Membrane Forensics and Troubleshooting Membrane Facilities

Paper presents an overview of RO and NF membrane processes and fouling, describing biofouling, how to apply forensic methods, including membrane autopsy methods to determine the extent of fouling, as well as how to design and operate plants to avoid fouling. Analytical method applied include loss on ignitian, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), targeted energy dispersive x-ray (T-EDXA), chemical cleaning, operational parameters to monitor (such as pressure drop and normalize permeate flow and recovery).