is negligible.
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• Low applied pressures are therefore sufficient to achieve high flux rates from an
Ultrafiltration membrane.
• Flux of a membrane is defined as the amount of permeate produced per unit area of
membrane surface per unit time.
• Generally flux is expressed as gallons per square foot per day (GFD) or as cubic meters
per square meters per day.
• Ultrafiltration UF membranes can have extremely high fluxes
• In most practical applications the flux varies between 50 and 200 GFD at an operating
pressure of about 50 psig
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Separation by Ultrafiltration:
Advantages of Ultrafiltration
• Much higher flow rates compared to RO systems.
• Retains the natural mineral content in the water.
• Requires less energy compared to RO systems.
• Less prone to membrane fouling.
• Stronger resistance to disinfectants like chlorine.
• The membrane filtration provides 99.9999% reduction of bacteria and 99.99% of virus by
mechanical means
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