The cleaning decision looks not at the calendar but at three measurements: differential pressure, permeate conductivity and production flow. The threshold values, and what to do after a long shutdown.
A CIP (cleaning-in-place) wash is not a maintenance routine, it is an intervention. Before cleaning you have to establish what has happened to the membrane; the chemical to be used depends directly on the cause of the fouling.
The wrong chemical not only fails to remove the fouling, it can do permanent damage to the membrane surface.
When any one of the values below is observed, cleaning should be carried out without delay.
Yes. Even with no symptoms, cleaning every 4–6 months is recommended; if you wait until the build-up shows itself, it becomes harder to remove.
Cleaning is also mandatory after any shutdown longer than 48 hours. In an idle system biological growth on the membrane surface accelerates; on return to production an uncleaned membrane can foul permanently within the first hours.
Acidic cleaning chemicals are used for scale and silica precipitation, alkaline ones for organic and biological fouling. In some cases two stages are needed one after the other.
To make the right choice we look at the system’s historical data and the raw water analysis; a clean carried out on guesswork puts the most expensive consumable at risk.
Membrane replacement is decided by data, not by the calendar. The five indicators we look at in the field and what each of them means.
View →If hardness appears early at the softener outlet, the problem usually lies not in the resin itself but in the water reaching it and in the regeneration settings.
View →In cooling water it is usually unnecessary to filter the full flow. The points that decide between side-stream and full-stream filtration.
View →Membranes are delicate structures and the cause of fouling is not always the same. The fouling we see in the field falls into three main groups; the remedy changes with that distinction.
View →Read flow and conductivity together and they point to the source of the damage with surprising clarity. Three typical patterns and the problem each one indicates.
View →Silica is one of the most dangerous minerals for a membrane and it occurs in water in two different forms. The precaution differs for each.
View →An antiscalant is chosen from an analysis, not from a catalogue. The two decisive parameters, and why the projection calculation must not be skipped.
View →The short answer: yes, and irreversibly. Membranes have a low tolerance to chlorine and the damage cannot be undone by cleaning.
View →Activated carbon and SMBS dosing are the two ways of neutralising free chlorine ahead of a membrane. When to prefer which.
View →Let us size the system together; we will survey the site in person if needed.
