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Results obtained during our investigations of cross-flow ultrafiltration and microfiltration coupled with static turbulence promoters are presented in this paper. The results are selected in such way as to underline the characteristics of such configurations which could contribute to their more extensive application in membrane-based processes.

High pressure drop due to the presence of a static turbulence promoter in a tubular membrane represents the main obstacle to more extensive practical application of static turbulence promoters in cross-flow membrane filtration processes. Nevertheless, the presented results showed that the range of optimal cross-flow velocities for the configuration with a static turbulence promoter could be extended by taking all processing and economic factors into consideration. It seems that the configuration with a static turbulence promoter inserted into a membrane tube could find an important role in the processes where lower crossflow velocities are required, like membrane filtration of viscous or shear-sensitive fluids.