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r*-;
ReverseOsmosisGuide
Design& trngineering
Thble of Csntent
CHAOTEOl
CHAPTER
Reverse
Osmosis
Presure
How
Drivff
Membrane
Ooes A rrlembrane
Different
Membrane
lrrembEne
Module
Hoilow
Fine
Spiral
Wound
Plate
& Frame
Fiber
Feed Waler
Feed
Pressure
YVater Temperature
Conf -gurat-ons
(HFF)
Permeate
Membranes
CHAPTER
4
Oesign
System
20
Components
20
22
Concentrate
Staging
23
Flow
Permeate
RO System
Salt
Passage
71
Salt
Sall
Rejection
11
Flow
(8 Factor)
l7
f8
Rerarculation
'to
Polarization
Ratio
Concentrate
Transport
Conce ntration-Factor
Recovery
RO Sys(em
Salt
(Gonversion)
16
5
6
Pressure
15
lf
Feed
Pammeters
Goncentration
Salinity
Membranes
Recovery
Performance
Processes
Transport
Permeate
Affectang
RO Operating
Factors
Work?
CHAPTER
Water
Preeses
Ceramic
Osmotic
Fsndamentals
Oistribution'
Average
24
Stagang
Oesign
26
cuidelines
Flux Rate
Passage
lncrease
2A
2A
per Year
Limitations
z9
29
12
12
GHAPTER
13
RO Pre-Treatment
30
Fre-Trcatment Considerations
3O
33
Thhle of Gemtent
CHAPTER
(continued)
6
CHAPTER
Membrane
Start-up,
Shutdom
and
General
Flushing
35
Storage
Procedure
for
46
Guidelines
MembEnes
Preservative
RO System
RO System
Ftushing
Starl-up
Shutdown
38
Short-term
Storuge
46
Long-term
Storage
46
to Installation
47
35
36
Prior
I
CHAPTER
lmplementing
CHAPTER
a RO Proiect
RO Membrane
37
APPENDIX
Foulan ts
3t
References
Foulant
Removal
Membane
Gleaning
Volume
Materials
Cleanang
System
41
APPENOIX
Langelier
Data Monitoring
Cleaning
52-
37
4?
$pecifications
Requirements
/ Components
Procedqre
42
43
43
44
B
Saturation
Index
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGIHEERING
Reverse SsmcsEs
Fundarmenta!s
4
PressureD rtuenfuIembraneProcesses
Reverse Osmosis
(R-O), Nano Frltrauon (NF), Ulta Elrrarion (UF) and rucroFrltrauon (ivIF) are the commonly used pressure dnven membrane processes in the
order oF increasing pore opemng
MF rnembranes are prunaril1, used to rernove
part culate n-Latter and bacteru'r frorn rvatcr and proce ss liquids
L.lltra Frlranon
mcntllrenes are usecl to remo\re partrculate, col.loiclelntatter and [ractene,
+]]rroBen,
-f'hcy
vlruses frour rvater and process liclurds
are also used to concentratc r-aluable
s o l u t e s s r t c h a s i n r r , h e l ' c o n c e n L r a t i o n , c l e c t t o - d c p o s i t i o n p 2 r i l t r e c c ) \ ' e 1 1 c, .o o l a n t
conce ntratiori :rncl a varre t]' <i[ applicatrons
Nano Frltrauon nre nrbranes arc oftcrr
called as lrtosc [lO:rItd
a r e u s e d a s s o f t e n i n g r n e r n b r a n e s o r t o r e r ] r o v c d 1 ' e sa n d
florn water and liqurd effluents RO as u,c knorv rs rrsed tcr
temorre ilorganic salts, conrmonly termed as roLal dissolved salts or sunply TDS
frorn brackish and sea water and ftom wastewater. Table 1.0 gn'en belorv gives a
orgaruc com;rouuds
hlttauon
FIowDoesA MenbraneWork?
A membrane can be consideted as z.very thrn FrlmoI a barricr rvith small pores. A
fhble 1. Con(aminan(Fittra(aon
l zc rf Fil er
lomstioul
C@taru-mt
(CB
R@oval
['rwe
psi
lr,latsiels Filbrod
1rmo100.000-TA
to >l 000
Itidodltosti@ O{F)
l00mor200-1000004
Jttoi_filtosdmruF)
002pmor10-m0A
to 250
CilloidBl
Polmss,
'l@[10abon
fNF)
-000lpmor5-l0A
to 1000
lew*mcis
1 rm lmiom)-
(RO)
000051mor1-54
]0.000 A {mestrm)
to 1000
SuEAr, Srnftdc
(xqt
Gilori&
Red EimdCdl
Drrc,lr{eel
drloride sJts|
lm-
Akdrds
Ssls
RO
DL5IGN
FNGINLLRING
n r e t n b r a r t cc a n h a v e s l r a p c c r i . r c 1 ' L r d n c a l f i b e r o I r ] r r r n e t c r a s s r n , r Ua s 4 5 m - r c r o n s
or 1 0 nun or rn a rubtrlar fortn tt crn bc 1 rnch
o[ the soiutc
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGIHEERING
D fierenI i\{etnbtztneProce.rse
t
'fherc
filtration
dtsilfccdon.
RO
aod
NF
Nl'
Proper
oPerauon of an1' RC) system Often it rs found not giverr the attenuon drat it
-flus
requrrcs.
results rn operatlng uoubles once the systetn rs corrunissroned
\ X / : r s t e u , a t c ta p l i c a u o n s n e e d t o b e r n o n i t o r e d
rtot posstblc to csorrtate thc exact r-rarlrre of
-l'he
s)'stern
pre treatrnent miglrt need to bc
e.\penencc wrth dre cfflucnt received rn dre
lfirPortant and good undersundng
'lailtrrc of a RO sys(em
o[it
c l o s e l y b e c a r - r s cu r r r r o s t c a s c s r t i s
the efflr.rent t!) l]c treated n ltO
rnodrfted bascd on dre operatlng
plant,
Process c[rcrmsq' ls vcry
can make a drfferencc betrveen sLrccessor
U]tra filtration
ts ,'videly used [or: oil, water and emulsron separatrons; parnt
recovery; and thc separadon of [ats, oils or greases n thc food urdustry
Ultra
filtratron
membranes
remove parricularcs, collods, emulsified oils and large
rnolcculcs frorn liqurd streams. In ultra Frltrauon, \rrater, a[ ioruc substances,
smallcr alcohols pass through the mernbrane into the petrneate srde but large
molecules, colloids, emulsrfled orls, fats, protems, bacteria are concentrated on the
toncentrate stdeUltra Frlttauotr nrembranes are made oI a varie $, of polymenc lnateflals and are
hber, spual, tubular and plate & frame confrgurations
While
tubular ot plate & frame conEgurauon is best toi high sohds loadrng, therr low
avar.lable rn hollou'
membrane atea to volume ratios make them too expensive or u,atcr apphcations.
SpLra[s have a lugh mernbt^rTearea to volume
RO
OSIGN
&
ENGIHEERING
rpplr.auon)
RO
brologrcal substances as observed dunng extensive studres catried out at the Water
Factory 21 Ln LISA
s h o u l r j e v a l u : i i ea l i o p f i o n s b e f o t e g o u r g f o r r t
Ail drese systems requlre carehrl system design
cross flow
over
the membrane
to
is the
keep the
coUoids,
polysulphone,:rnd
conFtgutations
du/e eonfgurdttznr
M embrcneA'''Io
The ru'o rnajor mernbrane module configuraubns used for reverse osmosis
applicanonsare hollorv fiber and spiral wound. Two other configuradons, rubular
and plate and frame, lrave found good acceptance tn the food aod daty rndustry
and rn some specl"l appircatuons,but modules oItfus confrgurau.onhave been Lcss
frequentlyusedrn reverse osmosis applicauons
RO
OESIGN
ENGINEERTNG
-I-uhtrlar
rnembranes
easy to understarrd
-l-he
l - r a v eb c e n a r o u n d [ o r a l o n g n r r i c
d e - : L g nr s s u n p l e a n d
-i'ubular
m e m b r a n es c : r n t o [ e r a t e s u s p c n d e c i s . L d s L n c l t r d r n q
'I'he,v
'
Change oImcrnbranes
.
'
'
llle advantages clI drc rubular systcms somebrrles oun'ergh t-he cl-rsadvantages,and
d-re tubulrr rnembr:rrrc desrgn has a place in the market, aldrough q,.,,r. r,r,rl
RO
DESIGH
ENGINEERING
o p c r a t c d r r u p r o 5 0 p c r c r : r r t r ( : c o \ .c o / a n d t l e e ( t h e r n u u u r u m r e i e c t f l o r v r e q u u c d
-fhe
l - r o l l o r vh b e r u r u t a L l o r t ' sa l a r g c r n e m b r a n c 2 r c : r p e I u u t ! , o l u n r e , - r f p e r m e a t o t
r i ' h i c h r c s u l t s r n c o { n p e c t s \ s t el l s
Hollo*,
h b c r p e n r n et c r s a r e a v a i l a b i e [ o r
b r a c k i s h a n d s e a \ \ , a t e ar o o l i c a n o r r s
Spira/ WoundA4embranes
In a sprral wound contrguranon ru,o t]at shcets of metnbranc are separated wrdr a
permcatc collector clrannel material to fcrt-.'r t leaf This assernbli, is sealed on
three srdes wlth tl-re fourt]r side left opcn for perrneate to exrt, A teed/bnne
spacer nuterL2l sheetis addcd to dre leafassetnbly
or
tube
Thls
rube is
perforated to coilect d.re penneate frorn thc mtrluple ieaI assemLrlies. ll he rypical
rndustnal spiral rvound rnembrane element is appr,rx-ulately 100 or 150 cm (40 or
60 rnches) long and 10 or 2[) ctrr ('[ or B) rnches rrt dt:rrn:ter
'fhe
f e e c l , / b n n e f l o w ' t h r c i r - r g l rt h c ' t : l c m c n t t s e s t r a i q l r t a v a l p ; r t l r f r o n r t h e f e e d e - n c i
to dre opposite bnne encl. running parallcl to thc nrcmbrane strrflce The feed
s p a c c r i n d u c e s t r - r r L r r L l e r r cacn d r e d u c e s c o n c e n t r a t l o n p o l a n z a u o n -
channel
lvlanufacrurers
specrfi'
bnle
florv
In
ordet to operate at acceptable recovenes, spLral systems ate usually staged wrth
three to six membranc clements connected rn scries in a pressure tube. T[re bnne
becomes dre fecd to t]re following elemerrt, and so
on for each element widun the pressure rubestrcam flrom the first element
The brure stream frorn tlre last elernent exits the ptessurc tubc to rvaste The
permeate ftom each eLenrent enters [he penneate col-lectorrube and exrts the
vessel as a conunon peffneate stream A surgle pressure vessel r'".td-rfour to six
membrane elements connected in senes can be'opetated at up to SO-percent
recovery under norrnal design conditions Tl.rebnne seal on d.reelement feed end
sealcanier prelrentsthe feed/bnne strealnfrom bypassurgthe followlng element.
RO
DESIGH
&
ENGINEERIHG
P er f o r a l eC
d e n t r aTlu b e
F e e dC h a r r r r e l
Spacer
Merrrhra
ne
P e r m e a tCeo l l e c t i o r r
Malerial
Membrane
f e e dC l r a r r r rSetll a c e r
0 u t eW
r rap
wound
elemcnts arc l]rost conrLlonly rnanufacnued
wrtl'r n"t shcct
tnetnbrane o[ either a ccllulose dtacetate and rrr-acerate({-A) blend or a t]rin Frhr
c o l n p o s i t e A t l u n f i l m c o m l r o s t t e m c r n l : r a n e c o n s r s t s < l I a d i u - ra c n r . c L r y c r o f o n c
-['he
corn;rosrte
Pollrmer cast on a thicker suPportrng Layer o[ a different polyme r
men-rbranes usualll, exlrrbit lrrghcr relecuon at lou'er opcrattng pressures tharr the
cellulosc acetate blends The gornpositc membrane materials may be polyamdc,
p o l y s r - r l [ o n e ,p o l y u r e a , o r - o d r e r p o l y m e r s
Plate dy Frame
These werc largelypioneered by DDS and acruallydomrnated tle darry market ur
E,urope for 15 years.Lack of devcloprnent and an nflcxible pnce structure more
or less killcd the deslgnberrveen 1989 and i995 There are severalncw plate andfrarne s1'51sms
availablefn-E,urope The best knorvn rs the ROCHE,N4desgn FIar
sl-reetsystems o[[er a very robust and compact desrgn,but for a pnce. Ir,lodern flar
slreet systems are bu-tltto tolerate very hrgh pressure,rn excessof 100 bar There is
a small market [ot this extrelrle pressure range rn treatment of landfll leachate and
for dcsalinauon o[sca watcr onboard shros.
RO
OESIGN
ENGINEERIHG
Ceranttc
-fl're1,
'flreoredcaU]',
2Es very, vert expcnsnic
ceraffuc s];stems can be vcry effecuve
I r r r e a l i q ' t h e m a r k e t L sv e r t , l u u t e d t o s p e c L a la p p l i c a n o n s
for N{F
Table 2: Comparison
Amongst
I{ollow
Spital
Fine
Fibet
Packing Density,
m2/m3
Fouling Tcndency
Cleanability
Crossflo*'requirement
Pre-filtration
rcqutferne
Plrnt
nt
investrncnl
Treatment
cost
Ceramic
Tubular
Lorv
Plate &
Frame
Hrgh
Verv high
Fhgtr
[-ow
N{cdrum
\req, lugh
Nledrun
Nfedrurn
Lor'
Low
Cood
Lou
[.ou
Good
Good
Good
N,Iedrurl
Low
lvle ch un
I ()
.:5ll
1 5 01 r
Lr:rr.
N(edrurn
ttglr
l-oq
Lou'
Nledr unr
V"ry
\/ery
hlgh
Hgh
)creen
S c r e en
Vc11,
lwh
lrer)
t El.
fvtedium
I{rgh
< 1 0 0p t
Hgh
Ir{edrum
Hrgh
N{edrum
RO
DESIGN
6.
ENGINEERING
RS Operatins Faranreters
O.rmoticPres.rure
The osnrotrc pressure, n, o( a soiuuoo can be determrned experimentaLlt'bi'
measufutg r-heconcentraoon of dissolved saltsin soludon,
n-l19(T|:ZJt*ffntt
(1)
IYtater
'I'ran:port
Q..=(AP
A^)*K_*S/d
(2)
u'here Q-. is the rate o[ water flow drrough dre membrane, I P is the hydraulic
pressute drfferenual acrossd-remembrane, An is the osmotic pressuredrfferenttal
acrossthe metnbrane, Kw is the membrane penneabr.hry
coefficient for rvater, S is
m
c
m
b
r
a
n
e
a
(
e
a
,
a
n
d
d
the
t s t h e m c m b r a n c t h i c k n c s sB
, e c a u s ed i s v c r y s m a i l a n d
Q " , / S e q u a l su , a t e rf l u x f l . ) , E q u a u o n 2 c a n b e s u n p l i f i e dt o :
(3)
J-=A-(l\DP)
NDP rs thc net dnvrrg pressure or net drirnng force for the uansport of rvater
across the mcmbrane surface.Thc A is tefrperanue dependent and represents a
uruque coostarrt for each mcrnbrane material type [t rs referred to as the "A"
v'altre,solvent trensport coefficrent, or watei transport parameter The A value
(for a specific temperature)is easily obtarned expcdrnentaUyby measuringj" and
9\
RO
DESIGN
ENGIHEERING
NDP
nrembran( ls kno\'.'n, l]ermeate fLtrx rna1, be predrctcd for a varteqi oI net drivurg
t
*
p r e s s u r e s f h e A v a l u c m a y h a r . eu n t t s o I g p t n 7 ' [ t 2 p s i o r t r l , ' ' s k P a
(-
L --r-
,) ft1t I t'flil-rut7
The rate r,rI salt flou' through the n.ren'rbrane ts defined by E.qLLaaon'1
Q,
(4)
ivhere Q, is t[-re flow rate o[ salt through the membrane, K ts the membrane
permeabihry coefficient fbr salt, C- is t]rc salt concenLratloo at the membtane
surface, Cn is tl-re salt concentranon in the pcrmeate, S is the membraoc area, and d
is dre rnembrane tlrickncss, Because d is very small and Q, / S equals salt flux (JJ
ihrough ilre me inbr:rnc , this E.quation can by sirnpl-ified tc.,
1,= B*(C* C)
(s)
Where (C- -
C,.) rs the drivLng force for dre nr-lss transfer of salts The B is
constant Fot each membrane rypetemperature depenclar-rtand represents a r-rni<1ue
Thc B rs oftcrr relerred to as the "B" r'alr-re,t]re solut'e trllrlsPort Parameter, or the
,^alttransport coefficient Becatrse the concentration at the tncm[rrane sut[ace
( ( . , . , )c a n t l o t b c o l r t a u l e c le x [ ] c n r r r c r l t a l l t "t , . , , t l r e t n o r e c h f f i c . r r [ t o c a l c u l a t c t h c B
value t['rarr thc
cxpentletttaUl,
r.alue
An
e strtrlate oI
avcrage
rtI
dre
drc
leed
valtre r-nay be
obtarned
and
concenLralion
brule
In other
rvords
C-=(C,+Cb)12
Where bodr the feed concentratron (C)
(Co) can be
easily measr.rted
The rvater transport Eguatron (Eguanon 2) and the salt LransPort Equanon
(E,quatron 5) shorv that fot a givert tnembrafte at a grven temPerafure:
a)
b)
R a t e o f s a [ t f l o u , r s p r o p o r t r o u a l t o d r e c o n c e n L r a u o nd i f f e r e n d a l a c r o s s
t h e m e r n b r a n ea n d i s i r d e p e n d e n t o I a p p l i e d P r e s s u r e
Permeate salinify, Co. dependson the reladve rates of water and salt transport
t h r o u g l i r e v e r s eo s m o s i sn r e m b r a n e .
RO
OSIGN
&
NGINEERING
Ln - (l.i(1.
(6)
The fact t.hat,.r'atcr and salt have drfFerent nuss cransfcr rates thr()ugh a grven
tnctnbrane creates the phenornena oI salt rejecaon No rncrnbranc is itleal rn dre
s e n s e t h a t L t a b s o l u t e [ 1 rr e f e c t s s a l t s ; r a t h e r t h e d r f f e r e n t L r a n s p o r t r a t c s c r c a t e a r l
relccuon
The Eguatlons 2, J and 5 exp[arrr rmp()rrant desrgn
apparent
c o n s i d e r a t r o r r si n R O s l ' s t e m s F o r e x a m p l e , a n t n e r c . r s eu r o p c r ; i t - u l g p r e s s u r c , , v r l J
tncrease u,ater floq, g'rthout clranging salt flor',', thus resultrng ur lo,ver peffneate]
sahnity.
C
1, T\
J Ll/[ l-aSSt/9
S a l t p a s s a g ei s d e h n e d a s t h e r a t i o o F c o n c c n t r a u o n o f s a l t o n t h e p c r n i e : t e s r t l r , I
the rnembrane relauve to t}re average feed concenftanon
Nlathcmaucaliy, rt is
expressed rn E,qr-ratlon 7
= 100* (cPic'.J
9.,osP
(.j .)
whcrc ozbSP
is thc salt passage(rn %), eo is thc salt conceotraoon rn the pcrmeate,
and C.,, is dre rrean salt concentratronur feed stream T[us concentraticln may be
estrmatedas follou's.
c,,r=(cftch)/2
\Mrcre
C , - [ i e c d( o n c c n t r ; l l l c ) n
C,, = Brine conccr)trauofl
Applyrng the iundamental Equauon s of water flow and salt flou, illustratcssolnc
o f t h e b a s i cp n n c i p l e s o f R O m e m b r a n e s F o r e x a m p l e ,s a l t p a s s a g ei s e n L f l v e r s c
funcnon of pressure; d'rat is, the salt passage rncreasesas applied pressure
decreasesThlrs is because reduced pressure decreasespermeate flo',r' rate, and
hence, dilution oI salt (the salt flows at a constant rate through the membrane as
its rate o[ florv is rndependentof pressure)
.\ alt Ketectnn
Salt rejccuon is the opposite of salt passage,and is deFrredby EqLrauon
o/oSR= 100 - %SP
\X4rere%SR is the sait rejectron (^"h),
Equauon 7
(B)
11o
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
P erzzeateRecouer1,(-,0nue,ston)
Permcate reco\rer! rs arrother mrportznt pararneter Ln tlie desgn :rnd operatron oI
R O s i ' s t e m s R c c o t . e n , o r c o n s e r s r o n r a t c o [ f l e e d \ ( a l e r t ( ) p r o 6 l u r l ( p e i l n c d t c rI \
deFrned bi, Equatton 9
o/oR
= too. ( e,.ieJ
t-o)
whete 7oR is recovery rate (nYo), Qo rs the product water flou,rate, ahd Qrrs the
feed water florv ratc
fhe recovery ratc affects salt passagc and product flou' As
thc recovery rafe increases, the salt concentradon
membrane
increases, rvhich
causes an
and
eoncentrationFactor
Concentration
factor is unportant
( _ F = 1 0 0/ ( 1 0 0 u / o R )
(r 0 )
RO
DESIGN
NGINEERING
Conccntrrtlo^
Fccro.
{CF)
'Recoverv
Fig. 2.0: Concentration Fairor variauon u4fh Penneare
'alue
of
corresponds to
As rvater flows tlrrough the membrane and saits are rejected by the rnembrane, a
'membrane
borindary layer is formed
flear the
surface rn wlich
thc salt
concentration exceeds the salt concentradon rn the bulk soluuon. This incteasc of
salt concentradon
is called concentration
polarizatron.
The
effect
of
concentration polarization is to reduce acnlal product lvater flow rate and salt
reicction versus theotetical
polanzzfrona.re
as follows:
13 r
RO
DESIGN
&
EHGIHERING
(11)
An increase in permeate flux wrll inctease the delivery ratc of ions to the
mernbranesurfaceand increaseC,. An increaseof feed florv increascsturbulence
and reducesdre-ifuckness o[ the hgh concentradon layer near t]re membrane
surface fherefore, the Beta is clitecdy propordonal to permeate florv (Q),
"na
irrverselyproporuonal ro arreragefeed flow (Qr",J
CPF = Ko * cxp(Qo/ Q""J
(2)
(l l)
RO
DESIGH
ENGINEERIHG
chart below shows dre change in reqtrued feed pressure and projected
pertneate salrruryas a funcdon oI Feedsalluq' fr;r a 51'519111
operartng at an averagc
flux rate of 15 gfd and recovery tatc o[ B5'l'b Calculations ,.r,eremade for r',vr>
membrane types:Lorv Pressr.rretype (b,SPA) and Standard Pressurc q,pc (CPA2)
The ESPA membrane l'rasspccific flux o[ 024 gfd/psi nct, wluch is rwicc as lilgh
as specific flux oI CPA2-membranc
lt can be seen that for both membranes fleed pressure and permeate salinity
increase with feed salnity il a sirni-larwa)r.The rate of increase in permeate salrrury
is hrgher than the rate of increase ln feed pressure. If the drfferent feed water also
contains concentrations of sparingly soluble salts higher than in dle design feed
water, then the recovery ratio may hal'e to bc rcduced to avoid t['re possibrlity of
precipitation o[ scale from thc concentrate sLrcam
15*
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
E F F E C T O F F E E D S A L I T . I I TO
Y N S Y S T E MP E R F O R I V I A I . i C E
F L U X 1 5 G F D C P A 2 A N D E S P AM E M B R A N E s
oo
z. l-
<E
EO
ur o_
o_tuF
E
--)=
=J
a;<
g1 ul
rlur
o-F
o*
ur=
urd
LE
100
UI
o-
10m
70g]
30m
40m
50m
F E ED S A L I N I T YP
, P MT D S
lcecipressrrreandpq]Icalc s4lt!]_!1]
FLg,i {) Etfcct of fccd s:rhnrlr,_grt
I-.etr/Pr-e.rsurt
to
cqLLippeds'idr sPrral wound metnbrane elements are de-srg-necl
RC) s1'51srx5
o p e r a t e a t a c o n s t a n tf l u r r a t e ( i - e , t o p r o d u c e a c o n s t a n tp c r m c a t c f l o r r , , ) . ( l , " e r
operaturg drne, dre feed pressureis adjustedto compensatefor fluctuauon o[ fecd
water temperature,satrniS,and permeate flux decline due to foulurg or compactron
of the membrane For the purpose of specr[,mg the lugh pressure pump, lt ts
usually assumeddrat spcciFrcflux o[ the membrane rvi-[ decLne by about 70oh rn
drree years.T[re purnp has to be desrgnedto provrde feed pressurecorresponding
to the rrutralmernbraneperformancc and to compensatefot expected flux decline
I[ thc RO systern is equrpped rvtth centrtfugal purnp, then the conventlonal
approach is to use an oversrzed purnp and regr-rlateleed pressure b1, fll.o,6n*
(parually close dre leed r.alve). Today an incteasing number of RO system use
elecrric motors rvith vanable speed dnves, t'lrrch,enable adjustment o[ florv and
feed pressureoI dre pump over a wrde range with very litrle loss rn efficiency. The
r.artablespeedddve reduces unproducdve ptessure losseswhich were ccrtrrrnon ln
dre past Some.RLI s'/stems use positlt'e drsplaccmentPumps (prstcn or plurrger
pumps) as a Lugh pressure process pump. The positive drsplacements pumps
enable reguiationof feed pressure at constant pump outpug rvith Iirtle changc of
RO
DESIGH
&
ENGINEERING
p u n r p e l f i c l c n c \ P o s r o v ei 1 - r s p L a c c r n e
pn
u r n p s a r e l e s sc o r m n o n u r R O s v s t e m s
di,ie io.apacit1 Llrutauorrol rh,rspurnp q'pe, h g i r i r c q u c n c \ o t r e q u L r e c i
r r u [ n t e n a n c cn, o r s y o p c r a 0 o oa n d s t r o n g ! , - l b r a U o r l s
ater Teruperatare
FeedI.Yt
feed r','ater temperarure resulrs ur the change ur tl-rc rate o[ drffusron
through the metnbrar-re The change Ln the permeate Flux ratc r.vith temperanrre is
descnbed by the followr-ng equatron.
Change rn
TCF - 6t-t
zs)
-fCl-'is
gn'en membtanc
F L U XC H A N GW
E I T HI E M P E R A T U R E
t(l
uJ16
F4.tt
rr
x12
--l
-to
LL
UOB
2os
F
{oq
J
LJoz
00
s20253015
FEEDWATERTEMPERAIURE
C
Fig. 4.0 E,[[ect of feed temperature on permeate flux
The rate o[ change is about 3o/oper degree. Srnce RC) svstems are desrgned to
opetateat constant output, feed pressure ts adjusted to cornpensate Forwater fltrx
changesrvhen temperature changes The salt diffusion through tl.remembrane
changeswtdr temperatute appfo
teil' 21 the same rate es t'ater flux Beca'lse
flux.
rs
constant,
marntarned
peffneate salrLify changes accordtngly to dre
Permeate
temDetaturefluctuauons-
17 *
RO
DESIGN
ENGINERIHG
a
F
s
L
\ct
FEED
: ALINITY 1 5 0 P
0 P{ T D 5
RECO\: K I h A tr tJDlil
A PRES URE
E
z
J
LN
ut
F
E S P PRESf JRE
150
/*
!1!
(L
o
7
IL
E S A SALII
UJ
rY
C P AS , L I N I T Y
l
a
6
ut
d
15
O
uJ
uJ
tr
20
15
l0
FEEDTEruPERATURE C
sahniry t,
perfonnance
membrarrc types
However, as
cxpected, dre drfference oI feed pressure benveen two rnembranes tncreases with
decrease of temperaftrre T1-re permeate salrruty changes rn opposlte way The
absolute value and difference between fivo membranes increases wrdr feed water
temPer2ture
Penneate
Recouery
Ratto
Recovery rario alfects system pcrformance, i.e
pressure, by deterrnimng the average feed saluug,
calculated
ftom
feed saluurv
uslng
the
averagc
penneate
The
salinity and
feed
coocenuanon
factor
For
RO
OESIGN
&
ENGIHEERTNG
s0
40
ll-
C)
30
i
5
20
1n
oo
4D
50
60
70
BO
90
100
Recovery, To
{9
a-
RO
OESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
RO System Design
Slstem Components
A fyprcal RC) systeftrs consist oI the follo,,vrng basrc components
'
'
Pretreatment system
'
'
'
'
'
C - l e a n m gr r m t
'l-he
Permah
prt
Inl g conned o r
Briresd
pod
regJ
r e !E:sd
F i e 7 0 : P r e s s u e V e s s e i* l t h l - r r r e e M e m b r a l e E , i e m c n r s
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
A s s h o r v n a L r c - r r ,t e
h ,c p er r t t e : r t ct u l r c , r f t h e f r r s r a n d t h c l a s t e i e r n e n t r s c o n n e c t e d
to thc enci plaics of rirc Prcsturc vessc[ l)enncate tubes 9[ e[er-nelts ut Lhe
p r e s s u r c v c s s e la r e c o n t t c c t e d t o c a c h o t h e r u s r n g r n t e r - c o n n e c t o r s C ) n o n e s r c l co f
each tncrnbrane eletnetit *rcre rs a bnne seal, rvh-rch closes rhe passagc befrvecn
'flus
o u t s l d e r u r - t o I t h e e l e r n e r r t e n d u r s i d c r t ' a L i .o I t h e p r e s s u r c v c s s e l
seal
ptclicots fced u'ater frorn hl pessLng tLe tncmbrane rnodule, and fttrces rt ro flot,
drrough dre fced channel-s of the clement As fced u,ater flon's through each
subsecluent mcrnbtane e[ement, part oI thc [ced volume is removed as pcrrneate
The salt concentratlon of the remaimng feed water increases along the pressure
vcssel Pcrmeate rubes conduct the perncate- from all connected elements The
collected penneate has the lorvest salniry at thc fecd end o[ the prcsswe
and rncreases gradua[y ur dre direcnon o[ the ctjncentrate flou,
vessci,
o n e c a n r . i s u a l i z et h a t t h e t l o r v o f t c c d . , v a t c r t h r o u g h t h e p r e s s u r e v e s s e l s o f
?r systern resen-rblesa pyramicl stnrcnrtc: a tugh volume of feed rr'ater flo\L's ut at
d r e b a s e o I p y r a r m d , : r n c ]a r c l ; r t r v e1 1 ' s 1 r . t "ti-lo l u r l c o f c o l c e n t t a t e l e a r . c sa t t [ e t o p
J'he
clecreasrng numbe'r
of
[)crnreate urarufold
element
Very trgh
a grven RO
petmeate
o[ concencrate
the number
of membrane
on
rhe
membrane
exceed
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
Perrn=:tp
I ' 1 1 1l i 0 l ; l . r r . [ ) r : r q r r r r ( ] t r r i l ' o s t r g c I i L ) s f , s r c ( n
e on.centr'ateRe-ctrca/ati on
T h e s r m p l e s t m e m b r a n c c l e r - n c n ta s s e m b l y c o n s i s t s o f o n e p r e s s u r e v e s s e l ,
contatrung one rnembrane element, Such a configuration, used in a '"'ery srnall
systems,can operarc at a Li-rnitedpenneaterecovery ratio, usualiyabout 75o/o ln
order to increasedre overall systernrecover!,raUo ind strll marntarnan accepLeble
concentrate florr',a part of dre concentratestream is rehrrned to the suction oI t]re
llgh presstrreprmp
The concentratc recyciing configuration, shown belou', is used mainly in a veq,
s m a UR O u m t s A n a d \ r a n t j r g oe f s u c h a d e s r g nr s t h e c o m p a c t s i z eo f t l r e R O u n i t
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
-fhc
d , r s a d v a n t a goc I c ( ) n c e n u a t er e c u c u i a a o n d c s r g n L s r c l a t c d t o t h n e e d f o r a
laiger fee,i ptirrrlr t, harrdic lrrgircr ieeci fjo,,r. Accorcirngil,,rhe porver consumpuon
rs relahlell' llglrer than tl'rar rcqu-red rn a multrstage conEguradon Due tcr
blendrng o[ the feed wrdr d'rc concerrtrate strearr\ the average feed salrniq, rs
incrcased.There[ore, bodr ric feed pressure and the pcffneatc saliruft are lu,qhcr
as r,.'eU-
,f
Fig 90:Flo.uDiagramofashglestageROsystemwithconcentuationrecircularion
Concentrate Stagng
A comrnerci-al RO utut usualiy consisrs of single pymp and a muldsage array of
pressure vessels.A simphflredblock diagtam of a fwo stage RO urut is shorvn rn
here
?3
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
20.1psi
14.{bar
1 1 2p m
25.4nB.,]T
150pm
14,0rf8/tr
F r g l i ) 0 [ ] l o w L ) r a g r r ror rI a n v o : i t a g rI i C ) s y s r e m
ftrc conccrtttate [i()n] the ltrst stlrge []ecc)rnes rlre feecl to d1e seconcl stage, this is
-fhe
u'hat is l]tcant b1, thc tenn "conccrltrate staging "
florvs and pressrrres ilr the
nlr,rltrstagc utut ate conuoUed ,,vith tl-rc [-eed and concentrate rralves f he [ced
valve, after the tugh pressure pLrmp, controls feed florv to the urut
concentJate vak'e, at the outlet of RO block, controls thc feed Dressure
The
Flow Dtstnbution
In some cases it ts necessar)r to equili$12te permeate flow becwee11sages tedecrease Peffneatc florv ftom the fust stage and increase perl-reate flow from thc
-l-hs
l-ast stage
can be accomplished rn one o[ rwo design confrguradons, onc
soludon is to nstall a valve on thc perrneate line from t]re Frrst stage, as show.n
RO
DESIGH
&
ENGINEERIHG
5op;
1 5 0g p m
34 m?,,hr
3 db-)r
nFn<t
16 3 bar
2 0 0g p m
4 5 d m3,4-r
dS gpm
11 1 trr3.,hr
21Op=i
1 45 b a r
-:,
$
50gpn
1 13 m 3 , h r
ljrg
I I 0: Flot'l)ragranr
lrcrrrrcrle throtrLng
1\uirr^r1
25o
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
1 3 6p s
128br
'10 gpm
1
7?9 mAtu
1 5 0g p r n
34 0 m3hr
F i g l 2 i l F l o . t ' [ ) t a r r y a nor f a n v o s t a g eR ( ) s \ s t c r l r\ q r l ) r n t c r s r i l ] c p L r f t r p
t"
RO
OESIGH
ENGINEERING
-i-hc
F i g l 3 0 F [ o u , D r a g r a r n o f a n v o p a s s R O s ) , s r e m . v r t hb l e n d
One stteam is ptocessed by dre second pass unit, and is then combrned wrth the
unprocessed Part o[ the permeate from dre fust pass. Provided that the partral
sccond Pass system can produce the required pcrmeate quahty, tfris configrlration
results io smaller caplt-aland operating costs, as wcll as lugher combrned peffneate
recovery rate (uulizauon o[ dre feed water), con'rpared to a complete flvo pass
systcm
It is a cotnmon procedute tn a hr/o pass systcms to rcturo concentt-atefrom the
second pass unit to dre suction of the lugh pressure pump o[ the fr-rstpass urut,
The d-rssolvedsalts coocentrahon u.r dre conceotrate From dre secdnd pass is
usually lorver the concentraLion of dre feed to the first pass unit, Therefore,
blendrng feed water wt_thdre second pass concentrate reducesshghdy the salniry
of the [eed, and increases.theoverall urilizadon of the feed watcr
27\
RO
DESIGN
ENGINEERING
ir,
, \
Brackish
Well
Brack-rsh Sea
Surface
WeH
Wasre
Sea
Surface Teruary
N{axtmum:
Turbidity
as NTU
TOC
ppmasC
241.1
@ 15 -Lt .tes
SDI
02
04
03
04
0-{
l0
ll
26
COD ppm as 02
11
18
il
ll
J6
106
204
L r ' : d l i - l e r n e n tF l r r r ( u r L N G l )
459
106
108
l4
255
15
l0
10
120
120
t0
120
(mdrvid,ul clement)
ficed nr],/h
(nrarnrum
1445
l0
lf)
r20
I20
per r.cssel)
1" drarlctc
l6
r6
)()
l(
B" thrmeter
170
170
170
110
l7{l
'1" ti-temetcr
01
07
07
r)7
0l
8" diameter
21
21
21
2i
2l
238
238
238
212
212
P r e s s u r eD r o p ( p e r e l e m e n t , r n b a r ) 0 6 8
068
068
068
068
068
5to45
5to45 5to45
Reject m3,/h
P r e s s u r eD r o p ( p e r v e s s e l ,r n b a r )
(- C)
212
5to4-5 5to'15
AN
RO
DESIGN
ENGINEERING
T_'
_
I Water l\De
\r "j1[
t ] r r i r : r e , . r n Jr l p e c r c do . d e c r e a s e r n f l u x o e r
I tnli, gld
Surface..'ater
i'o Fiux
Decline/year
I j.99
ll
\\teU rracer
20 i0
R(l oernrerte
\\ :: tc rvl te r
\I aste rvatcr
Salt PaisageIncrease
71er-year'
Follorvrng table 5 0 proi'rdes grudelmes for salt passage rncrease over trrnc These
as an cxample on11,; actual valucs n1a\t vary wrth the
rypc ot
tnembrane useci
are pror.rded
l'able5.0
Menrbrane T;pe
% oS P I n c r e a ' s e / y e . t r
Celltrlosrc rr-rernbrane
Cornpositc N{cmbrarre
'l'lte
-l-[rey
rctatfl t[-rc
[)rcsctlt day cottrltosttc tttcrnbr:rncs :rrc qLrrtc suilrle
n l c t l r b r a n e s a l t r e i e c t i o n f o r : r l o t r g c r t i r n c . \ n r c m b r a n c l - t f co f a b o u t 5
),earsur.r
u'ell ope rated planr is not uncomr-non
Flow ftnzitations
Follorvrng table 6 0 prorrdes feed and concentrate florv lirnitauons for
membranes, Tlre actual values may vary u,rth the typc o[ membrane and feed
rvater qualiq', The maxunum Limit for feed water is to lulrt the membrane
Prcssurc drop atrd mrnirnurn lirnit for concentrate flow is to marntain requrred
cross florv 6r'er the'membrane surface
Tablc
Passa
Increase
Membrane
Feed Floq'
Diameter (in)
Max (m3lh)
Concentrate Floq,
Min (m3lh)
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
RO Fre-treatment
P re-treatm ent C'onstdera tt ons
-Ihe
of a deposrted Leyer on a
surface rs called tnembrane fouLng and results in performance dechnc
-lhe
of the RO systern
objecuve o[ dre feed u'ater preLrealment process is to
irnprove the quahty o[ tlre feed u'atel to the levcl t,llch u'ould result ur rellable
tletnbtane
parncles
indicators o[ suspended parucles used in the RO Lndustq, are turbLdrtl. and SLlt
Densrty Index (SDI). The rnaxrnrrrn lrrnits rviLh convcnuonal pre treatment are.
turbidiry of 1 NTLJ and SDI of 5
Silt Densiry
l5
llilnutes of
contrnuous fiitratron
RO
OESIGN
ENGINEERING
\ L ' : r t 1 2 t l t l c )l t : t : r t t t l l . L t t t u r nS l i l o i + . 0 a t 1 5 m r n u r e s f o r t l - i c f c e d \ r ' : t t e r I i t - t t cS D I
' . e s tr : ; h . r r l t r c l t o o a l y 5 o i 1 C n i i ; - i u t c . e a d i l g . , j r .
r,, pluggurg oiiirc irjrer paci, rirc
L r s e r c a n c \ P c c t a h r g h l e t " ' e lo [ f o u L n g f o r t h e R C )
D e e p r u ' e [ 1 sq , p r r c a l h ' h a v c :
SDI's r-'[ ] or less and tr:rbidrdcs lcss rhan one u.ith lirrlc or no prerrcauneor
prctreat1nent For remor-al pI collr,,rdal :r.d
s u s p en d e d s o L d s r o : r c l r L c v ca c c c p t a b l e S D I a n d r u r b r d r q , r , a l u e s
Surface s()urces t,,plcal.l\ requirc
C o n 8 - n u o u s o P e r a u o n o f a n R O s y s t e m w r d r l e e d u , a t e r u . h u c h h a s t u r b r c i r r y *o r
values near thc Lunrts o[ t]rese values n'ray result rn sgnificant rnernbrane
fouling
For iong-term, re[able operafion oI the RO urut, the rveragc values of
rurbrdrtl' ancl SDI n the fecd rvater should not exceed 0 5 NTU and ? 5 SDI uruts,
SDI
Interpretauon
Saruradon index
The saturattc)lt tauo rs the ratio of the product oI the actual conccnuatr()n oI the
lons
rn Lhe concentratc strcam to the dreoretical solubrhrl, o[ the salt at a-grven
conditions oI tempcrature and toruc sffength These raUos are apphcable marnly
t o s P a n n g l y s o l u b l e s u l [ a t e so I c a l c i u m , b a r i u m a n d s L r o n t r u m
a potennal sc:rle fonmng constiruent.
S r l - t c ac o u ] d b e a l s o
3{
RO
DESIGN
ENGINEERING
L 1u : r L f , i h e p r C h c a i r n t l l t
, , I d i c t ' u L l o l iL n g L l c l t m ( n f s l c l . ,'
f).pc,,,Jurg
,,r \nln(
:rij
[ J r ( J (t \ : i l l I ' l \ c C r n : , t S t ]o: i
R c m o r . a l o f L a r g ep a r t r c i e s L r s r l g 2 c o a r s e s t r a u r eI
N'{edra Frltrauon
Addruon
Reducdon
of scale rnhLrbitor
o[
lree chlonne
filters
I
The rmtral remo.",al o[ large parucles ftom the feeci q'ater rs accot-nplislied usrng
mcsh strainers or traveling screens- Mesh strarners are used ur t'ell rt'ater supply
systems to srop and rernove sand pardcles which may be purrrped frotn dre well
Travehng screens are used marnly for sutfacc watet sources, tvhtch ryprcally l-rave
large conccntralions oI biologrcal debris
I t t \ ( ( , n u r r ( ) np r t c t l . ( . r o d r s r r t f e csr r r r f a c cl c c d u : t t , t , r, , ' , , 1 . ' , l ' ) . , ) t l l t ( , 1L t , r l , r g t c e l
,rcti!'it) Brological acn\111'tn a rvcll rvatcr Lsusually vcty lt-ru':rntl trt rll't;r.lrrfl'of
c l r s c s .r ' , , e Lwl x t e r d o e s n o t r c q L u r c c h l o r t n a t l o n l r t s o t r r c r . : r s c : sc,l t l c , t l r l a t t o t tr s r - l 5 e d
t o o x r d r z e i r o r r a n d m l n g a n s e m t h e r ' , ' e L rl v ; r t c r L r e t o r e f l i t r a t t o r t \ \ ' c l l n ' a t e r
contairung hy,clrogen sulEdc should not be chlonnatcd or exPosed to arr [n
presence of an oxrdant, t-l-resr-rl[de ton can oxlcllze t() cletrie rltal strlfur rvFuch
eyeltpaLly ma1' plug meftrbrane eletnents
Setthng oI
sutface rvater in
suspended partj.cles
a detention
results rn formatron
surfacc cl.rargcs oI colloidal patticles, agglegate, arrd adsorb to floaring pardcles
be[ore setrlurg at t[-relowcr part oI the clarifier To increase thc size and suength
oI t[-rc flock, a long chatn orgaruc Polymer cao be added to the \L'atet to bLnd flock
particles togetl-rer Use o[ lirne results in increase of pH, forrnanon o[ calcrum
and
rnagnestum
hydtoxrde
RO
OESIGN
&
ENGIHEERING
etther mrcro
mzxlmulll
recovery
dosage.
Sanrrauon7o
CaSO4
230
SrSO4
800
BaSO4
6000
sio2
100
33
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGIHERING
Value
<
02
< + 0-5
< + 2.5
a.
RO
OESIGN
&
ENGIHERtNG
preserue cletnents fror-n brologrcal grou'dr and tt.r help rnauitarn pcrfcrrmance o\rer
tirne, cornposite qpe membtanes are storcrcl rrt I 29/o sodrrun brsr-rlEtc and 5 10or'o
propylene glycol solunon It rs drcrefore advrscd to 0ush mernbrarres
l]n()r ro use t(-r
cllninatc rcsidual presen/atl\resm the prodr-rct stre:lrn
( . ) n c e t h e e l e t n c t ' t t sl - r a v cl r a c lt h e p r e s e r l a f r v c s t - l u s h c r il r o r r r t h c n r , r h c t , r r , o r r l dn c e c lt < t
hetc presc:n'xt.lvrrsrc-r.r[)pLiccl
fcrr long tcnrr :,Ii)r,\g(
O n c e e l e r n e n t s h a v e b c e n l o a c l e d : r n d v e s s c l s s e a l c c l .r r i s r c c < i r n r n e r r d e dt o f l u s l r t h c
s)'stenr to draul \r.ith feed rvatef at desrgrr opcratulg pressurc Frrr a nrirumurn o[.1
hours If d're elernents are to be used ur sy'sterns requlnllg ult-rapu-rc watcr, a
lrurlmurn
flusl-rrng urne of 24 lrotr.rs is recornrnended to reduce the TOCconcentratron to [.relou' 50 ppb (assumrng zero TOC ur drc fecd rvater)
apphcauons, drscard the product ',varcr for ar leasr 24 hours pnor ro
or usr.ng in food appl-icauons Irgcsrion o[ dre prcscn'arive ma]r causc
rritaoon to dre gastrourtesonal tract, colic, drar.rhea,or othcr sunilar symptoms
For pouble
drtnkng
RO Syltent,Start-ap
It rs Lmportant to be sure drat dre elements arc loaded and shinlned correcdy tcr
remove any excess slack that nuly cause discorinects A [ow pressure fhrsh to puge
atr from the metnbranes is alwal,srecommended before a lugh pressure starrup Th.is
can be accomphshed drrough dre usc of a soft start rleclrarilsrn, or a vad-eble
ftequency ddr.e, Failute to do drG ian resuli rn a u,atcr sirock u,ar-e(rvater hamrner)
drat can causephysical damage to the Ro rnembranes The permeatc ',,alrresshoLrld
ahvaysbe open to draur dururg tlus flush to pre'ent darnagcto drc membrancs
35s
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
After the lr frasbcen pr-ugtc irorr drc svstenrtire fecd pressurcshou]d be urcrc-ased
graclualll,up t,-.,
dre '.r'or[.:rr-rg
oI drc l{(-) urut
p[(,qsure
RO .t;,-rir
nt .l htftltiu'u
B rack: :h I I{/a sle lV a Ier J-yrlent :
Upon shutdown for brackrsh systetns, a ilush wrth the feed u,atcr at low recovcrl.'
(bnne valve u'rde open) rs usually sufficient to'remove the hgh coocentrauon oIsalts
from the membranes The penneate vah'es should be open to draLn dunng thrs flush
to Pre\rent damage to dre membranes
S eatualer 51ilent s
LJpon shutdou'n tbt seelliater s);sterns,a fluslr \\rtth RO penneate rs recornlnended to
rctno\:e the irgh concencralron oi saits frorn Lire rnembranes- Tirc penneate values
should be open to drarn dLrnng tlus flush to prevent damage to dre membranes
I{
RO permeate is temporarily
s t ; r n . h t c l 8 - i n c h X 4 0 u r c h c l c n r e r r t se s s r r r n ct c n g a l l o n s ( 3 7 8 5 D p c r e l e m e n t
stetrrlard 4-urch X 40-rnch e lements assurne tJrrcc gailons (i 1 35 D pcr clenrcnt
For
RO
DESIGN
ENGINEERING
RG Mermblane FouHar"nfrsmd
TheEr Removal I:oa/ant.r
L)uring nonnal operauon over a penod of time, RO rnernbranc clernents are
s u b i e c t t o f o u L u r g b 1 ' s u s p c n d e d o r s p a n n g l y s o l u b l c m a t e r i a l s r l - L a rt l a 1 , b c p r e s e n t
in the feed u'ater
Cotnmon examples o[ such loulants are calcrrrrn carl]or)ate
scale, calcium sulfatc scale, metal o>iides scale, sihca coatlntl, ancl ,rg.rlr(
(ir
biokrgrcal deposrts
I-he naturc rnd rapichry of toulng
d e p e n d s o n t h e c o n d r u o n , , , t r l r t - .t . . . 1 * , . , t " ,
[ - ' o l r h n g i s p r o g r c s s t r e , a n d . t f n o t c o n t r o l l e d e a r l l ' , r ' , ' r l li r n p a r r r l r t l ( t ) r n c r r r l r r r r ' r c
eleme nt perfcrnnencc Ln a rclatively short tlne,
N'lonitonng o'erall planr perfor-rnanceon a regular basrs rs arr csscntLal srep in
t'hen tnctnbrane elements are beconrrng fouled
Pcrfcrrmance rs
affected progressr'ely and rn varylflg degrecs, dcpendrng on thc narurc of rhe
recogruzlng
foulants. Table
8 provides
Fou/ant Rernoua/
Fo.rlant
rernor.al is contro[ed
operaung condruons
tl-re foUot'ng
37t
RO
T]ESIGN
&
EHGINEERING
D-...,,1,.,.. .,.-,.--
-.,,^t,h,
L-^,-
4.,--^^.--)
l (
r-,
^^--^-.
PLrLCrrr)
-^lJdtt
p 2 s s e q eh a s i n c r e a s e d1 0 - 1 5 p e r c c r r t
. b o u t 1 0 i 5 p e r c en t
A p p h e d p r e s s u r e l . L a rsn c r c a s e d a
-il,e
that
crystals can cause on the acLive membranc layers Calcium carbonate scale that
-has bcen detectcd early can be temoved by lo'.venng dre fecd u'ater pH to between
Longer restdent accumulations of calcium
I 0 and 5 0 for one or two hours
carbonate scalecan be retnoved by re-crculatrng a citrtc actd soluuon o[2 percent
s t r en g t h a r r d a p H o [ n o l c s s t h a n . 1 0 t h r o u g h t h e R C ) t t t e n r b r a n c c l e m e n t s
l l r r s r - r r et h a t t h e 1 t H r l a r r l ' c l c a n i n g s o l u t t , . r n d o c s r t < . r tt : r l i l r c l r w ' 4 0 O d r e n v r s e ,
darr-ragc to tlrc RO lncrnbranc elenrents lna)/ tlccur, par hctriarll, at elevate d
-fhe
Use anunoruum
telnperaturcs
lrlaKlrnum pFl shoulcl be less tl-rarr10 0
h y d r o x r d e t o r a i s c t h c p H , a n d s u l f i r r r co r h y d l o c h l o n c a c t d t o l o s ' e r r t
Ca/rzum .f afale Scak
S<-rlutron2 rs the be st knou,n medrod For remo.,'rng calctut-n sulfate scale frotl
the
l{O men.rbrane
A,'Ieta/Oxtdes .f ca/e
Ptecrpitated hydroxrdes (e g , Fernc hydroxrde) can usuaU;' [6 1s11eved by ustlg
t h c t e c h r u q u e s d e s c r t b ed a b o r . e f o r c a [ c i u m c a t b o n a t e s c a l e
Silica Coalrng
A srl-rcacoatrng not associatcdu'ith eltl-rermetal llydroxrdes or orgaruc uratter rvtll
Consult [or
usually tespond only to ve[' specralized clcamng methods
insrucdons relzted to a specrficproblem
38
RO
OESIGN
ENGINEERING
()ryantc Dtpoittt
Orgaruc deposrts ic g.
uslng
Solunon I
fo rrrhibrt :rdchuonal grorvth, rc crculatc and soak thc
m e m b r a n e s r . v t t ha a p P r o v e d b r o c i d e s o l u c i o n 1 ' [ u s r e q L r r r c sc x t c n d c d e \ p o s u r e t o
t n R O b l o t t i ( ] r r r r L n L sr o
b e e f f e c u v e ; a b t o c t c l , :, s o l u n o n i s b e s r e r n p l o l , e d , , r , h e r a
be left n a standbl, c.rndtoon For rnore than three days
( . - o n s u l t [ r - r rs c l e c D o n o f a
fo[owrrg
membrane
chemrcal
elements
solunons
The
ate recomrnended
For cleaning rhc RO
appropnate soludo'n to use can be determned by
Keepurg rccords oI tlic rncdrods used and results obtaured rvrll provrde data use ful
tn devcloprng the nrcthods and solutiorrs that rvork best under the feed rvater
condidons at hand
Solunon
1 is recorrunended
fot
u'rorgaruc foulmg,
Soludon
2 is specrfrcaLly
39\
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGIREERING
I aDle at
t((J t\Icmllt:rne
)vrnDtotlls
Founot
f-lcrnent
G e n er a l S \ n l p t o m s
Foulant
I Calcium Precrprtates
:ncl
(carbonares
p h o s p h ar e : .
at
g en e r a U l ' f o m d
the concentr3te erld
-{
decrease m
marked
,rroderate rnrrease rn
Response
and
sqlt relectron
l[r
[eed arrd
be u'een
corraentratc
ChemrcrLI clesn
rlre sfsterrr rrrtir
S o l u o o nI
p rod ucoort
of the systcm)
2 Hydrated C)rudes
(iron, ruckel. coppcr,
etc )
Chemrcally clean
the system rtlth
Soluoon I
I \'tuied Collords
(rron, orgarucs, rnd
decrease
trr
rncrease in
salt
il P
re;ection
ben"een
and
feed
and
concentrate
ftrmd
the conccn(ratc
at
end
and a
shght
4 Calcrurn Sultetc
to
nroderate
tncre:rse ut -J P betwee n
ChemrcaUr, clean
tJre s1'stenr *'rth
S o l u u o r r2
silrcates)
(generallv
sLght
gradul
arrd a rapid
Chetnrcally
the
clean
\uth
svsfe(n
Soluuorr 2
u r s \ / st e n r p r o d r r c t i o n
of the sl,stcnr)
[)ossrltlt
5 ( )rganrr L)eP.stts
clecrcasc rn
grrrJrrrl Ln.rcilsc rn
salt
J I'
rtyr:ctrorr artd
lrctlcen
fccd
and
corraentcrfc
For
Soluhon 2
fo,'ling,
heavl,
use Soluoon 3
rern producdon
Possrble
6 Bacterial Foulng
marked
decrease m
acrease
concentrate
saIt
in U P
relectron
ben"een
,{lso, a marked
tem p rooucuon
C h e r n r c a l J l ,c l e a r r
ille SVStern \tl ut
and
feed
and
decrease tn sys-
Chemically clean
the system u'rth
the
of
either
soludons,
on
dependrng
possible
com-
pounded foulrng
All ptoblems (equrrc the cause oI the fouLng to bc couected. Consult for
instructions rei2tedto a s p e c i f i cp r o b l e m
RO
DESIGN
ENGIHEERING
Ingredient
Citnc.\cid
kg
pH Ad;usrment
l r lc l r o u J c
(1..iHrOF0
RO
Pemeate
(Chlorine
lB0 hters
Free)
Sodrurn Topoiyphosphare
t-7kg
l0 0 rurh
sulfuncacid (H2SO+)
Tetrasodium
EDTA
i lBkg
( \ ' e r s en e
220 or equal)
R O P e r m e a r e( C h J o n n e F r e e )
l
180 litcrs
rTkg
Sodiunr Tnpolyphospharr
Ad;ust to
pFI
l0 0
097kg
Dodecl,l[61123..
(Sorhm
l-auryl
Su l p h at e )
[].(l Perrleate (ChlorLne Free)
l B l , |[ r r c r s
Membr,tne(./ee.ning
Over tr,tne, tnembrane systerns can trecome foulecl rvid-r an1,o[ a number of
foulants such as colloids, orgaoic marter, meralhc scales, and brologrcal
constifuents These materials can build up on tlrc rncrnbrane surface and ur the
feed brurc channel. If teft uncortected, dre accumulation oI these foulants can
cause a se\rereloss oI petflormance in the systcrn: prcssure requrements rnctcasc
to maintain flou,, pressure drops Lncrcasc,and salt reiectlon can suffer- If the
systetn is not cleanedand the system contlnues to build up foulants, thc elements
may "telescope," or shear intetna[y, causrngthe rntegnry of the membrane surface
to be cornprormsed and rendenng dre mcrnbrane irreversibly damaged.
This secnorr udi cover serreral pourts reLeted to cleanLng The fust part rvrll
concern itself with data collccdon and syrnptoms o[ membrane fouLng. The
second part rvill define the cornponents of a cleamng systern afid prorade
gu"rdehnes for buLldLng and operaong a cleamlg slud Frnall1,, direcrions and
gudeLnes for perfonnrng a cleamng rvrli be g1r'efi; the reader rs encouraged to
doublc click on topics relareci to specihc proccdures [or cleaorng , speclflc
membrane elements-
41
RO
OESIGN
&
EHGINEERING
L)aia i\'lrintlonnp
Goqd rloruronng oi drc pcrfonwrnce oI a svstern can aLert dre user to possrble
-[lre
p r a c u c e o I e n t er t n g o p c r a t r o n a I
[ i - r u h r r gb e [ o r c t h e s r t u a t r o n b , c c o r n es s e. ' er c
p1
foql:ltn cln provtde thc mearrsto
t l a t r s r V e r r r l U J n e sa u , c c k t r t t r . rr r l o r n r a L z : r t 1 ( ) 1
Lrl. k prr fornrrnc. o\ el LLltle
S'i'mptoms of foulng would urcludc onc ()r aU of the [ollou'mg condtdons
.
Note that lt ls unportallr t.r usc rronnaLzed data Nonnalized data corrccts for
temperarure eflfects otl s\/steln perfonnance For instancc, i[ the tcmPcraturc
d r o p s , r t i s c r p e c t e d - t o r e q u u c n r o r c F r r e s s u r et o a c . l u e v c t h e s a l n e f l o r v L o S s o [
f l o n ' d u e s o l e l y t o a r e d r r c f l o n u r t c r n p c r a t r r r ec l o e s n ( ) t t ' r ] e 2 nt h e s y s t e t n r s f o u l c d
, i // / //.1!,\-)'.t[(/i,' -\
1lr / /1t)// t
li't'.t /
['hc fbUc,wng dngrarlr grvcs thc basrc perts oI arr [{L) c.lcarung s[<rd Clcamng
solutron is purnped lrcrm a storagc tank throrrqh a caruidge filtcr to thc RO arral'
Solution rs then recycled back tci tllc t:rnk l-he volurne o[ solrrtion should bc
adequare to fill the volurnc oI rhe vcssels, ilters and pipurg The dirgiarn belorv
shou,s no lnstnrmentadon, hou,ever, tt rnay bc adviseable to add a low lcvel
su'itch to thc taok to ptevent dre pump frorn mnmng dty Addruonally, a
telnperature controiler and heate r/cociler unit may be added to nrailrtain solutron
at the optrn1um temPerahrte tenge
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGIHEERING
0ncentrate
ljtg
r,/
I4 0
l/ olumercquu-emett/.r
To figurc drc volurne of solutron r e q u r e d f o r a 5 1 , 5 g 6 1c1o1n s l s t [ r g o I s r x B " r r e s s e l s
w i d r s r - xc l e r n c n t s p c r r e s s eI a n d 40 teet o[ 4 urch prpe (3 82 " lL)), furr.rre dre
volrrme o[ thc t-csscls arrd adrl rr to thc r.olunre o[ the
l)rprng ro olrraur the toral
r.olurnc
plasrtc
(FRP)
or
po[y'propylene or
Valves Stau.rlcssSteelpreferred
Pump. StarnlessStcel or Non metalLiccomposire pol;,esters
Pump should be a centrifugrl q?. able to attarn the florvs and pressures[sted rn
table lof the next section, CarrridgeFrltersshould be 5 tnicron rarrng srr.rngwound
modules. Valves should bc rnstaliedappropnately to control flow Tank should
have a removablc cover AII components should be able to rvithstand extremes in
RO
OESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
[
up i,,, ll]
; , , 1 1 ,t . . i l p e . a a u i c J
protected 211dr" cU grcltrrlrled
'
:,{/uLLa!,':ii'iiclrcs slrLrultibc
llttr,,
Lleutttttg i't'oL't
rvlule aikal-[re
Ger.reraLly,iow pH solu&ons arc used to clcan rnetaLhc scales
lrrgh florv
RelauvelV
foul-urg
and
orgamc
biologLcal
clean
to
solutioos are used
(Do not,
ts
tcconxnended
rvith
lorv
pressure
elemenr)
(gor.,erncdby the srze oI the
dr,ameter
8-Lnch
lror
elcments)
the
florv L-nlts lor
exceed marimum
h1*",,.r,
vessels the cleaning florv shoulcl be about 9 m3/h Per vesscl'
A gencral procedure flor clearung thc R(J membranc eletnents ts as follows'
i
Lr
nt
solution m the
C r r c u l a t t t h e c l c a r u n g s o l r r t i o n t l i r , r u g l r t h c p r e s s u r e f r - r b se t o r
approxinratel]'t"-ttlrourorthedesircclpcri<-rdoIt]trte'ata
f l 6 t ' r ; t t e o [ - ] 5 r , ! )- l { ) g p r r l ( 8 9 n r J i t r ) P c r l l r c s s t r r c t u b e f o r
{) to
I [) gPtll
B () anrl 8 5-rrlclr l]rcssLric nrlrcs ()l
( 2 - ? 3 r n 3 7 ' h ) l r - , r I [ ) r r r < - tpr r c s s r r r ct t r l ) L i s
iv
After
compleuotr
nnsmS
v
vi
'
be obArned
Specr[c rnstrucdons for cleamng specrfic metnbtane elemenfs should
from the tnembrane manufacfurer or plant sLrPplicr
utg
RO
RQ
DESIGN
EHGINERIHG
'
'
'
'
.
U s e o [ c h l o n n c c l r o t h c r s u o n g o x i d a n t s o n p o l y a m . r d er n e m b r a n e s c a n
cause ureversiblc darnageto the mernbrane
uflarm warcr, i.c J5t'c
40o c, grr.bs sgruflcantly better clcanurg than
lorver tcmperaturc soluDor-rs
If the pH oI an actd solutron roctease
s dunng recirculation,add rnore acid
to retuio the pH back to the target value. W'l-ratis occurdng is that acid is
berng consumed as it dissolr'esrnorgaruc scale
Do not use suJfuric acid for low pH soludons as tlus creates a risk o[
creating sulfate scalc.
Permeate water is prcferred for mixrng solutrons_
fjse of frltered t2p warer for fugh pH soludons can result in carbonate
fouling rf the water is hard.
Flush the rnembranes with peffneate r,vater Followrng cleamng to remove
the cleamng soluti<-rns
Under severe fouLng condiuons, it may be necessaryto soak ovcrrught
\-/
RO
DESIGN
&
EHGINEERING
for
General Stonage Proeede"Etre
fuIembranes
Short-TermStorage
S h o r t - t e n n s t o r a g e r s t o r p e n o d s w h c r e a r i R O p l a n t m u s t r e r r m r r io u t o I o p e r a d o n
[or more tlran five davs, but ferver than drLrq.'da],s, ,.','rlhthe RO clements tn place.
Pteparc cach RO train as f<rllo.t's
I
I-"0rug
Term Starage
Long-tenn storageis for penods where an RO plant rnust relnaln out o[ operanon
for rnore dran thirq, days w-ttl.rdre RC)-elernents ir-rplace. Prepare each RO train
as [ol.lorvs.
a:'
C l e a nt h c R O m e m b r a n ee l e m e n t su r o l a c e ,
RO
OESTGN
&
ENGINEERTNG
R e p e a tS t c p s 2 a n d J r v i t h f r c s h s o l u u o n c s e n . r h r r n , d a v s i f
drc temperarurc is bclorv 80J t- (2711C), or evcry ftfrcen days
iI tJreremperarure ts ab<it'c80il F (271] C)
\Xihen the RC) si51611rs ready ro bc rcrurned to sen,icc, flusl-r
the 51'51srnlor approxLmatelyone hour usurg lorv-pressurc
feed water wrth rhe product,dump valve open ro dran; then
flush it at Lugh pressurc for 5 to 10 mrnutcs rvith the product
dump valve open to dtain. Before returmng the RO sysrem
to scrvice, check fot any residual biocide ur the product.
Pnor
-fo
Insta/lation
47a
l/
RO
OESIGN
&
ENGINEERING
lmplernentins a RG Froject
Hou' do tve bcgrll
s),steir I
Stt RO fltlqm p{L0/14dnl:tt?qlrlrcmen/t. I;rsL, decrde rIc RO stistcnr capecirv
rl]at ls permeate tlon, rate
Remenrbcr, capital cost o[ a IIO systern rs
d u ' e c d v p r o p o t u o n a l t o t h c 1 r c r m e a t ef l o u ' r a t e , s a y m 3 / h
If l;otr requrre a
certrrin pcnreate cluanuty pef da1,(m3/ci)
then decrclc ntrrrtbcr of
o l r e r a t r n g l - r o u r sp c r d a 1 ' e n c l c : r l c r r l ; r t ep c n r r e i r t e f l o r v r a t c - l t i s a c l r ' i s a b l e
t o o p c r a t e t h e R C ) , s \ . : j t c n )i o r l o n g c r h o u r s t c r r c d u c e c r p r t a l c o s t s
'l'[re
lJe
n d e c i i l e t J r c :p c r n r c a t c : r l r r e i r q , l { r g h c l r r a h t y w ' : 1 t c rh e s r t s p n c c
,.'.,ili
clcrnancl rrse of lugh salt rc,cctuig metnbrlnes
reaLstrc Fligh quaLq'
t l ' r a t a r e c x p e n s i v c a n d o ; : c r a t e a t l ' u g h e rp r e s s u r e s
Decrde how you are golng to disposc off the concentrate streanr
are dre applicable drsposal standards from the rcgulatrng authonty
What
Set inPutt. Fust, dre desrgn ra\r/u,ater sotrrce and analysis II therc is oue
soutce, the job is easier [[ thete are mulnple sources or a combination oI
s u r f a c e a n d g r o u n d u , a t e r d r e n u ' o r k o u t a w o t s t b u t r e a l i s d cb l e n d o f
t h e s e s o u r c es a n d d e c r d e d e s i g r r u , a t e r a n a l y s i s C o o s i d e r s e a s o n a l
variatrons A cornplete design analysrsreport rncluclcCa, N{g. Na, I( Fe,
alkalrrury,Cl- SO4, NO3, Srhca, pH, Conductrrnty, Turbidrry, TDS, ltee
chlonne and COD as minLmum For wasteurater applicatrons urclude
NH4, orl & grease,I)O4 and hearrymetalspresent rn the water
l n a u , a t e r a n a l y s i sr e p o r t n o t o o l y t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f r ' a f l o u s l o n s
tnlportant but drer irlteracdons too For exarnple, Ca, alkalrnity, TDS,
temper-ature aod pl-l valr.res rr'tll . decrde the tendencl' [ot Ca(.O3
precrpitauoo m the s1'56s111
Sirmlarly,Ca, SO4, TDS (roruc srength) and
temperarure rvLlldecide CaSO4 scaling tendency. Ignonag one or more
RO
OESIGH
&
ENGINERIHG
p a r ? m e t e r s s o u i d l c a d t o u r r p r e d t c t a b l ep c r [ o m r a n c e , , I t h c l { ( ) s \ s t c r l I t
g o e s , . r ' r t - t r o u st a )r n g d t a t u r u t s o f m e a s u r e r n e n t s o i e a c h p a r a n r c r c r : 1 r c
, l " . rl l r t e p ' ) r t e dm t l t c a n a l v s r \r e p o t r s
{ccuracl'oI
RO
Lactr degree
rcnrper:rfure change can c[range the penneatc flur (lerneate t]ow &r-rded
b_f nrembrane area) b]'
25 to 3 0 per ccnt
I n a n r _ r p c r a t r n eR ( )
"brrr..,t
sl,stem leed pressure has to be , reduced to conrpensatc [or lugher
-ffus
'l'here
temperature
could detcdorate pen-neate qLnliry
could be
seasooal vanatlons r.n the RO
selecuon.
Check
the membrane
membrane
parameters
l.or
rt rs advisablc
neutral chargc.
Fugli foulng
vaters
pre
o[
standard area sucl'r as 365 ft2 Lnstead of 400 or 440 [t2 because
chances of restoratron by cleamng are llgher if they are Fouled
u'idr suspeoded solids
Recovery. Recovery ts dre ratio oI permcate
is often reported as percentage
flou' ts B0% of dre fced floiv
49s
fIO
OESIGN
ENGINEERING
\ . : : i c a c l ' c r - ) 'l n c i e a s e s , i I c c c n c c n i r : a o n i ; l c o i l c e a t i a t e
(
:
r
l
s
c ,c a U ed r e , c c t o r b r L n e ) L n c r e a s c s a n d t h s r n c r e a s e i s
sueanl
lr:r ilci
rl1r1l ,, luqltrc(,,\pilcs
F l g l r c r r c l c L l . ( r n . r r l u : 1 E o n sc a u s e i e e d
p r c s s u t e a r t d J r c r m e a t es a l r r u r l , t o i n c r c a s c
potenuals [,,r scalroq and foulrg
de srgl
tcalirrg
I r c , r . n u , r l s 1 l r e p r r r l e ru ( l n p n n t ' ' r r t u L I l r c p o r t s c a i m g
potenrials ior CaCC)1, CaSO-i, BaSO4, SISO-1 and srlica It rs a
good ldea to check tlcse values rn companson to maxrmum
allou,able Lm-rts
based bn thescvalues
Lastll', look
These wam
oI
p o s s r b l e p r o b l e r n s L nd r e s i z L n gt h a t c o u l d r e s u l t m o p e r a t r o n a l p r o b l e r n s
N[embranc
r n a n u f a c t r , r r e r sl r a v e
drerr u,a],oI
considen-ng and
not
corrunonly
used composlte
rnetnbranes
Lreatr-nent s)'stenl has Lreen designed to aclueve thc leed rvater ltrutrng
condttions as specrfied by the rrrcmbrane ruanufacrurer
The
safuradon
r e c o v e r y l . r e n c eS o d r L r r nF l c x a N { e t a P h o s p h a t e r s d o s e d d r a t e x t c n d s t h e
rc,ect LSI hmrt to +0 5 For e',.en hugher rccovertes. ()rgarul antlscalants
can bc used to extend the LSI ImrLt to +2 5 Ln thc reject stream These
organ.ic andscalants are gffectrve a{airst CaSO.l and sihca scales toc,r Per
cent saturanon for CaSO,l ca6 be extended to +230a,/o and sihca
concentration
50
RO
DESIGN
ENGINEERING
I - h e r e a r e s c ' c r a l s u p p h e r s o f o r g a r u c a n t L s c a l a n f sa n d d r c u s c r l s a d r . r s c d
refcrences and sen'rce support before accepung a parocu_lar
t ' n a k c I t i s u n p o r r a n t t o c a r r J Jo r - r ta t e c h r u c a l e r - a [ u a L i g l c r f d r c p r ( ) s p e c n l c
anhscalants to ensure they are compauble rtrih the t{O tced u,atcr ancl
to check
u luch
pass the
cvaluatron
f a b l e 1 0 :R O F e e d W a t e r L t m r n n g C o n c h u o n s
Limrtrng
Panme(cr
Valuc
I - l0
PH
Temperarrrre
( 45 degreesCelsrus
Turbidrq
<1ONTU
Srltdensiq'urdex
<.40
Nrl
Free clrlonne
<0lmg,/l,conunuous
lrr. lr ln
<0lrng,/l,total
(.onrhc/ ]>i/ol Planl ttu&et [t rs:r good pract]ce rc.rconcluct pilot pla.nt tnal:;
t o r l a r g c s ) ' s t e r l r s t o l c a r n t h c f c e d w a t e r r r a n . . r t r o n s ,p c r [ o n t r a n c e , i
I r t c t t r l r i : r t l e s ,r : o i l p a t t b r l i q , o f t , a n o u s c [ r c m r c a l s , o p e r a t i c ) r t : t lc o r r t r o l s a n c i
-[-lris
ct'icctivcrtcss ol rle nrbrlrtc t lcantng operatr()rrs
rn[,rrnrettorrshotrld
b c t r s c r . l t c ) s c a l c - u p r h c f u l - l - s c a l ep l - a u t ( . r - r n s u l t f r , r n r o r c a n c i s p c c r f r c
infclnnation
Prot,tde
S a . t z f i t a / , \ l c m b r a n e , I r r l r r g e R O p l r r r r s L r e x r u r g\ \ ' : r s { c\ r , a I c l s ,r t t s x
good pracuce to install a lead-end and a mil-end sacnficial membtane
element with necessarl, insLrurnents
Tlrcsc sacnficial rncmbranes lvarn
drc oprerators oI
possible
foullig
before
they
a,.'arJabrhry',chorce
oI
manual
versus
sl \
RO
DSIGN
&
ETIGINEERING
(
Ii rs a good idea to have a sngle element long RO systcm TIts system
can lre used for drffererrtpurposes Fust, r[ tl-re mcrnbranes get fouled
' , v i t h o r , rat n v c l u e t o d r c c a u s c s ,r t . i s p o s s i b l e t o c l e a n o n e m e m b r a n e
modulc rn this svstetn,try out drffereot ciearung chemlcal formulatrons
arrd clcaning proceduresarrd finaLrzeLhe most effectrr'e cleamng protocol
that can be applied rn'the marn plant. Second,tt can be used to carry out
compaubilrry and-dosageperfectron studies for various andscabots before
they are actually used in the main plant Thlrd, it can be used to srudy
differcnt mcrribraoes to compare petformance with membranes that are
used rn the plant.
,e
RO
OESIGH
ENGINERIHG
L s*saasnr
Ev FfrE
EA#rrG'
*FsFdE-E
Tlr
r e c l - r r u c aS
l e n r c c B u l l et r n sb y F { i , , d r a n a u t r c:s1,01 o c c a n s r d e , c A 9 1 0 5 +
USA
53*
\ j
RO
DESIGN
ENGINEERING
&
Appen#Ex ffi
iirtn I ndex CJ'I)
her5'atnrzt
Lttn,ge
The Langelier Sarurauon rnder (LSf proudes an rndrcator of the degtee of saturao.on
of \r,ater u,ith respect to calcrum c-arbonate. [t c-an be shou'n t]Lat tSI approximates the
basc t0 logan*rm of rhc caicite saturatron level- the Langelier sahrratron level
approaches the concept_ of sarruation usurg pH as a nra-ir varjable The LSI can be
rnterpreted as the pH clr'ange requued b.-g"tg
watet to equrJrbnum
ItISI
'
drivlng force
The ISI s an equrl1bnum index and deals onlv wrth dre thernodynanuc
o[ ho"t'
rndicauon
no
It
pror.rdes
and
growth.
for calcrun carbonate sc.ele fonnanon
equilibnum
water
to
rnuch scale or calcrurn carbonate u-rll actr-rally preciprtate to bnng
it sirrrply indicates the driung force for scalc formation and gou'dr in terms of pH as a
lr-Llster r.eriq$[s. [n order to ca]cuiate the LSI, it is necessan: to know the alkalLruty
foral dissolved sohds
(mg/l as CaCOr), the calcrurn Lr,erdr-ress
fngll Crt. as CaC-O,), dre
(rng/l TDS), the acnrd pl{, end d1e temPerature oI tlie rvater fQ
RO
DESIGN
&
ENGINEERIHG
i-SI s defrned
as,
LSI=pf{-pH.
\\'-hcre,
'
'
'
pH"=(9.3+A+B)-(C+D)
\Vhere,
'
,'\ - (I-og,u[TDSJ
'
B-
'
(- - I-.,g,,,
[ C . t ' : r sC a C O , l 0 1
1) I 10
555
-3
RO
MONITORING
&
TROUALESHOOTING
-L,narl/ry
( 'rririeiines
eicments
Flushiils
I I tire systcnl Ls nc\\'. ll is stri)ngl]' recolnlnctlrle cl to flush thc s)'stenr 6rst [refbte:
loadrng elcnrcnts Tl'ris allot's any clcbns, solvents, or ctr,lclnne to be cleare.l s,r t.ha(
drey do not cotrre ur contact.'vitl-r the metlbranes
Vesse/Prcparultott
Clean the rnside of the vesselsbefore loadrng, This u.rll temove any dust and debns
that could collect on the membrane surFace. Hosrng down the rnsides oI dre vessels
usually will not be sufEcient to clean the vessels Use o[ a sponge ball wrapped tn a
towel and soaked rn t 50o/osolution of glycedn and water s ttlghly recommended,
The sponge ball can be pLrlledtluough the vesselwidr a piece oI rope. Altemanvely,
rhe sponge ball can be pushed duough the lengdr of the nrbe wrth a piece o[2illch
P\rC prpe with a PVC flange attached to the end, Be sure to avoid scrapmg the ptpe
along the vesselsutface.
J r]ra{e
out of dlrect sudlght. Do
II elements c:rrutot be loac]edupon dekvery, store eler.-.ents
fteeze
not allow the eiements to
RO
A{ONITORING
TROUBLESHOOTING
ft
I tt0rzcnnts
.
\\'hen lcradmgelernent_s
into a sysrern.do NO-f use orJ.grease,or petroleum
cornpourds to lubncateo no-qsand bnne seals
1ell1'based
J D/mn//n3
Due to inconsist-enctes ur vessel lengt[ it rs lughly reconrrnended to shirn elements to
'ftus
take Lrp ftee space ro the vessel
helps to prevent elements from mormg u'hen
the slstenr is sirut dou'n ard restarted The appearance oFlsrks betu'een elements s
also mrrumrzed n,hcn dre eletnents are shi-rnmed
To shim, stmply place P\rC "wa-shers" oIr,ar]nng *rickrress (1 /8"
feed side tnboard adapter. Add as many shims as oecessarl, until dre end plate fits
sntrgly aga]nst the shrrms [[ necessary a shirn ma1' lte removed
drfficrrlt to reinstall
A gap of 1,/4 tnch beftr.een dre end plate end the shrms ir.rll not
/ 5'hintnttng
V'es.rr:
() Procer/urc
-l
Note:
Before begnmrrg dre shrm procedure, ensure that the spacer nrbe (calledalso
the thnrst nng) is in place on the reject or downstream end oI the r.'essel.
Remove dre end plate on the feed end o[ the pressure 'r'essel.
Push elements fimrly rnto the l'essel,and ensure that there ts no free
spacebetween elements,
Place an rnboard corurector on dre lead clemenc
RO
|rIONTTORING
TROUBLESHOOTING
to Il4"
Place the sfums b-vtrnl and ertor method over the adaptet and then
replace the endplate Stims should be added unol the endplate ""dl
not 6t enurely ur place Then remove a shim so that the total
thicknessoIthe shims rs ,ust enough to allorv the endplateto 6.tRepeat this procedure for all vessels.
RO
MONITORIHG
&
TROUALESHOOTING
over tirne, composite q,pe membraoes 2re storecl tn 1 2o.iosoc{ium bisulfite and 510% propylcne glycoI solutron.
to reducc
tirne o[ 24 houts is recornmended
to below 50 ppb (assutning zero TL)C rn the feed $'ater)
flushrng
concentration
rrntauon
to the gastrointesnnal
the TOC
lngesuon
RO ,!'stem Start-up
[t is trnportant to be sure that the elements are loaded and shimmed correcdl' t6
remove any excess slack drat may cause disconnects. A [ou' pressure flush to
purge atr ftom the tnenrbranes is alw'ays recommended befote a lugh ptessute
startup. This cari be accomplisheddrrough the use of a so[t start meclranisrn,or a
vaoable frequency' &ive. Failure to do thG can re-sultin a rr.'atetshock warie (water:
d-amageto dre RO membranes The permeate
hamrnet) that can cause pfr1,5i6al
RO
MORITORING
&
TROUBLESHOOTING
t<-,tire
salses sl-rouLdalu'a1'5 be open to ili:rrn dLr-nng tlrrs flush to pteveot demage
membranes
frt-ltn the s\rsletn the feed p r e s s u r e s h o u i d b e
Lncreasedgtadually up to the n.orkna Pressure of t.hc R(] uut
After
ttre ur
n '\ '
t'
t(U .) J'tt(/// J ilt z l r / , , t 1 ' l t
Bra,.brhf LI;asrt ll,'attr 51tte,r,
q'tth the feed ['ater at lon'tecoverl'
Upon slrutdorvn for brackistr systerrls, a flush
oI
.r.,rlrr.
urde open) is usuallv sufficrent to remo\re the hrgh cooceota[on
(tn_n.
dunng
drain
to
,"1t, fro,rr the naembtanes The pemreete valves should be ooen
tlus flustr to Pre\'ent darr-rageto the tlembranes
SeautaterSystems
is recomrnended
shutdorr",n for sexw2ter systems, a flus[r r.,.rthRo Penneate
The permeate
to rernove tl-re tugh concerrtratton o[ salts ftom the metnbranes
to.
damage
to
ftr'rsl-L
tlus
dunng
dr-ain
to
open
valves- should be
Prevent
-q't"
be
should
tnenrllranes
the
r-rrrar,'aileble,
tempotadly
ts
rnerntrr:rnes It RC) penneate
Thc
open)
rvide
brine
(u'rtir
rccor-eq'
1'alr''e
Feed at lou,
flushecl rvrrh Ro
:rs tt is avaiL'rble
me n'rbranes slrouLcl the rl Lre fluslred \t'1th l1O Perrneate Ts soor]
cotrcerlLr:rflo1)
luglr
r\ath
a
The seag,ater Ro sl,sterrl slrclulti ttrlt be lc[( un fluslred
I r 1 1 1 1( c) ( l t h e u r c n r [ l r l n c s u r t i c c
upon
PermeateVa/ueOperation
the petmeate
At no tiin-rcdur-rng operadon of a membrane element system should
Flushing'
pte-shutdown
up
ftushing,
valve(s) be closed TLus ncludes Pre-start
cleamng(s)and standatd operation
a
Closrng t]re permeate valve dunng aoy pbase oF operatroo causes Pressure
rrteparable
in
tesult
l-tkely
ri.'ilI
and
system
drfterenual actoss the tarl end o[ the
q,ill
inmedrate
cause
damage
damage to the glue l-ine,.of the terl element(s) This
tncreasetn sait passaeeoI the svstenl
RO
MONITORING
TROUBLESHOOTIHG
Perrneate ralr-e(s) rlun' be closed durLng shutdou,o after t]re s\,stem has
b e e n f l u s h e ca
i n d , r o rn ' h e r ri n p u t o I t h e t e e d u ' a t e r r s s t o p p e d [ n r r u a n yc a s e sf h i s
LS necess:rrr t() preveot an aerobrc enrkonme nt Ln the pressLIrer.es-sels_The
permexte ralse as u'ell as the concenlrate) should be fllly re opened prior to re
Lntroductng[eed rt'ater
Presencc
of Frze e h/onne
At
no
ture
f-lre
ox-rdative
effects of
Free Chlonne
are strongll,
cttalyzed. rn the
oItransition
metals
such
as
iron
and
manganese. [[transinon metals
Ptesence
are Present. lt ls tecotffnended
that there be NO Free Clrlonne ur dre feed n'ater.
RO
&
MONTTORING
TROUSLESHOOTIHG
RO SY$TEM MONITCIRING
I mportant Parameters_forMonitonng
The srx important parameters th-atneed tegular morutoring are given below.
7
-fbts
is the average pressufe gtop (or delta-P, as tt
NormalisedPresnre Drop:
is commonly called) in the Ro sysrem that is normaltzed to remove ettects
of feed u,ater fiow, actual recovery and temPefatuJe, Normalised pressute
&op calculatedbasedon the acrual plant performance has to be compared
to the same after comrnissiomng the plant to frrd out variations' [nctease
in the values indicates pluggmg of membraoe feed spacer u'ith susPended
solids or mrcroorganisms
RO
AIONITORING
&
TROUBLESHOOTING
<radon
pre-treaffnent
oburned
for.r
SDI Ln the
Eltratron or ultra
measunng SDI
il4ic,tortanismt..
contar''[rarlon
of the feed
as r[ goes unchecked, the bactenl *dl evenrrrally gtou,
membranes and q,ill cause foulng and associated problems.
watet is irnportant
tn the RO
Theteforc
the
the membranes-
Another
sLmple measllrement
the cont2minauon
[er'e[ that
rnight
lead to the
membrane
fouhng larer
Pnrure
Vere /
Thls
involves
measurement
of
penneate
each pressrrrc r.essel q.'[-rrchis the cornbined average
-flus
conductir.ttl
from ali membrancs rn the pressure vcssel
data
indicates integnty oI dre pressLue vessel internals such as venous
conductivit)'
Prof/ing
from
ReguJar profilrng
the internals
so that il
helps morutor
case of a problem
51
and
RO
&
MONITORING
TROUBLESHOOTING
RCI $Y$TEM
TR.OUBLE$HOOTI NG
t r
,'
I 1.
rn fced
Dmp tn PerzneateF/our. Pcnneate flou, cao reduce dtre to lrlcfe2Lsc
,t1t.ity, teducdo' r' Feed water temPerafute, mimbraue tompacti'on
*"L,
and aiso because o[ mernbrans [6rrling and scaling.
se
to tnct
Dnp in sa/t l\ejectton- Ivlembrane salt reiecuon catt teduce due
tnembtanc
rn feed watet saliniry & feed wztet temPerature;
also because of membrane Foulng, scaLng and o-ring leakage
tn
Increasein PressureDrop: The pfessure drop can increase due to increase
and
feed water flsq,, leduced recovery; teduced feed watet temperature
scaling'
and
fouhng
by
fouling of membrane feed sPacers
srmultaneously'
[n most sinlafions mote tharr one Petfoffnance change can occur
sLmultaneously
For example, drop rn permeate [iow and tn salt reiection can occur
rn such
Ttoubleslrootrng
causesi"s,-rli of one cause of muluple
This can L"
". "
and other cases requ.ires three steps as belou'.
RO
frIONITORING
TROUBLESHOOTTNG
I/L'C,
t t'0an/(sn00rz//gJ rpt
Tbe uoubleshooung acuvlues can be gtouped io tluee steps
1
[dent6, the Caur. Ttre lrst step ls to rdefinlr. the cause o[ drc problern
-flu-s
requrres that the plant perfonnance dirta rs snrdred based on rlre log
sheets A treod rn the behavior o[ the performance parameters can be.
found ouL fmportant aspectsate v,'hether the prolrlem occurred suddeoll,
or gtadually Acrual measuremeotsoI the plant perfonnance, SDI, r.essel
proELrng is also requued, In case of permeate qualiq,- problems, r[ the
vessel proELng d-ata shows one or more vessels wrth abnormally [r4;h
penneate cooductrEues, and deen rhe cause of hlgh conductrr'rry rs
idenufred by vesselprobing
Ptobrng involves rnserting a small plastrc tubrng tnstde the permeate rubes
o[ the dembraaes aod measururg the pernleate cooducttrnry cirange ftorn
the fust to the last tnembrane rn the vessel. Refer to Appendl-x B for a
detaried procedure for probrng oI vessels
Dependrng upon whether pertneate is clrarvn ftom the Feedor the reject
stde of the vessel a pro6ie of the perfireate conduccir.iq' G obteined tr a
nonnal vessel u'ith no appatent problems In case bf o-nng leak a sudden
lrlcreaseln the Permeateconductr\,'1tyat that p()rnt ts obserr.ed In case oI
tnenrbrane darlage dre condr-rcrtrnti'will rcfiraur lrrgl-rovcr a longer length
o f t h c t ' e s s e li n s t e a do I a s u r g l ep o [ ] t , B c r c 2 u s e
t h e u r c a s u r c dv a l u e so f t h e
conducuvlty
are
a
mcmbranes in a vessel
that
of
ble
nd
of
sevetal
Pcmreate
(except the fust rcadrng), one has to consider the rndn'rduai penrreate
conductivities and penneate flows while rrakrng conclusions &om the
probing observatrons
Study of normalised performance of the plant plal's ao irrrportant role rfl
idennfyurg problems. Normaltsauon calculations are mosdy rn-burlt rn the
large systems and provide fot gtaphing the results that make it easier to
draq, conclusions
ln some tare cases,if the problem cause can not be identrfied then a
nlembtane autopsy is performed Ln whrch one membrane elenrent is cut
open aod the foulant present ts analysed. Observadons oI the membtane
feed spacer, membrane shect and the nature o[ deposits ^re also
tmDortant
Take CornctiuefuIeailrer Once the problenr cause rs idennfied then the next
step ts to take correcdve steps to restore the plant perforrnance These
tneaslrres rnav rnclude correctiflg the pre tfeatment replacrng o-nngs.
RO
MOHTTORING
&
TROUALESHOOTIHG
impro.,-emeot., obtamed
'luke
level
RO
MOHITORING
&
TROUBLESI{OOTITIG
&ppemdFN&
Ikferences
1
-fo
Desgmng Secondarl'T'reatedCtw
S Chrlekar. A Nerv Approach
SewageReclanrationPlants For Industrral Process356, p1'6rything
About Water (.trJay'june2043) 22-30
RO
MONITORING
TROUALESHOOTING
Appeffidix ffi
(
/, I\,,,'^,t-, |..t.^.tCDll
1)
t
,
\t
I ' / ' n ( t ' , l l / t il' r l t ' , \ I ( , t . t / t l l l / . 1 . \ 1 / iI t ( l / s l n ' I t 7 0 i - \ '( J , '
-fhe
Ipt
(Ji
t
2
u."
I' 'Il n
Adlirst the pressur-e tegularor ro -10 PSI \vrth a Elter pad mstalled
Llse a fresl'r 6-lter for L[re actrral test
For be-strestrlts.
.
.
Avoid touclring
dre [ltet
u'Lth furgers
that rnay be held
tt
TestPr'ocedure
1
Take the temperatufe oF the feed water The temPefatute should not
\raryrnore tlLan * 1 "C betu'een the stert and end o[dre tesc
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MONITORING
TROUALESHOOf
ING
Open dre ba-[ r.alve [illl;-, and oreasuret]re ume requred to collecr
100 ml aad 500 ml' from the ume the ball valve rs opeoed, Record
these trmes, leavrng the valve open and letung the flow cooolue
Measwe the n'ater temperatufe agarrrto enstrre that it drd not vary bt
more thao 1 oC from the iruual temperahre,
e a/cu/attons
P,u
SDI -
=
T,
100*
T,
rJ'
RO
MONITORIHG
&
TROUBLESHOOTING
BallValve
or 1st Stage
Regulator
Pressure
Regulator
30 psi
P r e s s u r eG a u g e
Bleed
nng
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RO
MONITORIHG
&
TROUBLESHOOTING
AppeetdExC
Proredtrre
Prubinp
/ot' Ptvssurcf.,'eise/
lt-rs appendu prorndes genetal instructloos [or probrrrg a pressure sessel conLainng
revetse osmosls-membtane elements- Probrng a pressure vessel allorvs you to
determrnet'here there ts a problem rn a partrcularvessel. The problem may be eidrer
a pborly petfonnrng tnembrane element, an O-nng leak at an inter-conoector or end
adaptet. or possibll' even a cracked adapter- Ptotrrng coosists oI rnserung semr-ogrd
tuburg rnto the pefineate ctramel o[ the ptessure vessel and measunqg the tr.ater
q""liq' at drfferent areasalong the length oI the presswe vessel
, t-
('
, f r,
"
I esl L:qatpme//r
Jer up
-1
Comect
a 1 l/4"
du'eaded
-fee
llenrove the rnetal collrr and O ung frotn the Fast & Tite Etttlg
z
C)btrur 2 plcce of
l/4"
nylon trrbu-rg 1he ruburg should be several feet looger dran d-re lcngdr of dre
r'essel
Usurg a perrnaneot nrarkeq m'rk the total lengdr of rubrng necded to
place the end of the tubing at the pont where the farthest element corurects
to the adapter. Therq mark the t rbufg in 20" increments ftom this pornr
\
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RO
MONITORING
TROUBLESHOOTING
Feed
+".
Test Proccdurc
1
Close thc lrall t'elvc ou the pr,rbing Eto.ng:; Surrt t]re.Il-( ) svstenr
AFtcr rhc s\'-stclrthas t'rut for 15 tninutes, ttlseft thc ttrbmg tnkr thc [r:rst &
.l-ite
frttrng.r'lrrlc: openirlg u[] thc ball r-alvc P'-r-shtlrc ti.rbing tu rrrtdl dre
"totrrl lcrrqtlr" trutrlt t.srcached
After 1 rutnute, melrsurethe conductir-r$'o[ t]re n'ater cotrutlg out 'rF t]re
tubrng Recheck several tillcs to rnake sute tl-Lcvalue is t-onstant- Record
the conducdvi$' arld note dre locatlon-
Pull the tubrng out 20" usrng ]rour black nrarks as a gurde' walt 1 tnore
rninrrte, and repeat the measutement procedute. You may sltghtly close the
ball r,alve to Lrold the tubrng r-n place. This is espeoally requred if there is a
0-.-g leak urside the vessel. \X&en the end of the t"btog comes out of the
-\resselrclose the ball valve, and continue to the next vessel
Ctrart the value o[ the peuneate conducdr.ity over the lerylh o[ the vessel. A
steadl. trend should be obsen'ed as a functioo of posiu-on'
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MONITORIHG
&
TROUSLESHOOTIN.G