Non-Destructive Characterization of Industrial Membrane Cartridges by Using Liquid-Liquid Displacement Porosimetry (LLDP).

This works aims to propose and demonstrate the accuracy of a novel method of characterization aimed for non-destructive analysis of microfiltration (MF) membrane cartridges. The method adapts conventional liquid-liquid displacement porosimetry (LLDP) for performing an in-line porosimetric analysis of the membrane cartridges, getting their pore size distributions (PSDs) and mean pore diameters (). Six commercial filtration cartridges featuring polyethersulfone (PES) pleated membranes were analyzed using a newly designed filtration rig, based on the liquid-liquid displacement porometer, developed at the Institut de la Filtration et des Techniques Séparatives (IFTS) and operated at constant flow.