KR880000173B1 - Fluid treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An influx means put into the apparatus the supply material which constantly maintains the pressure, a discharge means removes a treated supply material from the apparatus. When the supply material flows through a flow way under a predetermined operational pressure, the expansion range of the flow way is restrained to maintain a suitable flow of the supply material, and the restraining means is arranged to support the wall.

Description

Fluid handling equipment

1 is a perspective view of a fluid injector or part of a strainer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a side view of the strainer shown in FIG.

3 is a plan view of the flat plate of the strainer shown in FIG.

4 is an exploded perspective view of one of the filter membranes shown in FIG.

5 is a schematic representation of a cross flow filter constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

6 is a schematic view of a filter in which the flow of feedstock is steady.

7 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing that a pair of compressible filtration membranes are provided between a pair of spacer support plates.

8 is a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a filter showing gasket seals at the two filtration membrane edges of the filter prior to use.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a filter, such as FIG. 8, with feedstock flow in steady state.

10 is a schematic view showing an obstacle formed in a flow passage.

FIG. 11 is a schematic similar to FIG. 10 showing the movement of an obstruction. FIG.

12 is a cross-sectional view of a crossflow filter in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view partially cut out of the filter shown in FIG. 12; FIG.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the filtration membrane shell of the filter of FIG. 12 and FIG. 13; FIG.

15 is a schematic view of a section according to a more detailed description of the invention.

16 is a schematic view of a section according to another specific embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for varying the concentration of a preselected component of a feedstock, which can also be used to remove microparticles from the fluid phase, but is not only used for this purpose.

For easier use, the specification of the present invention provides a cross-flow preservation method that removes a preselected component or particle from the feed material by moving the feed material through a barrier through which the component or particle passes but fails the remainder of the material. Or filtration will be described.

However, the scope of the present invention is not limited only to these uses. It will also be appreciated that the same method can be used for the reverse situation of adding preselected particles to the feed through the barrier.

Microparticles (eg, molecules, cladding, particles and droplets) present in the fluid phase can be removed in various ways depending on the amount of particles present.

The most common method used at low concentrations is depth filtration, and another method is surface filtration, such as using a Nucleopere membrane. Surface sieving mechanism can effectively remove particles. Other types of surface membranes may also be used, which depend on the active surface skin supported by the porous support layer.

When using particulate filtration, these membranes work similarly to nuclear pore membranes.

When the concentration of remaining particles is high, the suction force is significantly reduced because the deep and visceral surface barriers rapidly increase the accumulation of the solid phase with a pressure drop that has an essential effect on filtration.

This problem can be solved by expanding the retention area of the fine particles, and the method used is cross-flow retention. In the crossflow preservation method, a surface film is used, and the accumulated layer of remaining particles can be minimized by applying a fluid shear field to the fluid flowing upstream of the barrier surface.

According to the invention, it is possible to operate so that the solution effectively separates into the permeate and the preservative in the normal state, and in the normal state, the particles are not active and no longer accumulate on the barrier surface. The apparatus can also be operated in batch mode, in which case the concentration of the feed solution is gradually increased. Although this method produces a drop in production, this drop occurs much less than in a dead-end mode where all particles are collected on and in the barrier.

In general, for each membrane used in herbal filtration, dialysis and electrodialysis, the permeation rate of the membrane is generally limited depending on the layer of conserved particles present (ie, the concentrated layer or ultimately the gel layer). According to the present invention, it is preferable to use a laminated flow to remove the gel phase or the k phase from the surface of the membrane.

When using bed flow, this relates to the given concentration of fluid to be treated and the flow rate, shear rate, and length of the flow path of the filter for a given membrane.

According to "Membrane Science and Technology" published by Blatt et al. In 1970, this relationship relates to the state of laminar flow and to the polarized state on the gel (ie, when increased pressure does not increase the flow rate).

This relationship is given below.

J∝ (γ / L) ^0.33 ∝ (U _B ) ^0.33 (h _C ) ^-0.33 (L) ^-0.33

Where J is the flow rate opposite the given area of the filtration membrane,

U _B is the velocity of the flow,

h _C is the thickness or height of the filter flow passage,

L is the length of the filter flow passage,

γ is the shear rate.

The shear rate is expressed as the ratio of the tangential velocity of the fluid between adjacent filtration membranes to the height of the flow passage or channel of the filtration membrane.

In other words,

When the limiting factor for the filtration membrane is the gel layer rather than the porosity of the filtration membrane, the flow rate is related to the shear rate by this ratio, which means that reducing the height or thickness of the channel increases the shear rate and flow rate significantly.

In general, in the case of cross flow preservation, the energy required for recirculation is the largest direct operating cost factor. In the conventional apparatus in which hc is 1 mm, the energy consumed is 1 mW per square meter of the installed filtration membrane.

In the case of a tubular system with a tube diameter of 1 cm, the energy cost required is higher.

Therefore, there is a need to develop a cross flow capillary preservation device or an ultrafiltration device in which the height of the filtration device and the flow passage are significantly lowered (e.g., reduced to about 50-100 microns). By only using this sized flow passage, the required amount of water per square meter of the filtration membrane is reduced in proportion to the height of the flow passage, and twice as high as the channel height is more than doubled.

The invention has invented a device as follows to vary the concentration of preselected component (s) in the feedstock.

(a) an inlet means for introducing a feed material having a constant air pressure into the apparatus,

(b) discharge means for removing the treated feed material from the apparatus,

(c) flow passages of one or more feedstocks between the inlet and outlet means,

(d) one or more barriers consisting of a first surface portion which is used to pass already selected component (s) and directs the feedstock; and

(e) delivery means for connecting with the opposing surface of each barrier.

The boundary of each flow passage in this device is made in part by the one or more filtration membranes, which are adapted to elastically expand the passage by the feed material passing through the filtration membranes, which further ensures that the feed material has a predetermined operating pressure. And restricting means adapted to limit the extent of elastic expansion of the at least one flow passage to maintain the laminar flow of the feed material therein when flowing through the at least one flow passage. Preferably, the thickness of the flow path should be such that the device operates under polarized conditions that have already been gelled so that the increased pressure does not increase the flow rate.

Although the device according to the present invention utilizes several components developed for past dialysis as referenced herein, the device according to the present invention is suitable for ultrafiltration and cross flow filtration which is quite different from past dialysis and is suitable for the past. It will be appreciated that the dialysis apparatus is not suitable for use in the ultrafiltration described herein or cross flow filtration under high pressure.

For example, there are differences as described below:

(Iii) Dialysis consists of four vector systems by means of a device consisting of two inlets and two outlets for two types of fluids. One inlet and outlet is for the material to be dialyzed, and another inlet and outlet is for dialysis fluid flowing in countercurrent to the material to be dialyzed.

Cross flow filtration, on the other hand, has three vector systems for one type of fluid, with only one inlet for the feedstock to be treated, an outlet for the concentrate and preservative and another outlet for the filtrate or permeate. Consists of

(Ii) Dialysis is achieved by diluting the material to be dialysed, while cross-filtration is done by concentrating the particles that remain on the material to be treated.

(Iii) Dialysis proceeds at a pressure of 10 KPa or less, but cross-flow filtration proceeds at a pressure of 100 KPa.

(Iii) Dialysis uses low water flux membranes at low flow rates to minimize pressure variations in the delivery membrane. Cross-flow filtration uses high water flux membranes, which are highly permeable membranes (flow rate is 50 l / hr) with large pressure variations in the delivery membrane.

(Iii) The dialysis method uses a pair of membranes at normal atmospheric pressure but approximately 150 microns thick and 40 microns thick each, whereas in a cross flow filter, the channel height is zero at normal atmospheric pressure. And a membrane thickness of 120-200 microns each, with a fluctuation in pressure of 100 KPa, the height or thickness of the channel is about 50 microns.

As used herein, the term "barrier" refers to a high flow rate semipermeable membrane, a live strainer, and a compressive and resilient support. And filters that can be secured to the support.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a preferred apparatus 10 for varying the concentration of a preselected composition 11 in feedstock 12 includes a number of barriers through which the composition 11 can pass. It consists of (13).

The inlet and manifold means 17 (manifold (see FIG. 2)) on the right side of FIG. 1 are applied to bring the feed material into contact with the first surface of each barrier 13.

The delivery means 14 is used to connect with the opposite surface of each filtration membrane 13 containing the components 11 passed therethrough and to remove the components 11 passed from the device 10. The discharge means and the manifold 15 means are for removing the processed feed material 12 from the device 10.

In this case, the boundaries of the flow passages for the feed material 12 formed by the barrier 13 allow the feed material to pass therethrough so that at least some of them are elastically expanded.

Restricting means in the form of flat plate 16 are for limiting the degree of elastic expansion of the flow to maintain the laminar flow of the feed material when the feed material 12 flows through at a predetermined operating pressure. The limiting means comprises a surface made of mesh arranged to contact the opposing surfaces of the two joining barriers, the mesh surface being at a predetermined distance when the feed material flows through the channel at a predetermined operating pressure. Limit the separation of the first surface of the binding barrier to form a flow passage.

As shown in FIG. 4, each filter has a first flat plate 16, a first barrier or filtration membrane 13, a gasket 18, a second barrier or filtration membrane 13a, and a second flat plate 16a. Consists of

The flat plates 16, 16a have a perimeter sealing shoulder 19 which acts when assembling the filter to seal the periphery of the filter bag formed by the filter membranes 13, 3a. One flat plate 16 may also provide a shoulder 19 that is expanded to engage the other flat plate 16a in a hermetic form.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the spacer support or flat plate 16, 16a, 16b, 16c is a pair of compressive walls or filter membranes 13, 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 13e located between adjacent plates. They are arranged to stack on a regular interval from each other. The planar plate is disposed adjacent to the opposing surface of each barrier, each planar plate comprising a plurality of conical studs 29 adjoining the opposing surface of each barrier. Each barrier is supported by a number of conical studs 29 formed on the surface of each flat plate with an open volume 20 formed therebetween and also maintaining a constant distance from each flat plate. It is also possible to form conical studs on both sides of each flat plate. Conical studs protruding from each flat plate include their tips, and each conical stud has its tip contacting the opposing surface with the compression barrier or filtration membranes as the flow passages 22, 23, 24 extend. When the feed material flows, the separation of the first surface of the two compression barriers or the filtration membrane is limited to a predetermined thickness for the stacking flow, wherein the tip is at least a portion of the opposite surface without penetrating the first surface of the barrier. It is characterized by digging into. High pressure of a transfer barrier or transfer membrane made from the feedstock to form a thin channel 22, 23, 24 separating the feedstock solution 12 into a concentrate or preservative 25 and a permeate filtrate 11. The feedstock solution 12 is injected between each pair of barriers compressed under influence.

Referring to FIG. 7, the flat plates 27 and 28, which are a pair of spacer support plates facing each other, have a plurality of conical studs 29 on their surfaces which support a pair of filter membranes 30 and 31 located between the flat plates. ) Is installed. The barriers used in the device are compressible and elastic, and in the case of the device, a multilayered anisotropic ultrafiltration membrane is used. It is also possible to use biofilters, strainers or filtration membranes which are compressible and are made of elastic supports. When connected to each other, the open volume part 32 formed between the studs 29 forms a low pressure filtrate or infiltration liquid passage 33. In the absence of pressure, the barriers 30 and 31 are normally in contact with each other such that the flow passage and the thickness are zero. (See Fig. 5)

However, due to the high pressure of the delivery membrane caused by the outflow of the pressurized feedstock, each filtration membrane 30, 31 is a thin channel of varying high "h" between the compressive filtration membrane or the opposing surfaces of the barrier 30, 31. B is elastically compressed to the conical studs 29 to create the flow passage (34). The feed material to be treated by cross flow filtration or oriental filtration is separated into a filtrate or a penetrating liquid 33 and a concentrate or a preservation liquid 36 which pass through the filtration membrane.

The thickness of the flow passage will decrease along the channel 34, which is the flow passage, from the high pressure inlet means (see left of FIG. 7) to the low pressure outlet means (see right of FIG. 7). It may not be constant from the inlet to the outlet. Since the lower inlet pressure compresses the inlet of the filtration membrane more than the lower inlet pressure compresses the outlet of the filtration membrane, the thickness becomes slightly smaller.

The distance between the opposing space plates (usually about 250 microns) is given by "H" and the thickness of the filter membrane or filter is given by "e" (see FIG. 5). In a dialysis apparatus having a thickness of about 40 microns, the channel height between the filtration membranes is kept substantially constant and the filtration membrane is predetermined according to the thickness. H <2e in conventional dialysis equipment, while H <2e in cross-flow ultrafiltration devices.

The desired thickness of the flow path in steady flow conditions allows the elastic expansion to maintain the lamination flow for a long time at high flow rates under non-gelling polarization conditions. Although it is clear from the foregoing description, the height of the channel or the thickness of the flow passage changes the shear rate for a given flow rate. Since the shear rate is inversely proportional to the thickness of the flow passage, decreasing the thickness of the flow passage will increase the shear rate and increase the flow rate.

Although changes in feedstock may specify the flow path thickness as an index that is not universally chosen. However, it is desirable that the flow passage thickness does not exceed 80 microns or in some cases 100 microns. In some cases, this thickness range is preferentially set at 50-100 microns, 40-60 microns and 10-25 microns. The above limiting means are adapted to produce a maximum flow path thickness of less than 100 microns.

A preferred compressible, high flow rate filtration membrane used in the apparatus according to the invention is the filtration membrane described in Australian Patent No. 505, 494. In this specification, a mixture of depolymerized and polymerized materials and a plurality of layers, each layer acting as a molecular screen, is used for highly impermeable anisotropic membranes with graduated porosity. This membrane also has a precise decrease in molecular weight, with the change in molecular weight reduction of adjacent layers from the top to the bottom of the filtration membrane being a continuous function.

In another form of the invention, the barriers consist of a mixture of a first part compressible through its transverse axis and a second part with a relatively low compressibility on the horizontal axis, and the above-mentioned limiting means may limit the expansion range of the flow passage. It is used to connect with the first part of the barrier. At least a portion of the flow passage is also constituted by a second portion of each barrier.

The gasket means 18 is preferably made of a foamed material in the form of a compressible porous or closed cell, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, and can be compressed from about 1 mm to about 15 microns under a given pressure. In the compressed state, the cells in the foam material do not form a large number of open cell spaces in contact with the surface to be sealed. In fact, the structure of each open cell acts as a small decompression chamber in which a large number of reaction chambers exist in a relatively small space, and a pressure of about 100 KPa (or about 15 p.si) (i.e., transfer membrane pressure difference). It acts as an effective sealant against pressure losses in filters or ultrafiltration devices that operate under). The pressure of 100 KPa used is opposed to the pressure difference less than the pressure of 10 KPa (or p.s.i) present in the dialysis apparatus.

To form a channel between a pair of filtration membranes or ultrafiltration membranes 13 comprising the structure of the cell adapted to provide a watertight seal with the nameplate 16 adjacent the inlet and outlet means periphery as mentioned above. One means provided for supplying a fluid to be treated under constant pressure is a radiofluid diffusion disc or button of the type described in US Pat. Nos. 3, 837, 496 and 3, 841, 491 to Hagstrom et al. button 40 is used between the paired filtration membranes or ultrafiltration membranes with the same inlet and outlet ports. However, the need for the installation of a number of such diffuse button 40 adversely affects the compactness of the system, imposes unnecessary flow restrictions on the feedstock, and very high operating pressure conditions present in other devices of the present invention. Underneath, it is necessary to provide an annular pressure-tight sealing gasket (polypropylene foam material) concentrically on both sides of the button so as to form a seal between the flat plate 16, which is a spacer support plate, and the filtration membrane or the ultrafiltration membrane 13.

The active surface 42 of the flat plate 16, which is a spacer support plate, in which the passages are made to collect and separate the filtrate or the permeate 11, for example using embossing and stamping techniques. According to the prior art method that can be applied to the dialysis device technology to be formed in various ways.

In this regard, reference is made to the surface structure of flat plate 16 described in US Pat. No. 4, 154, 792 to Miller et al., Wherein the filtration membranes on the flat plate surface described in this patent specification are in large numbers closely related. Adjacent conical studs 29 or protrusions. In more detail, the device manufactured according to the present invention, the structure of the manifold of the flat plate in the grooved form or the numbered form is the type described in US Patent No. 4, 051, 041 to Riede In particular, in order to collect the filtrate or the permeate, such a form can be used from the active surface of the spacer flat plate 16 to the permeate outlet 11 of the apparatus. See also US Pat. No. 3,411,630 to Alwall et al. For the surface structure of a spacing member designed to support adjacent filtration membranes and to make passages for dialysis of purified fluid.

The present invention provides a preferred form of base for a filtration device that requires significantly less energy (primary devices consume 1 Kw per square meter of installed membrane), i.e., about 50-150 w / m 2, of energy compared to conventional devices. basis).

The use of a preferred type of treatment apparatus according to the invention results in very high shear rates. This results in an increase in the specific flux for a given outflow, which makes it possible to operate the filtration device at high flow rates under polarized conditions rather than gels. This is important in maximizing molecular selectivity and facilitating the cleaning of barriers or filtration membranes.

An advantage of the treatment apparatus manufactured according to the preferred form of the invention is that the surface area of the filter contained in a relatively small volume (apart from energy savings) is very large. Generally speaking, the filtration membrane per unit volume may comprise about 10 times more than what can be contained in a conventional ultrafiltration or cross flow filtration device within a given area.

Further, the modified use of the filtration membrane itself formed with water can obtain very high stability for the filtration device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. For example, if the height of the channel or the thickness of the flow passage (hc) is reduced, the surface area of the channel section is reduced, which means a drop in pressure across a particular filtration device, and an increase in inlet pressure consequently increases the channel height. This means that there is a tendency to increase the thickness hc of the flow passage. Therefore, there is an autostable or autoflushing effect that facilitates cleaning of the device.

In other words, if the channel 34, which is the flow path, is obstructed as shown in FIG. 10, that is, blocked by the cake 50, the surface area of the channel will be reduced and its pressure will be increased. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the water channel 34 is expanded and opened to remove the obstruction, that is, the cake 50, blocking the filter. In detail, when the feedstock in the channel exceeds a predetermined operating pressure because of the blockage in the channel, the flow path is temporarily and repeatedly at the location of the blockage until the blockage is removed from the channel and the channel recovers the stack flow thickness. Expand to advance the obstruction through the channel. This feature, known as the self-stable effect, is very important in view of the self-cleaning capability of the filtration device according to the preferred form of the present invention.

By means of a filtration membrane attached to the device according to the invention the device can be adapted for cross flow ultrafiltration. When the filtration membrane is replaced with a biofilter or filter, the apparatus is suitable for cross flow filtration with two separate effects: (1) and (2).

(1) Always removing filter cake at high shear rate

(2) Tubular pinch effect

Any solution containing different densities of particulate material in the liquid medium can be separated in two ways. In the case where the particulate material is heavier than the liquid phase and the feedstock solution (concentrate) is flowed upward, ie substantially vertically in the channel, the particulate material tends to concentrate in the center of the channel, which is why The permeate can be removed without clogging of the filter caused by it.

On the other hand, when the particulate material is lighter than the liquid, when the concentrate of the feedstock flows downward, the particulate material tends to agglomerate at the center of the channel, so that the permeate can be removed without the filter being blocked by the particulate material.

Tap water was purified by ultrafiltration in Sydney, Australia, using a caratridge or filtration device shown in FIGS. 1-7 and an anisotropic nylon ultrafiltration membrane described in the manufacturing process and properties of Australian Patent Nos. 505, 494. .

The reduced flow rate was detected while the tap water feed was recycled for 12 hours through the caratridge.

The initial support pressure was 88 kpa, after four hours the pressure was increased to 100 kpa, which is the recommended minimum pressure in this method. The cross flow rate was 186 L / HR and the temperature was about 30 ° C. When the inlet pressure is 88kpa, the stable flow rate is 64L / SQ.M.HR. The pressure drop across Caratridge was 20 kpa. The stable flow rate at 100 kpa is 74.3 L / SQ.M.HR. There was no further reduction during the last 8 hours of the experiment. The flow rate pressure relationship for the caratridge indicated that this experiment was run under pre-gel polarized conditions. The total dry solids content of 0.19 G / L for feedstock and 0.08 G / L for permeate means that the total solid content of 0.19 G / L for feedstock and 0.08 G / L for permeate is discarded. For this experiment, the total solid content of 60% was discarded.

In chemical analysis of the permeate, the permeate contains an average of 2.5 PPM of silicon, 12.9 PPM of calcium, 5.0 PPM of magnesium and indeterminate iron, manganese or copper. The hardness of this permeate was 5.3 MG / L, equivalent to the equivalent of calcium carbonate, and the total amount of dissolved solids was 15.2 μG / L.

The table given below shows the power and energy required for ultrafiltration experiments based on the area of the filtration membrane and the volume of the permeate.

The data described above show a relatively low power consumption per unit area of the filtration membrane, as well as a low power consumption per unit volume of purified water.

Another aspect of the device according to the invention relates to its application to infiltration dialysis devices.

A particular arrangement of filter wools in accordance with a preferred form of the present invention is to combine a stack assembly of two metal plates into a manifold at the ends of two flat plates as electrodes that direct the magnetic field.

In this case, if the separated cations and anions are located between the two metal plates, the filter heads can be used together with the electrodialysis apparatus.

If one neutral filtration membrane is between two plates, the device can be used as a reverse electroporation or tansport depletion unit.

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 12-14. In this embodiment, the apparatus consists of a main body part 60 comprising an inlet means 61 and an outlet means 62, which main body part 60 consists of several filtration membrane shells 63 therein. Each shell 63 is formed of a first filtration membrane or a barrier and a second filtration membrane or a barrier arranged at regular intervals by each grid 66.

The perimeters of the barriers 64 and 65 arranged are all closed as shown in FIG. 14 while controlling the sides as long as they protrude into the manifold 67 as shown in FIG. have.

The manifold 67 constitutes a delivery means in this apparatus, and the space between the outer membrane 63 is formed by a sealing material such as aryldite, indicated by reference numeral 68 in FIG. It is sealed.

When the fluid enters the body portion 60 under constant pressure, the contact surfaces of the opposing filtration membranes 64 and 65 are separated by the method described in the first embodiment of the present invention. The selected component material passes through the barriers 64 and 65, passes through the flow channel between the two barriers 64 and 65 by the grid 66, and then opens the open end 68 of the envelope 63. Pass through to the manifold (67). (See Figure 13.)

The present invention has been described in more detail in FIG. 15, in which the filtration membranes or barriers 70 and 71 have protrusions 74 and 75 in an arrangement defined by the flow passage 76 to form an aggregate. In this way, the flow path between the barriers 70 and 71 is divided by the backing plates 72 and 73 into several parallel flow paths in which it is limited in elastic expansion.

Another specific example of the present invention is shown in FIG. 16, in which the outer membranes 80 and 81 are spirally shaped. Each of the outer membranes 80 and 81 is similar to the outer membrane 63 shown in FIGS. 12 to 14, which have discharge means 82. The outer membrane assembly is also positioned in the housing including the inlet and outlet means.

As described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited only to the cross flow filtration method and the preservation method. For example, the preferred form of the invention described in connection with FIGS. 1-7 can also be used to insert the desired species into the feedstock through the port and barrier (stone) in the opposite direction to the previously described direction. One such example can be used to insert oxygen (preferably a kind) into the blood (feedstock). In this case, all other components of the blood must remain in the flow passage, while barriers must be selected in which only oxygen can flow quickly across this passage.

Claims (14)

The preselected components described above are formed by an inlet means for introducing a feed material having a constant air pressure into the apparatus, a discharge means for removing the treated feed material from the apparatus, and a pair of arranged barriers of sheet material. Feed passages between the inlet and outlet means, through which the pre-selected component (s) are delivered in connection with the opposing surface of each barrier, and the feed material being pre-determined. In order to maintain the stack flow of the feedstock in the flow passage as it flows through the flow passage as the operating input, it is composed of hard limiting means for limiting the expansion range of the flow passage and supporting the barrier, and each barrier has A feed surface comprising a first surface portion which is in contact with a first surface portion of another barrier when not in flow, the flow passage maintaining a constant air pressure A fluid treatment apparatus for varying the concentration of a preselected component (s) in a feedstock that is expanded by being separated from each other when the first surface portion is separated from each other when fed from the inlet means through the flow passage, the barriers being compressible. And a flow passage elastically expands as the barriers are compressed against the rigid limiting means as the feedstock, which maintains a constant pressure, passes. The fluid treatment apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for sealing the perimeter of the arranged barrier to prevent pressure loss of the flow passage. 3. The fluid treatment apparatus of claim 2, wherein the means for sealing the arranged barrier comprises compressed gasket means located between two lined barrier peripheries. 4. A gasket means according to claim 3, characterized in that the gasket means is provided by a compressible porous or closed cell foam material which is compressed under a given pressure such that the cells in the foam material do not form a plurality of open cell spaces in contact with the surface to be sealed. Fluid treatment device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the arrangement of the barriers is a stack, the limiting means comprising one surface of mesh arranged to contact the opposing surfaces of the two joining barriers. The mesh surface of the fluid treatment apparatus limits the separation of the first surface of the coupling barrier to form a flow path at a predetermined distance as the feed material flows through the channel at a predetermined operating pressure. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the limiting means consists of a flat plate disposed adjacent to the opposing surfaces of the respective barriers, each planar plate comprising a plurality of conical studs adjacent to the opposing surfaces of the respective barriers. Fluid treatment apparatus comprising a. 7. A fluid treatment device according to claim 6, wherein conical studs are formed on both sides of each planar plate, including a stack arrangement of barriers and planar plates. The fluid treatment device of claim 1, wherein each barrier is compressible over its entire transverse axis. The barrier according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the barrier consists of a composite of a first part that can be compressed over the entire transverse axis and a second part that is significantly less compressible throughout the transverse axis, wherein the limiting means comprises: And to apply contact with the first portion of the barrier when limiting the extension. 10. The fluid treatment apparatus of claim 9, wherein at least a portion of the flow passage is constituted by a second portion of each barrier. 4. A fluid treatment device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said limiting means is adapted to produce a maximum flow passage thickness of less than 100 microns. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the feedstock in the flow passage exceeds the predetermined operating pressure because of the blockage in the flow passage, the blockage is removed from the flow passage until the flow passage recovers the stack flow thickness. And said restricting means and a compressive barrier are arranged so that the flow passage can be extended temporarily and repeatedly at the position of the obstruction to advance the obstruction through the flow passage. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the limiting means comprises a tip of a conical stud protruding from each flat plate located on the opposite surface of each barrier, each conical stud when the flow passage expands. And the tip portion arranged to limit separation of the first surfaces of the two barriers to a predetermined thickness for stacking flow when the feed material flows through the flow passage in contact with the opposite surface of the barrier. 15. The fluid treatment apparatus of claim 13, wherein the tip portion penetrates into at least a portion of an opposite surface of the barrier without penetrating the first surface of the barrier.

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