Patent ID: 7186343

Claim:
A process for supplying bubbles to a membrane module and cleaning an aerator producing the bubbles, the process comprising the steps of: a) providing a membrane module immersed in a tank containing water containing suspended solids; b) providing a system of one or more conduits connecting an aerator to a gas source and to a valve that may be opened to vent the system of one or more conduits to atmosphere, the aerator immersed in the tank and located such that bubbles produced from the aerator contact the membrane; c) flowing a gas from the gas source to the aerator through the system of one or more conduits to produce a pressure in the aerator sufficient to produce bubbles from the aerator which contact the membrane module; and, d) reducing the pressure in the aerator while the gas source supplies a gas in communication with the aerator through the system of one or more conduits such that water in the tank enters the aerator, wherein, e) steps c) and d) are performed in a repeated cycle; and, f) step (d) comprises opening the valve.