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Membrane Integrity Monitoring with Distributed Laser Turbidimetry
Author(s) -
Carr Mary C.,
Carlson Kenneth H.,
Sadar Michael
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.2003.tb10389.x
Subject(s) - turbidimetry , membrane , laser , particle (ecology) , particle size , raw water , phase (matter) , chemistry , materials science , chromatography , analytical chemistry (journal) , environmental science , optics , environmental engineering , geology , biochemistry , physics , oceanography , organic chemistry
The objective of this study was to determine whether distributed laser light‐scattering turbidimetry is a viable approach for monitoring membrane integrity. The study consisted of two phases. Phase 1 measured the sensitivity and minimum detection levels of four monitoring instruments. Phase 2 determined the minimum breach size (and corresponding log removal) required for detecting a change in water quality for each instrument. The water quality used in phase 1 was controlled using quantifiable particle count addition with 0.026‐, 1.0‐ and 5.0‐μm fluorescing microspheres. Membrane integrity monitoring was studied in phase 2 by feeding an increasingly breached membrane with either raw water or water pretreated by coagulation/settling and either known concentrations of 5.0‐μm microspheres or powdered activated carbon (PAC). The results indicate that distributing existing technology sensors throughout a membrane rack may provide greater benefits than working to increase the sensitivity of a single detector. Also, laser light source turbidimeters are more sensitive than white light source turbidimeters or particle counters when raw or PAC‐amended water is considered.