Patent ID: 6054051
Filing Date: 2000-04-25
Classification: B01D

Abstract:
A tangential-flow filter for selectively transferring a species from a fluid mixture to a fluid media, the filter comprising:a filtration membrane having a first surface and a second surface;a cassette formed with a first channel and a second channel, the first channel having an input port and an output port being disposed to establish a tangential flow of the fluid mixture over the first surface of the membrane, the first channel having a cross-sectional area with the cross-sectional area decreasing in the direction of the tangential flow, and the second channel having an input port and an output port being disposed to establish a tangential flow of the fluid media over the second surface of the membrane, wherein the decrease in cross-sectional area in the first channel is chosen so that the velocity of the tangential flow of the fluid mixture is substantially constant over the length of the first channel and a pressure differential is substantially constant over the length of the filtration membrane; andmeans for creating the pressure differential between the fluid mixture in the first channel and the fluid media in the second channel to cause the species to traverse the membrane from the fluid mixture to the fluid media.