Abstract
The low concentrations of heavy metals in seawater are very often ignored as potential foulants for RO membranes in seawater desalination. Cumulative deposition of such metals may result, which is difficult to remove by conventional cleaning techniques. Destructive tests on hollow fibre membranes, followed by a mass balance exercise during routine operation of the Ghar Lapsi seawater RO plant in Malta, revealed the existence of trace metal depositions. The metals iron, copper, zinc, chromium, lead and vanadium were detected on these membranes. Dilute mineral acids were found to be the only effective cleaning agents in ‘in vitro’ experiments. A more efficient pre-treatment and cleaning technique must therefore be investigated to control these deposits.
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