Critical Issues When Building New

Membrane Plants or Upgrading Existing

Plants
Membrane Technology Forum
Erik Hanson
June 2016
Imagination at work.

Performance, Energy, and Robustness

are Critical Factors in Membrane Plants

Performance
Rejection of the element
(salt, sugar, other)
Flow per element
Selective Salt Separation

Energy
Trade-off between
rejection and
energy
Micro
Contaminants and
energy impact from
RO to NF

Robustness/
Cleanibility
pH range for cleaning
Temperature range
Sanitary membrane
cut-backs
Osmotic blistering

Flow, Rejection, and Selective Salt

Separation are Critical Performance
Parameters
100.0
AD, 5, 99.7
AG, 9, 99.5

99.5
Rejection, %

Flow and Rejection Specifications

Found in all element fact sheets
Usually includes test parameters (i.e.
1000 mg/l NaCL @ 225 psi @ 25 deg C)
Test conditions meant to be
representative of element in a common
application

99.0
98.5
AK, 20,
98.0
AP, 30,
98.0

98.0
97.5
97.0
0

10

20
30
Flow, A-Value

40

Flow versus Rejection Curve

Flow (measured as flux) known as AValue*
Rejection known as B-Value*
Flow and Rejection in inverse proportion
Plots of Flow vs Rejection performance and
the trade-off between the two

Rejection, %

A-Series Industrial RO

110.0
100.0
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0

Selective
Salt
Separation

DK, 20,
99.8

DK,NaCl,
20, 60.0
0

10

DL, 30,
99.5
DL,NaCl,
30, 40.0

20
30
Flow, A-Value

D-Series Sanitary NF
* Appendix shows detailed formulas

40

Salt Rejection Occurs Due to Donnan

Exclusion in addition to Solution Diffusion
Donnan Exclusion Theory
Membranes that are more negatively charged
will result in a higher Donnan potential and have
higher overall salt rejection due to higher
repulsion of anions in bulk solution.

1000 mg/L <Greatest Effect < 3000 mg/L

Negatively charged groups on membrane

surface inhibit passage of anions into
membrane.
Polyvalent anions (SO4-2) are strongly rejected
carrying along their cation (Na+)
Polyvalent cations with univalent anions (Cl-)
are poorly rejected.
Reference: J.M.M. Peters et al./ Journal of membrane Science 145 (1998) 199209

Energy Savings available when exact

rejection requirements are understood

Higher fluxing elements require

lower pressure but have lower
rejection

AD

Rejection

Flow and Rejection Trade-Offs

Highest Salt Rejection corresponds
to lowest flux more pressure
required

Lowest Flow
Highest Rejection
AG
AK
AP

Flow

Who Uses Low Energy

Elements?
Beverage Producers
Municipalities
Ingredient Manufacturers

Highest
Flow
Lowest
Rejection

Microcontaminants are becoming an area

of concern in make-up water
What are Microcontaminants?

Molecular impurities in water such as herbicides,

pesticides, medicines and artificial sweeteners that are
not naturally occurring.

Many are removed by primary and secondary waste

water treatment methods to non-detect (ND) levels.

The list to the right shows some representative

contaminants not easily removed to non-detect (ND)
levels through primary and secondary treatment.

Do Membranes Reject Microcontaminants?

GE membrane elements have been tested and

independent labs have evaluated their removal
efficiencies for common microcontaminants.

Samples were obtained from three municipal WWT

sites that use primary treatment followed by secondary
(MBR) treatment. The MBR effluent was fed to RO
and NF membranes.

RO and NF testing was done with flat sheet membrane

in a dead-end stir-cell.

RO rejected most microcontaminants at >99%, while

NF rejected in the 60-99% range.

Molecular weight is typically a good predictor of NF or

RO rejection performance, but additional molecular
attributes such as shape, polarity, and charge can also
affect membrane rejection efficiency

RO MWCO ~ 100 - 150

NF MWCO ~ 125 - 250

1 ppm = 1 million
ng/l
Contaminant

Description

Acetaminophen
Theophylline
DEET
Caffeine
Acesulfame-K
Simazine
Meprobamate
Primidone
2,4-D
Lidocaine
Carbamazepine
Albuterol
TCEP/TCPP
Cimetidine
Dilantin
Sulfamethoxazole
Lopressor
Triclosan
Trimethoprim
Fluoxetine
Amoxicillin
Sucralose
Diltiazem
Azithromycin

Fever reducer
Asthma
Pesticide
Stimulant
Sweetener
Herbicide
Stimulant
Anti-seizure
Herbicide
Local anisthetic
Anti-seizure
Asthma
Flame retardant
Heartburn
Anti-seizure
Antibiotic
Beta blocker
Anti-fungal
Anti-bacterial
Anti-depression
Antibiotic
Sweetener
Blood Pressure
Antibiotic

Molecular
NF (% rej.) RO (% rej.)
Weight
151
ND
ND
180
ND
ND
191
85
ND
194
70
ND
201
71
ND
202
75
ND
218
98
ND
218
ND
ND
221
85
ND
234
ND
ND
236
93
ND
239
ND
ND
250
57
95
252
80
ND
252
ND
ND
253
88
ND
267
ND
ND
290
13
ND
290
ND
ND
309
80
ND
365
ND
ND
398
99
99
415
ND
ND
749
92
99

Molecular Structure of
Azithromycin

Sources of Common
Microcontaminants

Molecular Structure of
Acetaminophen

Robust and Cleanable Elements result in

longer and more stable operation
Wide Range of pH Stability
Typical industrial elements allow
cleaning from 2 to 11 pH
Elements designed for food applications
often have a broader pH range
Differences in pH ranges come from
material choices such as backing,
adhesives, permeate carrier, central tube

pH Stable Elements

High Temperature Construction

High temp sanitizations (70-90 C)
control microbiologicals and organics
More applications today running normal
operations at elevated temp (50-70 C)
Material choices used in the element are
critical as in list above
Wagner Diagram for
High Temp Operation

Sanitary Element Construction Prevents

Biological and Organic Contamination
Membrane Cut-Back in Manufacturing
Removing unused membrane beyond glue
lines
Helps to control product contamination
USDA No. 45-02 Section D3:2 states: Cut
surfaces completely within glue area.
Reducing Potential for Osmotic
Blistering
Higher solids; more frequent CIPs; and
extreme applications all can create
conditions for osmotic blisters
USDA Plant Inspection Guidelines,
Section M-11, states: The glue lines
shall be smooth, with no blistering.
tall order.
Permeate carrier
Working to minimize and/or eliminate
thru selection of membrane materials,
various polymers, and advanced
USDA 3-A Sanitary Standards for Crossflow
adhesives

Membrane Modules No. 45-02 Regulates these

Products

Performance, Energy, and Robustness

are Critical Factors in Membrane Plants
Build your membrane plant based on the right
parameters for flow rates and salt separations
Optimize your capacity
Ensure your product quality

Consider Energy in your membrane plant design

Understand performance needs and dont overdesign
Look out for future microcontaminant considerations

A Robust designed membrane plant results in longer

and more stable operation
Selectively utilize elements with broad pH stability or
high temperature construction
Choose sanitary elements to address biological and
organic contamination

Thank You

Appendix: Flux and Rejection Formulas

Flux and Rejection
Flux (volume per unit membrane area per time) is related to Avalue
Rejection is related to B-value:
o Qw = A x NDP (Water flux = A-value x net driving pressure)
o Qs = B x [Cf Cp] (Salt flux = B-value x salt concentration gradient across the
membrane)

Rej = [Cf Cp] / Cf

Passage = 1 - Rej

Cf = feed conc; Cp = permeate conc)

A & B Values
A-value is the pressure-normalized velocity at which water flows
through the membrane. Units are cm/sec-atmosphere x 10-5
B-value is the velocity at which salt flows through the
membrane. Units are cm/sec x 10-5