# US 10,478,781 B2 · Shapes for tangential flow separation single-channel tubular elements incorporating turbulence promoters, and method of fabrication

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- Number: US 10,478,781 B2
- Document ID: US10478781B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/503,057
- Filed: 2015-07-21
- Published: 2017-08-31
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2014-08-11
- Assignees: Technologies Avancees Et Membranes Industrielles
- Applicants: Technologies Avancees Et Membranes Industrielles
- Inventors: Jérôme Anquetil
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10478781B2

## CPC

- B01D 65/08: Prevention of membrane fouling or of concentration polarisation
- B01D 29/15: arranged for inward flow filtration
- B01D 63/06: Tubular membrane modules
- B01D 63/061: {Manufacturing thereof}
- B01D 63/063: {on the inner surface thereof}
- B01D 63/066: {with a porous block having membrane coated passages}
- B01D 69/02: characterised by their properties
- B01D 69/046: {characterised by the cross-sectional shape of the tube}
- B01D 69/107: {Organic support material}
- B01D 69/108: {Inorganic support material}
- B01D 71/0215: {Silicon carbide; Silicon nitride; Silicon oxycarbide}
- B01D 71/024: {Oxides}
- C04B 35/46: based on titanium oxides or titanates (containing also zirconium or hafnium oxides, zirconates or hafnates C04B35/49)
- C04B 35/565: based on silicon carbide
- C04B 35/622: Forming processes; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products
- C04B 35/634: Polymers (C04B35/636 takes precedence)
- C04B 38/0615: {the burned-out substance being a monolitic element having approximately the same dimensions as the final article, e.g. a porous polyurethane sheet or a prepreg obtained by bonding together resin particles (C04B38/0022 takes precedence)}
- B01D 29/11: with bag, cage, hose, tube, sleeve or like filtering elements
- B01D 63/062: {with membranes on a surface of a support tube}
- B01D 69/04: Tubular membranes
- B01D 71/06: Organic material
- B01D 2321/20: By influencing the flow
- B01D 2321/2008: statically
- B01D 2321/2016: Static mixers; Turbulence generators
- B01D 2325/028: Microfluidic pore structures
- B01D 2325/0283: Pore size
- B33Y 10/00: Processes of additive manufacturing
- B33Y 50/00: Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
- B33Y 80/00: Products made by additive manufacturing
- C04B 2235/5436: micrometer sized, i.e. from 1 to 100 micron
- C04B 2235/6026: Computer aided shaping, e.g. rapid prototyping
- C04B 2235/6567: Treatment time
- C04B 2235/665: Local sintering, e.g. laser sintering
- C04B 2235/94: Products characterised by their shape
- B01D: SEPARATION (separating solids from solids by wet methods B03B, B03D; by pneumatic jigs or tables B03B; by other dry methods B07; magnetic or electrostatic separation of solid materials from solid materials or fluids, separation by high-voltage electric fields B03C; centrifuges, vortex apparatus B04; presses per se for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material B30B9/02; treatment of water C02F, e.g. softening by ion-exchange C02F1/42; {arrangements of air intake cleaners in gas turbine plants F02C7/05} ; arrangements or mounting of filters in air-conditioning, air-humidification or ventilation F24F13/28)
- C04B: LIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE {(roofing granules E04D7/005)}; CERAMICS (devitrified glass-ceramics C03C10/00); REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
- B33Y: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING

## Abstract

The present invention relates to a tangential flow separator element for separating a fluid medium for treatment into a filtrate and a retentate, said separator element having a monolithic rigid porous support (2) of rectilinear structure and having a single channel (3) arranged therein for passing the flow of the fluid medium for treatment, the outside surface (5) of the support presenting a profile that is constant. According to the invention, the monolithic rigid porous support (2) defines obstacles (9) to the flow of the fluid for filtering, which obstacles extend from the inside wall (31) of said channel (3), are identical in material and porous texture to the support, and present continuity of material and of porous texture with the support, said obstacles (9) generating variations in the flow section of the channel.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A tangential flow separator element for separating a fluid medium for treatment into a filtrate and a retentate, said separator element comprising a monolithic rigid porous support of rectilinear structure with a single channel having a wall that is continuously covered by a separation layer, said channel being formed therein for passing a flow of the fluid medium for treatment between an inlet and an outlet for the retentate, in order to recover a filtrate from the peripheral surface of the support, the outside surface of the support presenting a profile that is constant,
wherein the monolithic rigid porous support defines obstacles to the flow of the fluid for filtering, which obstacles extend from the inside wall of said channel, are identical in material and porous texture to the support, and present continuity of material and of porous texture with the support,
wherein said obstacles generate variations in the flow section of the channel, and
wherein the variations in the flow section of the channel result from a variation in at least one of the following criteria along a longitudinal axis of the channel: an area of a right section of the channel, a shape of the right section of the channel, and a dimension of the right section of the channel.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, comprising at least one separator layer deposited continuously on the inside wall of the channel and completely covering the obstacles.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, wherein the obstacles comprise discontinuous portions in relief formed on the inside wall of the channels.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 3, wherein the discontinuous portions in relief extend transversely inside the channel from one portion of the channel to another.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 4, wherein the obstacles define internal ducts for passing a flow of permeate and leading to the peripheral surface of the support.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, wherein the obstacles comprise portions in relief formed on the inside wall of the channel, which portions in relief extend continuously between the inlet and the outlet.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, wherein, relative to the maximum flow section of the channel, the obstacles generate a reduction in the area of the flow section lying in the range of 1% to 50%.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, wherein the obstacles have their surfaces that are for coming into contact with the fluid for filtering and that face towards the inlet sloping in the flow direction of the fluid for treatment.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, wherein the porous support is made of a material that is organic or inorganic.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, comprising a porous support and at least one separator layer continuously deposited on the inside wall of the channel and completely covering the obstacles, each being constituted of a ceramic selected from: oxides, nitrides, carbides, and other ceramic materials, and mixtures thereof.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, wherein the support presents a mean pore diameter lying in the range of 4 μm to 40 μm.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The flow separator element according to claim 11, wherein the mean pore diameter corresponds to a d50 value for the volume distribution at which 50% of the total volume of the pores corresponds to the volume of the pores having a diameter less than the d50 value; the volume distribution being obtained by mercury penetration.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

A method of fabricating a tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional structure of the monolithic rigid porous support of rectilinear structure with a single channel is made by forming individual plies that are superposed and successively bonded to one another so as to build up the desired three-dimensional shape progressively.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method according to claim 13, comprising making the three-dimensional structure by repeating the following steps:
making a continuous bed of a material that is to form the porous support, the bed being of constant thickness over an area greater than the section of said porous support at the ply;
locally consolidating some of the material to form a pattern that is determined for each ply, so as to create the individual ply while simultaneously bonding the individual ply as made in this way to the preceding ply.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The method according to claim 13, comprising making continuous beds of a solid material in the form of a powder or a liquid material.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method according to claim 15, wherein the liquid material is photopolymerizable resin.

### Claim 17 (depends on 13)

The method according to claim 13, comprising making a continuous bed of a solid material in the form of an organic or inorganic powder.

### Claim 18 (depends on 13)

The method according to claim 13, comprising making a continuous bed of a medium in the form of a photopolymerizable liquid precursor having an inorganic powder disposed therein.

### Claim 19 (depends on 13)

The method according to claim 13, wherein each ply is made by continuous or discontinuous melting of a string of a thermofusible solid precursor that is either a thermofusible organic polymer used on its own with an organic support and an organic layer, or a mixture of a thermofusible organic polymer and of a ceramic inorganic powder, with a support having an inorganic nature.

### Claim 20 (depends on 13)

The method according to claim 13, comprising creating successive beads of material by spraying a powder that is melted in a laser beam.

### Claim 21 (depends on 1)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, comprising a porous support and at least one separator layer continuously deposited on the inside wall of the channel and completely covering the obstacles, each being constituted of a ceramic selected from the group consisting of titanium oxide, aluminum oxide and zirconium oxide and mixtures thereof, titanium nitride, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, and silicon carbide.

### Claim 22 (depends on 1)

The tangential flow separator element according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a porous support and at least one separator layer continuously deposited on the inside wall of the channel and completely covering the obstacles, each being constituted of a ceramic selected from the group consisting of oxides, nitrides, carbides, and other ceramic materials, and mixtures thereof, mixed with another ceramic material.