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Introduction

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Introduction

Uploaded by

andri
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Tech Manual Excerpt

FILMTEC Membranes
Cleaning and Sanitization: Introduction

Introduction The surface of a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane is subject to fouling by foreign materials
that may be present in the feed water, such as hydrates of metal oxides, calcium
precipitates, organics and biological matter. The term “fouling” includes the build-up of all
kinds of layers on the membrane surface, including scaling.

Pretreatment of the feed water prior to the RO process is basically designed to reduce
contamination of the membrane surfaces as much as possible. This is accomplished by
installing an adequate pretreatment system and selecting optimum operating conditions,
such as permeate flow rate, pressure and permeate water recovery ratio.

Occasionally, fouling of the membrane surfaces is caused by:


• Inadequate pretreatment system
• Pretreatment upset conditions
• Improper materials selection (pumps, piping, etc.)
• Failure of chemical dosing systems
• Inadequate flushing following shutdown
• Improper operational control
• Slow build-up of precipitates over extended periods (barium, silica)
• Change in feed water composition
• Biological contamination of feed water

The fouling of membrane surfaces manifests itself in performance decline, lower permeate
flow rate and/or higher solute passage. Increased pressure drop between the feed and
concentrate side can be a side effect of fouling.

Cleaning can be accomplished very effectively because of the combination of pH stability


and temperature resistance of the membrane and the element components. However, if
cleaning is delayed too long, it could be difficult to remove the foulants completely from the
membrane surface. Cleaning will be more effective the better it is tailored to the specific
fouling problem. Sometimes a wrong choice of cleaning chemicals can make a situation
worse. Therefore, the type of foulants on the membrane surface should be determined
prior to cleaning. There are different ways to accomplish this:
• Analyze plant performance data. Details are given in Evaluation of System
Performance and Operation (Section 8.2.1).
• Analyze feed water. A potential fouling problem may already be visible there.
• Check results of previous cleanings.
• Analyze foulants collected with a membrane filter pad used for SDI value determination
(Section 2.5.1).
• Analyze the deposits on the cartridge filter.
• Inspect the inner surface of the feed line tubing and the feed end scroll of the
FILMTECTM element. If it is reddish-brown, fouling by iron materials may be present.
Biological fouling or organic material is often slimy or gelatinous.

Page 1 of 2 * Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company Form No. 609-02086-1004


FILMTEC Membranes Notice: The use of this product in and of itself does not necessarily guarantee the removal of cysts and pathogens from water.
For more information about FILMTEC Effective cyst and pathogen reduction is dependent on the complete system design and on the operation and maintenance of
membranes, call the Dow Liquid the system.
Separations business:
North America: 1-800-447-4369 Notice: No freedom from any patent owned by Seller or others is to be inferred. Because use conditions and applicable laws
Latin America: (+55) 11-5188-9222 may differ from one location to another and may change with time, Customer is responsible for determining whether products
Europe: (+32) 3-450-2240 and the information in this document are appropriate for Customer’s use and for ensuring that Customer’s workplace and
Pacific (ex. China): +800-7776-7776
disposal practices are in compliance with applicable laws and other governmental enactments. Seller assumes no obligation or
China: +10-800-600-0015
liability for the information in this document. NO WARRANTIES ARE GIVEN; ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
http://www.filmtec.com
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED.

Page 2 of 2 *Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company Form No. 609-02086-1004

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