When fouling or scaling is found and its effects become clear, the only option for regaining Commercial RO Plant capacity is RO membrane cleaning.
The best course of action is to eliminate one membrane and identify the underlying cause, when membrane breakdown is severe or occurs quickly. Any RO system whether Industrial or commercial will eventually need to clean its reverse osmosis membranes, and this procedure should also be covered in the RO scheduled maintenance protocol.
The foulant/scalant must be recognized before choosing the optimum cleaning method for reverse osmosis membranes. The membranes will then be linked to the cleaning station, which will operate for at least an hour.
Why does a commercial RO Plant needs cleaning?
1: The first step in repairing a failed Commercial RO system's performance, is cleaning the reverse osmosis membrane. Every reverse osmosis facility will ultimately experience membrane performance degradation, as a result of one or more fouling situations.
2: As a result, the salt channel widens, the permeate flow decreases, and the operating pressure increases. At this point, it's crucial to clean the Commercial RO Plants’ membranes, improve operating efficiency, and bring all operational parameters closer to their design values.
3: In addition to fouling and poor membrane performance, it is necessary to clean the RO membrane before any medium or long-term shutdown, or as part of the periodic maintenance schedule, which is typically every three to six months.
4: Since, Commercial RO Plants’ membranes make up a sizeable portion of the overall reverse osmosis investment, safeguarding the membranes from physical and chemical deterioration should be a maintenance priority. Moreover, initial system design should incorporate strategies to facilitate cleaning.
5: The membranes must be cleared before they get seriously blocked. Chemical effectiveness is compromised when membranes are extensively damaged, since there is little chemical penetration into the foulant.
How to clean a commercial reverse osmosis system?
Common barriers to RO membrane productivity include:
· Calcium carbonate or sulphate scales;
· Silica scales;
· Fouling from iron, manganese, or aluminium;
· Bacterial expansion;
· Colloid fouling.
Chemicals can be utilized to achieve the optimum cleaning, when membrane degradation cannot be attributed to a single source, but is caused by a combination of them.
Using pH to clean RO membranes
Depending on the nature of the issue, RO membranes should be cleaned at a low pH, high pH, or a combination of both. It is necessary to combine acid and caustic solutions separately.
pH type |
Chemical used |
---|---|
Low (Acid) |
Hydrochloric Acid (20%) |
High (Caustic) |
Sodium Hydroxide (10%) |
Cleaning process for RO Membranes
The following are the fundamental techniques for cleaning Commercial RO Plants’ membrane:
1. Activate the concentration valve.
2. If at all possible, flush the system with permeate water.
3. Connect the membrane feed intake of the recirculation pump, to the membrane feed inlet.
4. Join the permeate and concentrate outlets of the chemical tanks.
5. For an hour, recirculate the cleaning solution while keeping an eye on the pH.
6. Thoroughly rinse the membrane, ideally with permeate water to get rid of any chemical leftovers.
7. If more than one cleaning agent is required, repeat the cycle.
How can we assist?
Netsol Water is the best manufacturer of commercial RO Plants in India, and we understand that commercial RO Plants need time to time cleaning, therefore, we provide after-sale services to maintain your commercial RO Plants.
For further inquiry, or product-purchase-related questions, give us a call on +91-9650608473 or email at enquiry@netsolwater.com