A Study of the Development of a Radial Pleat Module for Low Pressure Using an Ultrafiltration Membrane

A radial pleat module using a polysulfone membrane was developed. The permeation characteristics of the radial pleat module were compared with those of a flat plate module. The average module efficiency of the radial pleat module for the applied pressure range was 82% and was always greater than that of the spiral wound module. For the radial pleat module, in general, as the applied pressure increases, the flux increases and the rejection reduces. The concentration polarization causes the decrease of the flux for the long time operation. But it has been found that the radial pleat module is more efficient for the reduction of the concentration polarization because it has the more effective area per unit volume and can induce the turbulent flow in the module.