David Senica1, Stojan Kogej1, Aleksander Pavko2
1LEK, Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company, Ljubljana,
Slovenia
2Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University
of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract
A detailed description of an automated pilot plant unit of our original
design is given. The operating parameters such as transmembrane pressure
drop, cross-flow velocity, permeate flow rate, temperature and pH can be
controlled and continuously monitored during test runs. The pilot plant
operation is controlled by an industrial programmable logic controller,
connected to a personal computer. An original SCADA application was developed
which enables a remote control of the pilot plant and data aquisition.
The pilot plant can be run either by static or dynamic counterpressure
of the permeate. The dynamic counterpressure of the permeate assures a
uniform transmembrane pressure drop (UTP) along the whole filtration element.
Three different modes of operation can be selected: a constant transmembrane
pressure drop mode, a constant flux mode and a stand-by mode for startup
and cleaning operations. The unit is succesfully used for the microfiltration
and ultrafiltration of various fermentation broths. Some experimental results
are shown and discussed.