Pleated membrane crossflow fluid separation device

DETAILED DESCRIPTION What I have claimed is: 1.
A semipermeable membrane fluid separation device for the separation and concentration of two or more components of a fluid into two fluid streams, with a portion of said fluid retained on one side of said membrane and enriched in one or more of said components and passed out of said device, and said remaining fluid passing through said membrane and depleted of one or more of said components and passed out of said device, said device comprised of a central solid rod, a flat sheet membrane layup, and a tubular shell, said membrane layup consisting of a semipermeable elongated membrane sheet comprised of a membrane surface attached to a laterally coextensive sheet of porous membrane support material, said membrane being repeatedly folded to form a plurality of convoluted pleats, and including a porous spacer material disposed between said membrane surfaces of said pleats, said pleats aligned with their axes parallel to the axis of said solid rod and disposed with said spacer material and said membrane surface side towards said solid rod and wrapped radially around said solid rod to produce a radial pleat assembly, laterally opposing free ends of said membrane sheet of said radial pleat assembly are joined together by a sealing means to form a fluid resistant bond, a sealing means is applied to said membrane support material on each end of said radial pleat assembly to form a fluid resistant bond, said plurality of pleats being wound about the axis of said solid rod and held in place by a porous sheet material to form a fully wrapped assembly which is inserted into said tubular shell having a depleted fluid outlet, a sealing means is applied to the end edges of said fully wrapped assembly and said tubular shell to form a fluid resistant bend which creates a completed crossflow pleated membrane element, wherein said fluid to be treated passes into an open end of said completed element and passes into said spacer material of said plurality of pleats disposed between said membrane surfaces of each pleat with a portion of said fluid passing through said membrane and into said membrane support material with said depleted fluid passing between said fully wrapped assembly and the inner surface of said tubular shell and passing out of a hole in the side of said tubular shell while said enriched fluid passes out said spacer material at the opposite open end of said completed element