Ultrafiltration (UF) is a low-pressure operation at transmembrane pressures of, typically, 0.5 to 5 bars. This is not only allows nonpositive displacement pumps to be used, but also the membrane installation can be constructed from synthetic components, which has cost advantage.
UF membranes can be fabricated essentially in one of two forms: tubular or flat sheet. Membranes of these designs are normally produced on a porous substrate material. The single operational unit into which membranes are engineered for use is referred to as a module. This operational unit consists of the membranes, pressure support structures, feed inlet, concentrate outlet ports, and permeate draw-off points. Two major types of UF modules can be found in the market, i.e., hollow fibers (capillary), and spiral wound (Figure 4). Other modules are plate and frame, tubular, rotary modules, vibrating modules, and Dean vortices