Chemical cleaning of reverse osmosis membranes fouled by whey

The aim of this research was to establish a rationale for the cleaning of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes fouled by whey. Wheywas processed using a hydrophilic polyamide FT30 RO membrane. The effects ofoperating conditions such as transmembrane pressure, temperature and cross-flow velocity on flux behavior were elucidated before studying the cleaning. A wide variety of cleaning agents including acids, bases, enzymes and complexing agents was used. Resistance removal and flux recovery were used for demonstrating the cleaning efficiency. Hydrochloric acid (0.05 w%) resulted in maximum flux recovery and complete resistance removal. Although sodium hydroxide showed high cleaning efficiency, it may damage the membrane, predominantly at a high pH. Nitric acid and ammonia showed high but not complete resistant removal. Other acids (phosphoric acid and oxalic acid), ammonium chloride, urea and surfactants (SDS, Triton-X100 and CTAB) exhibited moderate effects while EDTA was of low efficiency. The cleaning effectiveness depends on the cleaner concentration. Using sulphuric acid, higher concentration caused lower resistance removal. For HCl the cleaning efficiency increased with the cleaner concentration, passed a maximum and decreased afterwards. Operating conditions such as cleaningtime and temperature affect cleaning efficacy. A longertime and higher temperature provide higher resistance removal. However, the effects are somewhat limited.     

Chemical cleaning of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes fouled by licorice aqueous solutions

The aim of this work was finding optimum cleaning agents and conditions for cleaning reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes fouled by licorice aqueous solutions. The effect of various chemicals on flux recovery (FR) and resistance removal (RR) of the fouled membranes was investigated. For both membranes the results indicate that a combination of ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and sodium hydroxide may be used as cleaning agents to achieve an optimum cleaning efficiency. Zeta potential and contact angle measurements indicate the changes in charge and hydrophilicity of the surface of RO and NF membranes at various pH solutions, respectively. The effect of surface characteristics is evident in efforts to select the optimal operating conditions. The effect of cleaning condition such as concentration, temperature, pH and cleaning time was studied. The optimum temperature, cleaning time, pH and concentration were found as 35 ± 1 °C, 20 min, 12 and 0.1 wt.%, respectively. SEM pictures showed the surface morphology of RO and NF membrane.     

Reuse of reverse osmosis membranes in advanced wastewater treatment

In areas where tap water has a high salt content, wastewater is not appropriate for reuse in agriculture, particularly for sensitive crops. One alternative is reduction, via desalination, of the brackish character to the secondary effluent. A filtration stage is also required before desalination. On the other hand, used reverse osmosis membranes can be recycled and used as filters in the advanced treatment stage in order to reduce suspended matter contained in the secondary effluent—one advantage being the environmental recovery of solid waste. Used membranes can be treated with strong chemical oxidants to peel off the active separation layer in order to transform them into microfiltration or ultrafiltration elements. Preliminary tests have been carried out with 8″ elements, aimed at comparing membrane performance before and after the peeling process. An index denoted as peeling effectiveness (high flux, high salt passage) is used for comparison. It was soon observed that potassium permanganate was more effective than others, together with sodium hydroxide. Doses around 1000 mg/L KMnO₄ provided the best results. It was also concluded that membrane cleaning, done with sodium bisulphite prior to peeling, was better when recirculating the cleaning solution around the membrane rather than soaking it. Next steps in the research will test the actual filtration capability of the peeled membranes in actual wastewater.     

Ultrasonic defouling of reverse osmosis membranes used to treat wastewater effluents

On-line ultrasonic cleaning was used to remove fouling from a commercially important polyamide based reverse osmosis membrane during cross-flow filtration of CaSO₄, Fe³⁺ and carboxyl cellulose solutions. In each case, the permeate flux of the membrane increased significantly, with virtually no decrease in rejection in the presence of ultrasonication. Membrane surface characterization via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the beneficial effect of ultrasonication on the membrane permeate flux. These studies suggest that ultrasonic defouling may be a very useful approach for the future development of reverse membranes, especially as far as fouling with organic materials is concerned.     

某电厂反渗透膜系统的化学清洗

分析了某电厂反渗透系统装置运行参数的变化、反渗透膜污染物的主要组成,确定了清洗方案。通过清洗液浊度、清洗液pH、一二段压差变化等指标,确定清洗终点。该装置化学清洗后进水压力大幅降低,产水脱盐率达到设计要求,产品水的回收率基本达到设计值,取得满意的清洗效果。     

反渗透膜元件严重污染情况下的化学清洗

叙述严重污染的反渗透膜的化学清洗全过程.提出了各清洗步骤的最有效清洗药剂和最佳清洗条件.     

Viability study of different reverse osmosis membranes for application in the tertiary treatment of wastes from the tanning industry

The tanning industry uses large quantities of water and produces a correspondingly large amount of wastewater with high levels of salts and organic materials. Before these wastewaters can be eliminated, they must be submitted to a suitable depuration treatment. However, conventional treatments such as those used for urban wastewater are not able to reduce the salt content sufficiently and new methods need to be studied in the light of new technologies. In this aspect, membrane technology is increasingly used as a separation technique in chemical and environmental engineering, including desalination, selective separation and wastewater treatment. In this paper, we describe a comparative study of six different reverse osmosis membranes, which were tested for their ability to reduce the salt content in the tertiary treatment after the elimination of chromium salts and organic matter of an effluent from a pilot plant for treating industrial wastewater from the tanning industry to reach the legal levels established for their safe disposal. The membranes were checked using a 3×10⁻³ m² flat cell, where the concentrated streams were recirculated to the feed reservoir.     

Threshold performance of a spiral-wound reverse osmosis membrane in the treatment of olive mill effluents from two-phase and three-phase extraction processes

A reverse osmosis (RO) treatment stage was examined for the complete depuration of the different effluents exiting the olive mill factories (OMW) working with diverse extraction procedures, that is, the two-phase and the three-phase extraction processes, respectively. In the present work, the modelization of batch RO purification of OMW by means of the relevant equations of the threshold flux theory for fouling control and plant dimension is addressed. Results show that higher threshold flux values (20.2–22.1% increase) and major feed recovery rates (80.2–85.0%) as well as very significant reduction of the long-term fouling index (27.3–52.7%) were achieved by using as pretreatment steps the following series of processes: pH-T flocculation, UV/TiO₂ photocatalysis, UF and NF in series. This leads to both lower energy and capital costs, in particular a reduction of the required membrane area in case of batch membrane processes equal to 22.3–44.8%. Accurate prediction of the rejection behavior was attained by the used leaky solution-diffusion model in all cases, with reflection coefficients (σ_COD) ranging from 0.86 to 1.0. The purified effluent streams are finally compatible with irrigation water quality standards (COD values below 1000 mg L⁻¹).     

反渗透系统的化学清洗

通过要分析反渗透系统化学清洗前的系统情况,确定清洗方案及过程,并通过化学清洗手段使系统性能恢复。     

反渗透膜的污染及其化学清洗

反渗透膜的污染是反渗透系统应用中最大的问题之一,及时的化学清洗可有效地恢复反渗透膜的性能、延长其使用寿命。对反渗透膜的污染及其化学清洗方法进行了综述,主要内容包括反渗透膜污染物的种类,污染物形成的原因,以及清洗时机的选取,清洗药品的选择,影响清洗效果的主要因素、清洗系统的构成,化学清洗的方法和清洗效果的评价指标。     

污水深度回用装置反渗透膜的污染及化学清洗

结合水处理中常见的污染物种类,介绍了污水深度回用装置的反渗透膜污染情况及合理的化学清洗方案。     

Forward-osmosis strategy and chemical cleaning of seawater desalination reverse osmosis membranes

In order to settle the membrane fouling of reverse osmosis membranes in seawater desalination process, this study reported a novel strategy based on forward-osmosis process and discussed the effects of different factors like different cleaning combination among reverse osmosis product, simulated reverse osmosis concentrate and simulated seawater, as well as cleaning time on the membrane permeate flux and salt rejection. For irreversible fouling, the effects of different chemical cleaning agents, immersion time and concentration were also investigated in this study. The results exhibited that the cleaning combination between diluted water and simulated reverse osmosis concentrate possessed the best cleaning performance in the process of forward-osmosis cleaning. Such approach also enhanced normalized flux from 9.48 L/(m²·h·MPa) to 13.6 L/(m²·h·MPa) and enhanced NaCl rejection from 80.59% to 92.80%. Furthermore, the normalized flux was enhanced from 9.48 L/(m²·h·MPa) to 14.3 L/(m²·h·MPa) and NaCl rejection was also enhanced from 80.59% to 96.27% after soaking in 2%(mass) citric acid solution for 2h, soaking with 1%(mass) ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid tetrasodium salt and 0.3%(mass) sodium tripolyphosphate solution for 1.5 h. According to the result of SEM images and AFM images, the forward-osmosis cleaning strategy could not cause the damage of selective layer of membrane surface and caused the drop of inorganic and organic fouling on the membrane surface. Hence, cleaning fouled RO membranes by such approach could prolong the chemical cleaning cycle and reduce the amount of chemical cleaning agent, which has certain industrial application perspectives.     

正渗透策略和化学清洗海水淡化反渗透膜

为解决海水淡化过程中反渗透膜的污染问题,研究了基于正渗透策略的反渗透产水、模拟反渗透浓水、模拟海水不同的组合清洗和清洗时间对膜通量和截留率的影响。针对不可逆污染,研究了不同化学清洗药剂、浸泡时间、浓度对膜通量和截留率的影响。结果表明,正渗透策略清洗方式中,淡水/模拟反渗透浓水的组合清洗方式效果最佳,其归一化通量从9.48 L/(m²·h·MPa)提升至13.6 L/(m²·h·MPa),截留率从80.59%提升至92.80%。此外,经质量分数为2%的柠檬酸溶液浸泡2 h后,再使用质量分数为1%的乙二胺四乙酸四钠盐和0.3%的三聚磷酸钠溶液浸泡1.5 h,其归一化通量从9.48 L/(m²·h·MPa)提升至14.3 L/(m²·h·MPa),截留率从80.59%提升至96.27%。从SEM和AFM图可以看出,正渗透清洗策略并未对膜表面选择层造成损坏,且可以清洗膜表面的有机污染物和无机污染物,因此,应用这种方法对污染的反渗透膜进行清洗,可延长化学清洗周期,减少化学清洗剂用量,具有一定的工业应用前景。     

Investigations of silica scaling on reverse osmosis membranes

In reverse osmosis systems with high silica water severe and irreversible membrane scaling can be observed. But suitable test methods to find an appropriate antiscalant agent and the optimal dosage are missing. Usually only the silicate concentration in the feed water is regarded.In this paper the results of laboratory experiments about the influence of Ca²⁺- and Mg²⁺-ions on the behaviour of supersaturated solutions of silica in different test waters are discussed first. After that the new developed membrane-based test method to determine the effectiveness of antiscalants is presented.The applied different methods of analysis enabled the differentiation of three groups of silicates: ‘monomeric’, ‘polymeric’ and ‘filterable’.With the test method the strong impact of silicate scaling was proven, even if only small amounts of scale had been formed. It could be shown, that the ‘polymeric silica’ is mainly responsible for the membrane scaling. The kinetic of the formation of ‘polymeric silica’ is strongly influenced by the cations and the pH-value. It could be demonstrated that the use of a suitable antiscalant makes it possible to operate the plant at significantly higher recovery rates.     

Hydrodynamic factors affecting flux and fouling during reverse osmosis of seawater

In this paper results are presented obtained from investigations on a polyamide reverse osmosis membrane fouled by precipitation of materials which exist in seawater. In these studies the effect of different hydrodynamic factors on fouling of the membrane was investigated. Operating conditions such as temperature, pressure, crossflow velocity and pH, which could play an important role in the fouling processes, were selected for the studies. The results show that increasing temperature, pressure and crossflow velocity enhance fouling of the membrane, but on the other hand, increase permeate flux. Thus, optimization of the parameters was found to be necessary and optimum values of them and pH were determined.     

某钢铁厂污水回用项目反渗透膜污染的分析和清洗

经过污堵物质的分析,采用了合适的复合药剂,利用成熟的膜清洗工艺流程对膜组件进行了清洗研究。     

Treatment of tannery wastewater through the combination of a conventional activated sludge process and reverse osmosis with a plane membrane

Tannery wastewater contains high concentrations of organic matter (COD) with a significant percentage of refractory organic compounds, ammonium substances, salts (i.e. chloride and sulphate) as well as sulphur. Contaminants have to be removed in order to avoid significant environmental impacts. This paper presents the results obtained from a pilot scale study developed in the tannery district of Solofra in Southern Italy. It was aimed at evaluating the reuse of wastewater produced in the retanning process. The treatment process consisted of a biological treatment, as a pre-treatment, followed by a physico-chemical process (with a polymer as a coagulant) and reverse osmosis with a plane membrane. The biological pre-treatment was able to remove approx. 67% of COD, while the membrane system completed the purification process with the removal of the refractory organic compounds (chloride and sulphate). In the test carried out, the combination of a biological pre-treatment with a plane membrane system showed satisfactory results in terms of wastewater recovery and reuse in the tannery production cycle.     

核电站海水淡化系统反渗透膜的在线清洗

反渗透膜的污染是反渗透系统应用中最大的问题之一。及时的清洗可有效地恢复反渗透膜的性能、延长其使用寿命。本文以某核电站海水反渗透项目为例,对海水反渗透膜的在线清洗技术进行了介绍。实践表明,定期的物理清洗和适当的化学清洗可以保证海水反渗透装置的良好运行。     

Spiral-wound membrane reverse osmosis and the treatment of industrial effluents

Reverse osmosis (RO) is increasingly used as a separation technique in chemical and environmental engineering where desalination, selective separation and wastewater treatment are well established examples. Treatment by RO reduces high levels of dissolved salts but has certain limitations when used for the removal of organic compounds from effluents of the chemical industry. The spiral-wound membrane element is the most widely used membrane device because it has a high membrane surface area to volume ratio, it is easy to replace and can be manufactured from a wide variety of materials. This work forms part of a wider research project aimed at recovering products and reducing the concentration of pollutants in wastewater by using membrane process. The synthetic effluent stream that was treated contained an organic product (acrylnitrile) and four inorganic species (sulphate, ammonium, cyanide and sodium). It was found that the pH value ofthe solution plays an important role in the ionization of the different species and, subsequently, in their retention. The object of this study was to reduce the concentration of pollutants to the levels of mentioned regulations concerning discharges, using a pilot plant with a spiral-wound membrane element (0.56 m² surface area) and a polyamide membrane, which was previously selected. The RO measurements were carried out in a closed-loop controlled-pressure system, with the solution being constantly fed through the spiral-wound membrane. The rejection percentage of sulphate ion was high in the two treatments assayed, regardless ofthe operational pH and sequence of steps followed. The degree to which NH₄⁺ and CN⁻ were eliminated was strongly dependent on the pH of the feed stream. Ammonium ion, too, was strongly eliminated regardless ofthe sequence ofthe steps, while the best results with CN⁻ were obtained when the first step had a nearly neutral pH and the second a pH of 11.0. Acrylnitrile showed low rejection percentages in all the steps carried out.     

Recent advances in polymer and polymer composite membranes for reverse and forward osmosis processes

Semipermeable membranes are the core elements for membrane water desalination technologies such as commercial reverse osmosis (RO) process and emerging forward osmosis (FO) process. Structural and chemical properties of the semipermeable membranes determine water flux, salt rejection, fouling resistance, and chemical stability, which greatly impact energy consumption and costs in osmosis separation processes. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the development of high-performance polymer and polymer composite membranes for desalination applications. This paper reviews recent advances in different polymer-based RO and FO desalination membranes in terms of materials and strategies developed for improving properties and performances.