Question

As a researcher at a large central Texas university you are scaling up a new hollow fiber reverse osmosis process for possibly launching a new company to purify brackish, contaminated water. Besides removing the typical contaminants and salts of other RO membranes, the polymer you have invented has natural anti-microbial properties that should greatly reduce membrane pore fouling and improve safety and efficiency. The fibers will have an OD=0.40mm and ID=0.20mm with 45000 sealed in a bundle. The bundle length at a suitable operating pressure to overcome the osmotic pressure and get effective yields will be 1.8 m long and can maintain structural integrity with 400 kPa ΔP for the feed water (at 25 C temperature) flowing inside the fibers from one end of the bundle to the other. With this data, which is the average water flow through the bundle in m^3/day? Neglect any permeate flow effect on the incoming raw water rate.

Answer 1