Dow LP-4040 membranes

[Brent]

For more than you ever wanted to know, this page on the DOW site has a complete technical manual. All 180 odd pages of it.

http://www.dowwaterandprocess.com/su...od_manuals.htm

Of interest is the temperature correction factor. Joe sent me one and there is another burried in the above manual.
Joe's table goes down to 41 deg F. at which point the correction factor is 2.58

So the XLE-4040 with a rating of 2600 gallons per day would drop to 2600 / 2.58 = 1007 gallons per day or 42 gallons per hour running at 100 psi. This is a salt water calculation.

Our cold sap is really beating up the RO performance. I found this was about the same ratio when I ran the little GE Merlins for a couple years.

If we could put the sap through our steam and pre-heat it to 77 degrees, theoretically we would get about 2 1/2 times the throughput.

hmmmmm..........

[802maple]

Warming the sap will make them process more but you need to be able to boil the sap as soon as you run it thru the RO or you will get tremendous bacteria growth in a hurry.

[mapleack]

I've been wondering about the temperature to flow relationship too. If you had a steamaway and put the condensate through a plate heat exchanger before the RO to preheat raw sap, then matched the RO out put right to the evaporator, you might get alot more RO capacity for your money. A UV light could even be put before the RO to help cut down on bacteria in the RO. Somebody try it and let us know!

[shane hickey]

I trying to do that this year to see how it works to make boiling go faster, sap will go through the ro then a 5x16 evaporator that has a piggy back unit
which will be like a large pre heater it will draw off from the finish pan, then go to a paddle pump to a 6x20 evaporator. From there it will be drawed off the 6x20 into a 40 gallon steem tup that is hooked to 2 filter press's. From there goes to barrells. I hope that there will almost be a steady stream of syrup the whole time we are boiling to make the nights go faster. I'll have 3 people help boiling, I just hope that I dont have any syrup in flu pan, I'll have to keep a real good eye on things for the first couple of boils, and also when we witch sides. I'll keep you guys informed and let you know how things go.

shane

[mapleack]

I trying to do that this year to see how it works to make boiling go faster, sap will go through the ro then a 5x16 evaporator that has a piggy back unit
which will be like a large pre heater it will draw off from the finish pan, then go to a paddle pump to a 6x20 evaporator. From there it will be drawed off the 6x20 into a 40 gallon steem tup that is hooked to 2 filter press's. From there goes to barrells. I hope that there will almost be a steady stream of syrup the whole time we are boiling to make the nights go faster. I'll have 3 people help boiling, I just hope that I dont have any syrup in flu pan, I'll have to keep a real good eye on things for the first couple of boils, and also when we witch sides. I'll keep you guys informed and let you know how things go.

shane

Shane, that sounds very impressive and very scary all at the same time. Are these rigs wood fired or oil? Pictures would be appreciated greatly by all I'm sure!

[shane hickey]

Both evaporators are wood fired I've used to evaporators before but this year I added the Ro. No one around my area has one and I had never seen one work before so it will be new to me. It kind of scares me to for the first time I will have to keep a close attention to things. How do you post pictures? I have tried but they all say that there are to many kb and wont upload.

[mapleack]

Pictures are limited to a certain file size on here, probably 800x600 dimensions. You could also start a photobucket account and put the link in your signature like mine.

[vtmaplemaker]

you will be way overkill with the two evaps, and a ro on 10k taps... I am not sure what size ro u baut, but in my oppinion you will be bettwr off concentrating to say 16% with the ro, then boiling to finish syrup on the 5x16 at a rate of close to 50 gal of finised syrup a hour... with the 2 evaps, set up the way you are talking and a ro in front, you will have syrup before it even hits the second evap, unless you have 4" lines and floats connecting it all...

[802maple]

vtmaplemaker, my thoughts exactly

[shane hickey]

I just want to try it. I figured it was over kill but I'm picking up woods all the time this is my third year in maple syrup and I'm 27 At this rate I might have 20k taps in five years ( if only in my dreams) I'm always thinking of doing things bigger and better maple syrup and farming is my living so it's either go big or frind a dead end job.
shane