Unidades de producción
Alfa Laval designs, manufactures and installs complete cross-flow membrane filtration systems, based on polymeric membranes. Our production units are based on either the unique plate-and-frame modules or on spiral elements of varying sizes. For some applications, a combination of both types can be used to give the best possible solution
Long experience and complete range
Alfa Laval offers a complete range of cross-flow filtration solutions and in-house membrane manufacture. Our experience in microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis dates back as far as the mid-sixties, soon after membrane filtration was introduced on a commercial scale. The extensive Alfa Laval portfolio includes high performance polymeric membranes, sanitary modules, components, laboratory test units, pilot plants and fully engineered membrane production units.
Customized solutions
At Alfa Laval, we take pride in supplying our customers with complete, optimized solutions that take every aspect of the process into consideration. Our solutions are designed on the basis of feed product composition, production parameters, final product requirements and costs. The solutions then selected can be based on the unique plate-and-frame modules or the cost effective spiral elements - or a combination of both to give the best possible solution. We develop our systems in close cooperation with customers and can provide batch and continuous operation as well as sanitary and industrial design. Validation support is available, as is support in installation and commissioning.
Benefits of our membrane filtration systems
Membrane filtration provides many significant advantages when used in industrial-scale applications where reliability, consistency and operating costs are crucial considerations. These advantages include:
- Lower overall production costs
- High end product quality
- High degree of flexibility
- Customized design
- 24-hour service programme
¿Cómo funciona la filtración por membrana?
Separación física
La filtración por membrana es un proceso de separación física en el que la fuerza impulsora es la diferencia de presión entre los dos lados de una membrana especial. Este proceso se caracteriza por la capacidad de separar moléculas de diferentes tamaños y características.
Casi toda la filtración por membrana industrial se lleva a cabo como filtración de flujo cruzado, en la que el líquido que se filtra fluye paralelo a la membrana a alta velocidad y bajo presión.
Barrera física
En términos muy básicos, la filtración por membrana consiste en hacer pasar una sola corriente de alimentación a través de un sistema de membranas que la separa en dos corrientes individuales, conocidas como permeado y retentado. La membrana que las separa es una barrera física con características muy especializadas, una barrera que solo pueden atravesar determinados componentes seleccionados de la corriente de alimentación.
Atravesar
Los poros de este material de membrana son tan pequeños que se miden en angstroms (10-10 m), y se necesita presión para forzar el paso del líquido a través de ellos. De hecho, los poros de las membranas utilizadas para la nanofiltración y la ósmosis inversa son tan pequeños que no se pueden ver ni siquiera con un microscopio electrónico de barrido.
Types of membrane filtration
Reverse osmosis (RO)
Reverse osmosis uses the tightest possible membrane in liquid separation. In principle, water is the only material that can permeate the membrane. All other materials (salts, sugars, etc.) will be unable to pass through)
Nanofiltration (NF)
Nanofiltration is not as fine a separation process as reverse osmosis, and uses membranes that are slightly more open. Nanofiltration allows small ions to pass through while excluding larger ions and most organic components.
Ultrafiltration (UF)
Ultrafiltration involves membranes in which the pores are larger and the pressure is relatively low. Salts, sugars, organic acids and smaller peptides are allowed to pass, while proteins, fats and polysaccharides are not.
Microfiltration (MF)
In microfiltration, suspended solids, bacteria and fat globules are normally the only substances not allowed to pass through.
Membrane technology from Alfa Laval
Membrane filtration complements the range of other separation technologies offered by Alfa Laval. This ensures that we are always in a position to provide you with the ideal solution for your particular process. By using membrane filtration alone or in combination with our range of centrifuges, decanters or evaporators.