Title

Canary In A Membrane Plant: A Sentinel Against Membrane Scaling

Abstract

A two-element membrane pressure vessel was installed as a "canary" unit on a full-scale reverse osmosis (RO) membrane process to monitor scale formation while changes in the plant's pretreatment processes were implemented. Sulfuric acid pretreatment ahead of an RO process was to be progressively reduced and discontinued per the findings of a pilot study. To safeguard the full-scale membrane process against unforeseen failure resulting from scaling when sulfuric acid was eliminated from the RO feedwater, the canary unit was introduced. Concentrate from the second stage of the RO process train served as the feed stream to the canary unit, thereby allowing the unit to provide an earlier indication of scaling in lieu of scaling the full-scale RO process. The canary unit was intended to act as an early warning to operators who could intervene to protect the RO plant from unforeseen loss of membrane productivity resulting from scaling.

Publication Date

2-1-2014

Publication Title

Journal - American Water Works Association

Volume

106

Issue

2

Number of Pages

39-40

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.5942/jawwa.2014.106.0004

Socpus ID

84893817901 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84893817901

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