Membrana filtration curbs corrosion in Disney Shanghai cooling

Membrane manufacturer Polypore has supplied its Membrana ultrafiltration units for Shanghai Disneyland to curb corrosion in the resort’s cooling water system.

Under its design and build contract with International Tourism Resort (Disney), system builder, CHD has incorporated Membrana’s Liqui-Flux® W10-07 ultrafiltration (UF) modules as pre-treatment in a reverse osmosis plant and Liqui-Cel® gas transfer membranes as the post-treatment to remove dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide.

The combined technologies remove suspended solids, colloidal substances, chemical oxygen demand (COD), salt, and dissolved gases from the system.

The entire system is designed to handle 960 tonnes/d of recirculated cooling water with two independent UF units with a capacity of 640 tonnes/day for each rack and degassing units with a capacity of 480 tonnes/day for each rack said CHD.

Separating the UF and degassing systems into two racks allowed for a more mobile design said CHD.

The UF plant is designed to operate with at 65 l/m²/h flux with 40 min of filtration time and 250 l/m²/h backwash flux.

A backpressure above 2.0 bar is maintained due to downstream equipment requirements and piping demands. The feed water pressure is expected to remain above 3.5 bar. In operation, the feed water pressure is maintained at 4.0 bar and module tolerance pressure is 4.0 bar at 30˚C.

An in-line turbidity meter is installed for real-time monitoring of the outlet water and a once- a-day chemical enhanced backwash system is installed.

Liqui-Cel® gas transfer membrane, also known as membrane contactors, are installed with four in parallel and two in series to improve oxygen removal efficiency said CHD.

Liqui-Cel® Contactors are used for degassing because the technology can reach a dissolved oxygen concentration of five parts per billion which is difficult with conventional gas removal processes and exceeded the client’s expectations said the system builder. The company said.

The integration of Membrana’s UF and gas transfer membrane technologies before and after RO exceed design requirements, in producing high-quality water with low operating costs. The UF modules readily tolerate the customer’s pressure and harsh water requirements and the Liqui-Cel® membrane contactors remove dissolved oxygen efficiently with minimal maintenance.

Membrana-Charlotte is a division of Celgard, LLC of North Carolina USA and is part of Polypore International.