Effects of Ring Number and Gradually Decreasing Baffled-Ring Distance On Ultrafiltration In Tubular Membranes Inserted Concentrically with a Ring Rod

   The permeate flux declination along an ultrafilter membrane is due mainly to the concentration-polarization resistance increment and the decline in transmembrane pressure. It was found in previous works that the concentration polarization resistance could be reduced in a ring-rod tubular membrane ultrafilter using the turbulent behavior. In the present study, the performance was further improved by properly and gradually decreasing the baffled-ring distance along the cross-flow channel coupled with properly adjusting the number of baffled rings. This theoretical analysis is based on the mass and momentum balances as well as the application of the resistance-in-series model. The correlation predictions are confirmed with the experimental results for dextran T500 aqueous solution ultrafiltration.