Chemical cleaning of reverse osmosis membrane fouled by sugar solution

Abstract

AbstractMembrane fouling is a complex phenomenon and typically results from several reasons. Chemical cleaning is a strategy for regeneration of the fouled membranes. In this work, BW30 reverse osmosis membranes were fouled with sugar solution. The effect of different cleaning agents on the revival of the fouled membrane was studied. The role of chemical and physical interactions on chemical cleaning of organic‐fouled RO membranes using a wide variety of cleaning agents including acids (HCl and HNO3), bases (NH3 and NaOH), complexing agents [ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA)], surfactants [cetyle three methyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)], and water have been systematically investigated. Resistance removal (RR) and flux recovery (FR) were used for demonstration of the cleaning efficiency. Membrane fouling is customarily indicated and measured by permeate decline at constant operating conditions. It has been shown that the cleaning efficiency changes with increasing the concentration of the cleaning agent. NH3 was the best cleaning agent for removing sucrose from membrane surface. EDTA and SDS were quite effective in reacting with organic foulants in the fouling layer. Moreover, pure water was used as cleaning agent with acceptable results. Water is safe, cheap, and broadly available in most plants and could be considered as a good recommendation. Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.