A New Fast-Acting pH Cleaner Paves the Way for a New Cleaning Philosophy for Integrated Membranes

ABSTRACT
For many years microfiltration /ultrafiltration (MF/UF) has been replacing multimedia filtration (MMF) as a seawater reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration (NF) pretreatment system. Initially the systems were treated as individual unit operations and optimized as such. However, the similarity in the flux maintenance requirements of the particle removal membranes and the desalination membranes led system designers and the authors to consider a more integrated operating philosophy with the aim of cutting capital and operating costs.