Semiempirical modeling of cross-flow microfiltration with periodic reverse filtration

High-frequency reverse filtration is an effective method of improving membrane performance. Models based on blocking filtration laws have been successfully used for flux prediction during discontinuous semibatch processes, In this paper, we present two semiempirical models to predict the performance of a continuous cross-flow filtration system with back-pulsing. Parameters evaluated from batch cell experiments are shown to be useful in scale-up and design of such systems. Both models are applied to results obtained for this work and to published results and are shown to be effective tools for prediction of process variables. Methods of process optimization are also discussed.