Ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis device comprising plural carbon tubes bonded together

Claim 1

In an ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis device including a module shell containing a plurality of axially aligned, longitudinally coextensive, hollow, porous carbon tubes disposed in a permeate collection zone, all of said tubes having an internal diameter of from about 0.3 centimeters to about 3.0 centimeters and average pore diameters, at least 50 percent of which are within the range of from about 0.1 to about 2.0 micrometers, and having an internal coating of aggregates of metal oxide particles; the improvement whereby means are provided for rendering said device mechanically strong and able to withstand substantial axial compression without fracture of said tubes and at the same time is rendered more amenable to cleaning and sterilization, said improvement comprising an elongated, rigid, self-supporting pack of said hollow, porous carbon tubes bonded and sealed together at each end by an inert, rigid, high strength, thermally stable header-flange member defining substantially smooth, crevice-free surfaces thereon, at least one of said surfaces is substantially flat and lies in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said tubes and which is substantially coincident with the ends thereof, and said porous carbon tubes bonded together at spaced intervals along their outer surfaces, between and spaced from said header-flange members, by a plurality of cement deposits providing means for preventing relative axial movement of individual tubes with respect to one another and for permitting permeate passing through the walls of said tubes to flow freely between adjacent tubes, both the cement deposits and said header-flange members being composed of a hard, rigid, chemically and thermally stable resinous composition which is liquid and flowable before curing and when applied to said tubes thereby penetrates into the porous matrix of the tubes a short distance sufficient to anchor and prevent axial displacement of the tubes, and said module shell enclosing said pack of hollow carbon tubes and slidably engaging at least one header-flange member at one end of said module shell.