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Chemical cleaning of reverse osmosis membrane fouled by sugar solution
Author(s) -
Madaeni S. S.,
Sasanihoma A.,
Zereshki S.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
asia‐pacific journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.348
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1932-2143
pISSN - 1932-2135
DOI - 10.1002/apj.387
Subject(s) - cleaning agent , membrane , chemistry , fouling , reverse osmosis , membrane fouling , chromatography , acetic acid , ammonium bromide , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , pulmonary surfactant , biochemistry , engineering
Membrane 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 HNO 3 ), bases (NH 3 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. NH 3 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.