How To Clean Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membranes

12 Dec.,2023

Learn everything you've ever wanted to know about cleaning RO membranes here from the industrial water treatment experts at Complete Water Solutions!

 

Successful membrane cleaning relies on both the effectiveness of the cleaning compounds, their professional application and the design and operation of the cleaning equipment. For the best results, RO membrane cleaning should be performed with both high and low pH cleaning chemicals.

High pH RO Water Purifier Cleaning

The high pH Cleaning is performed in order to remove biological or organic foulants, both of which contain carboxylic functional groups. Weak acids will gain an anionic charge at the high pH allowing them to disperse. High pH cleaning chemicals chelate the calcium that bridges foulants and biofilms to each other and to the membrane surface. Commodities such as NaOH are only mildly effective because of their inability to remove the calcium bridging.

Low pH RO Water Purifier Cleaning

In some cases a low pH cleaning may be the better option prior to a high pH cleaning. However organic foulants can lose their anionic charge if a low pH cleaning is performed first and can end up being compacted into the membrane. To find out which option is best for your system Complete Water Solutions can evaluate your system, including performing a foulant analysis.

Perform RO Membrane Cleaning In Stages

Membrane cleaning results are best reached if each stage is cleaned individually. This will allow for the maximum flow velocity during cleaning. If both stages of a system with a 2:1 array are cleaned simultaneously, each pressure vessel in the second stage will receive twice the flow velocity as the first stage. This would in turn cause membrane telescoping in the second stage if the first stage elements are cleaned at optimal flow velocity. Alternately, by basing the flow velocity on the second stage, the first stage membranes would not receive sufficient surface scouring.

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