AWWA JAW73199

This article focuses on the optimization of membrane cleaning. Maintaining membrane permeability is essential for sustaining throughput, and for this the membranes must be kept clean. Although much research has been done on membrane fouling, there is a paucity of information about membrane cleaning. Chemical cleaning of membranes is a key part of plant operations and maintenance. This study indicates that the methodology used to measure permeability recovery from chemical cleaning provides a useful tool to assess the effectiveness of the existing chemical cleaning protocol and also helps identify optimum cleaning conditions. This research further finds that there is no simple correlation between water quality, membrane type, and the required cleaning protocol across the nine sites sampled over the course of this four-year study. It appears that membrane cleanability can differ regionally and seasonally as well as with membrane plant operating conditions. Because of this variability, it seems critical to periodically assess the effectiveness of the existing chemical cleaning protocol and identify the optimum one. Utility operators will be interested both in the general results (i.e., the permeability recovery possible from optimization of cleaning) and the actual practical methodology used to identify the parameters for cleaning optimization. This article reinforces the view that more conservative design and operation of membrane plants yield a more sustainable throughput.

Includes 27 references, tables, figures.