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Membrane Cleaning Maintenance Guide
Membrane Cleaning Maintenance Guide
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a filtration process that produc- of the large quantity of salt, dissolved minerals, suspended
es highly purified water using raw water from the sea or solids, organic matter, and biological contaminants. The
brackish sources in marine applications. The purification of reverse osmosis process can remove not only salt and
seawater using reverse osmosis membranes is one of the dissolved solids, but also the organic material, colloids,
most challenging applications of RO technology because and some microorganisms.
REVERSE OSMOSIS
Reverse osmosis is the opposite of osmosis, a membrane. The pressure difference between the high
naturally occurring process. Osmosis is described as the pressure (concentrated) feed side and the lower pressure
process in which water flows across a membrane sepa- (dilute) side is known as the transmembrane pressure,
rating a stronger from a weaker solution; the water abbreviated as ∆P. The transmembrane pressure must
flows in the direction that will reduce the concentration greatly exceed the osmotic pressure in marine systems
of the stronger solution. The flow of water between to enable purified water to flow from the concentrated
solution compartments can be observed as the liquid in solution to the dilute side of the membrane. (Fig. 1b).
the compartment of stronger solution increases in volume A simple schematic of a RO system is shown in Figure 2.
(Fig. 1a). Osmotic pressure is a term used to quantify the The solution of seawater is pumped into a pressure vessel
driving force required to increase the level of solution in and flows across the surface of the semipermeable mem-
the compartment of the stronger solution. brane. A portion of the water permeates the membrane
When RO is used for desalination, high pressure is used leaving impurities behind. The purified water is referred
as a driving force to oppose and reverse osmotic pres- to as “permeate” or “product water”, and is recovered
sure. The pressure is applied to the high concentration at atmospheric pressure. The pressurized concentrate, is
solution forcing pure water through the semipermeable known as “brine” or “reject water”.
Fig. 1a Fig. 1b
RO Membrane Cleaning and Maintenance Guide
MAINTENANCE OF RO MEMBRANES
An important characteristic for users of RO systems is the The accumulation of these foulants can cause a severe loss
membrane’s tendency to become fouled by the contami- of performance in the system resulting in reduced perme-
nants it is removing. ate production.
Three common types of fouling affect Marine RO systems should be fitted with pre-filtration
RO membranes: beds to remove suspended solids. These beds, located be-
fore the high-pressure pumps, are routinely backflushed
1) Scaling – mineral deposits on the feedwater side
to maintain flow. For RO systems operated at sea, biofoul-
of the membrane containing calcium and magnesi-
ing is not the limiting fouling mechanism and is addressed
um. Scale initially forms at the discharge end of a RO
during membrane cleaning. If a system is not protected
element because the brine has become concentrated
with online antifoulants specifically designed to reduce
compared to the start of the process.
scaling, then foulants will accumulate rapidly. Under
2) Biofouling – consists of microbial growth often in these conditions frequent offline cleanings are required to
the form of biofilm that contains a complex mixture maintain production and prevent contaminants from
of microbes and an adhesive surface that adsorbs and irreversibly damaging the integrity of the membrane.
accumulates additional contaminants.
For effective prevention and removal of foulants in
3) Particles – suspended solids in the feed water, such membrane systems, Drew Marine offers high performance
as small sand particles, clays, or organic matter that antiscalants and cleaning products formulated in
were not removed in the prefiltration processes, and accordance with membrane manufacturer specifications.
cannot pass through the membrane.
Fig. 2
RO Membrane Cleaning and Maintenance Guide
TYPICAL CLEANING INDICATORS
It is important to implement an effective, routine monitoring program of RO system performance. A
proactive, predictable approach to system maintenance can identify possible fouling before the situation becomes severe.
The practice of recording operational data on a daily basis can provide the means to track performance over time.
The following symptoms of fouling are typical indicators used to predict cleaning requirements:
• A 10-15% or greater decrease in permeate flow.
• A 10-15% or greater increase in the pressure drop across the membrane, i.e. transmembrane pressure (∆P).
• A 10-15% increase in salinity or dissolved solids measured in permeate.
The troubleshooting chart below summarizes probable causes associated with observed changes in indicators of
system fouling.
Fig. 3
USEFUL TERMS IN REVERSE OSMOSIS
Brackish Water Osmotic Pressure
Typically termed as, water containing significant levels (i.e., The pressure exerted by the flow of water through a
greater than 500 ppm) of salt and/or dissolved solids, but semipermeable membrane separating two solutions with
less than seawater (35,000 ppm dissolved solids). different concentrations of solutes.