An apparatus for reducing concentration polarization and/or membrane fouling on a membrane surface in a filter unit (102) during a membrane separation process and/or a filter cleaning process. The apparatus includes (i) a signal generator (106) that generates electrical signals when there is a fluid flow in the filter unit (102) and (ii) an ultrasonic transducer assembly (108) that receives the electrical signal from the signal generator to generate ultrasonic waves using one or more ultrasonic transducers (604). The ultrasonic waves pass through the filter unit (102) during the membrane separation process and/or the filter cleaning process and generate at least one of a turbulence in the flow of fluid or a vibration on the membrane surface to dislodge particles clogging the membrane surface, thereby reducing the concentration polarization and/or the membrane fouling on the membrane surface of the filter unit (102), which in turn increasing membrane permeability and efficiency.

The level of cleanliness of a hollow fiber membrane device is evaluated before it is installed in an ultrapure water production system. A method of evaluating the level of cleanliness of the hollow fiber membrane device includes capturing fine particles in permeating water by means of a first filter membrane, wherein the permeating water is ultrapure water that permeates through the hollow fiber membrane device before the hollow fiber membrane device is installed in an ultrapure water production system; and analyzing the fine particles that are captured by the filter membrane.

A bubble generation device intermittently generates large bubbles in a liquid phase. The bubble generation device includes a bubble storing container, a pivot, and a pair of edge portion receivers. The bubble storing container stores bubbles generated by a gas supply nozzle in the liquid. The pivot allows the bubble storing container to pivot thereon, thereby releasing the large bubbles from the bubble storing container. The pair of edge portion receivers receives and blocks an edge portion of the bubble storing container to limit pivot of the bubble storing container. An inside of the bubble storing container is partitioned by a partition that is installed in an axial direction of the pivot.

The proposed prefabricated filtration module is provided for a modular filtration system, in particular a cross-flow filtration system, for low-volume screening applications. The prefabricated filtration module includes fluid ports and a plurality of components adjusted to low-volume screening applications, which are firmly integrated into the filtration module. The entire filtration module is designed as a single-use filtration module.

Apparatus and method for semi-permeable membrane cleaning in particular, applying series of pulsed water stroke, made simultaneously with osmosis backward flow causing superposed membrane directional shaking and fouling detachment. Pulsed water stroke provided by water stroke generator as several momentum sharp changes in gauge pressure and induce velocity pulse of residual brine flow. The pulsed water strokes ideally induce resonance in the membrane. Osmosis backward wash may be provided either by injection for predetermined injection time, additional solution selected in such way that net driving pressure becomes opposite to normal osmotic operation thereby providing a backward flow of permeate towards to the side opposite to normal operation mode, so as to lift said foulant, or by throttling permeate exiting from the permeate enclosure, until the net driving pressure value become equal to zero, during application of precise synchronized and opposing brine and permeate pressure strokes thereby providing a plurality of quick RO-FO-RO process changes. These procedures allow a membrane to be kept continuously clean and operate at higher recovery.

A system for treatment of a polluted effluent includes an outer chamber and a computerized control system. The system is configured to treat an effluent/catalyst mixture that includes the polluted effluent in admixture with a purification slurry. The slurry includes particles of one or more catalysts and/or organoclays. The treatment of the effluent/catalyst mixture is carried out by contact between the particles of the catalysts and/or organoclays and the polluted effluent to mineralize or degrade pollutants in the polluted effluent.

Disclosed herein is a water purifying system, including: a raw water tank configured to store raw water; a filter unit configured to include a plurality of filtration modules for purifying the raw water and a plurality of valves for feeding or cutting off the raw water; a raw water pump configured to feed the raw water from the raw water tank to the filter unit; and a backwash module configured to feed backwash water to the filter unit, in which some of permeate water permeated by the filter unit is fed to the backwash module to be used as the backwash water and a feed pressure of the backwash water is fed by the raw water pump.

The membrane cleaning device uses treated water filtered through an MBR separation membrane as dissolution water, and performs a first process of dissolving ozone gas in the dissolution water under a neutral or alkaline condition, and a second process of dissolving ozone gas in the dissolution water under an acidic condition, to generate ozone water. At this time, whether to shift from the first process to the second process is determined on the basis of the organic substance concentration in the dissolution water, and whether to start feeding the ozone water to the separation membrane is determined on the basis of the dissolved ozone concentration in the dissolution water. Therefore, even when the organic substance concentration in the dissolution water varies depending on the MBR operation conditions, the treatment times in the first process and the second process can be optimized.

A conditioning system for a filter module is disclosed. The conditioning system may generally include an inlet, a heat exchanger, a magnetically levitated pump, a channel provided to bypass the heat exchanger, a controller, an outlet, and a base. The system may have components lined with corrosion-resistant materials. A method of conditioning a filter module is also disclosed. The method may generally include measuring TOC in a source of ultrapure water, heating the ultrapure water, rinsing a filter module with the heated water, flushing the filter module with ambient temperature water, and repeating the rinsing with heated water and flushing with ambient temperature water. A method of facilitating conditioning of the filter module is also disclosed. The method may generally include providing a portable filter module conditioning system and providing instructions for installation or use.

A water treatment apparatus is provided. The water treatment apparatus includes a filtering unit including a water filter filtering raw water, a sterilizing water generator producing sterilizing water from purified water filtered by at least a portion of the filtering unit, and a discharge member through which the purified water, filtered by the filtering unit, is discharged externally. The sterilizing water produced in the sterilizing water generator sterilizes the discharge member and at least a portion of a flow path connected to the discharge member.