Fluid treatment elements and fluid treatment arrangements with posts and/or bands between fluid treatment elements and methods for making and using them

A method for making a fluid treatment arrangement comprising:

• positioning first and second disk-shaped fluid treatment elements along a hollow core assembly, each including a spirally wound ribbon of permeable fluid treatment medium forming a plurality of windings including a first winding having first and second opposite major surfaces, a second winding adjacent to the first major surface of the first wind in and a third winding adjacent to the second major surface of the first winding, the first and second disk-shaped fluid treatment elements being axially separated from one another to define a space between the end surfaces of the first and second fluid treatment elements;
• positioning each of a plurality of posts in the space along windings including the first, second, and third windings of an end surface of at least one of the first and second fluid treatment elements, and
• arranging each fluid treatment element in a fluid flow path extending between the end surfaces edgewise through the permeable fluid treatment medium.

A fluid treatment element comprising a ribbon which includes a permeable fluid treatment medium and is spirally wound in a plurality of windings to form a disk-shaped body having a first axially facing end surface on one side of the body, a second axially facing surface on the opposite side of the body, and an outer rim, wherein the plurality of windings includes a first winding having first and second opposite major surfaces, a second winding adjacent to the first major surface of the first winding, and a third winding adjacent to the second major surface of the first winding and wherein the fluid treatment element further comprises a plurality of posts, each post extending along and bonded to windings including the first, second, third windings of at least one end surface of the disk-shaped body, and a fluid pathway which extends between the first and second end surfaces generally edgewise through the permeable fluid treatment medium and past the posts.

A method of making a fluid treatment element comprising spirally winding a permeable fluid treatment medium in a plurality of windings and forming a generally disk-shaped body having opposite end surfaces and an outer rim, wherein the plurality of windings includes a first winding having first and second opposite major surfaces, a second winding adjacent to the first major surface of the first winding, and a third winding adjacent to the second major surface of the first winding and bonding each of a plurality of posts to windings including the first, second, and third windings of at least one of the end surfaces of the disk-shaped body, and arranging the fluid treatment element in a fluid flow path extending between the opposite end surfaces edgewise through the windings of the permeable fluid treatment medium.

A method of treating a fluid comprising:

• directing a fluid between the exterior of a fluid treatment arrangement and the interior of a core assembly, including passing the fluid into one end surface of a disk-shaped body of a spirally wound strip of permeable fluid treatment medium forming a plurality of windings including a first winding having first and second opposite major surfaces, a second winding adjacent to the first major surface of the first winding, and a third winding adjacent to the second major surface of the first winding, treating the fluid by passing the fluid generally edgewise through windings of the permeable fluid treatment medium, and passing the fluid out of an opposite end surface of the disk-shaped body into a space adjacent to the spirally wound strip and past posts in the space that are each bonded to the windings, including the first, second, and third windings.