CHE504

MEMBRANE TEST UNIT

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4.0
4.1

OPERATING PROCEDURES
General Start-Up Procedures

1. Ensure all valves are initially closed.

2. Prepare a sodium chloride solution by adding 100 gram of sodium chloride into 20 liter of water.
3. Fill up the feed tank with the salt solution prepared in step 2. The feed shall always be
maintained at room temperature.
4. Turn on the power for the control panel. Check that all sensors and indicators are functioning
properly.
5. Switch on thermostat and make sure the thermo oil level is above the coil inside thermostat.
Check that thermostat connections are properly fitted.
Note: Adjust the temperature at the thermostat to maintain feed temperature.
6. The unit is now ready for experiments.

4.2

General Shut-Down Procedures

1. Switch off the plunger pump (P2).

2. Close valve V2.
3. Drain all liquid in the feed tank and product tank by opening valves V3 and V4.
4. Flush all the piping with clean water. Close V3 and V4, fill the clean water to feed tank until 90%
full.
5. Run the system with the clean water until the feed tank is nearly empty (this is for cleaning
purpose).

5.0

EXPERIMENT PROCEDURES

5.1

Membrane Characteristic Study Objective:

In this experiment, students will perform a characteristic study on 4 different types of
membranes. This experiment requires approximately 100 gram of sodium chloride.
Procedures:
1. Perform the general start-up procedures as described in Section 4.1.
2. Start the experiment for Membrane 1. Open valves V2, V5, V7, V11 and V15.
3. To set the maximum working pressure at 20 bars, switch on the plunger pump (P1) and slowly
close valve V5. Observe pressure value at pressure gauge and adjust the pressure regulator to 20
bars.
Note: Use a proper wrench to turn the adjusting screw at the pressure regulator (PR1) by
turning clockwise to increase pressure and counter-clockwise to reduce pressure.
Warning: Do not operate pump in dry condition. Make sure V2 is opened.
4. Open valve V5. Then, set membrane maximum inlet pressure to 18 bars for Membrane 1 by
adjusting the retentate control valve (V15).
5. Allow the system to run for 5 minutes. Start collecting sample from permeate sampling port and
weigh the sample using digital weighing balance. Record the weight of permeates every 1 minute
for 10 minutes.
Note: To collect sample, open valve V19 and simultaneously close valve V11.
6. Repeat the step 1 to 5 for Membrane 2, 3 and 4. Open and close the respective sets of valves
and adjust the membrane maximum inlet pressure for every membrane.
Retentate
Membrane
Open Valves
Sampling
Membrane
control
maximum inlet
(Step 2)
Valves
valve
pressure (bar)
V2,
V5,
V7,
Open
V19
and
1
V15
18
V11 and V15.
close V11
V2, V5, V8,
Open V20 and
2
V16
12
V12 and V16.
close V12
V2, V5, V9,
Open V21 and
3
V17
10
V13 and V17.
close V13
V2, V5, V10,
Open V22 and
4
V18
8.5
V14 and V18.
close V14
7.

Plot the graph of permeate weight versus time.