Effect of flocculation on critical flux during crossflow microfiltration of bentonite suspensions

The effectiveness of polymeric flocculant addition and hydrodynamics on increasing the critical permeation flux, Jcrit, during crossflow microfiltration of bentonite suspensions using a tubular ceramic membrane module was investigated. The investigation determined the effects of flocculant concentration on Jcrit at various crossflow velocities. The best filtration performance (highest Jcrit) was obtained at a flocculant dose of 500 mg kg-1 (mg of flocculant per kg of solids) and at a crossflow velocity of 1.71 m s-1. Particle size has been used as a parameter to fit the shear-induced hydrodynamic diffusion model to the experimental filtration data.