Full Description

In the practical operation of MF/UF processes, membrane integrity is critical to assure theconsistent production of high-quality finished water. However, there is currently a lack ofavailability of detailed assessment knowledge bases and selection methodologies forrecommended integrity monitoring methods, especially those derived from full-scale testing.Previous work in this area has focused mostly at pilot scale assessment. While this providesuseful information, there is a critical need to perform and present a more detailed, realistic, andsystematic assessment of integrity monitoring methods derived from full scale testing. Full-scaletesting is essential to capture the realistic dilution effects that are not available through pilottesting. This project focused on assessment of existing and improved integrity monitoring methods forMF/UF processes from full-scale testing. Testing of several direct and indirect monitoringmethods was performed at six membrane plants. Fourof the participating plants are located in the U.S., while the remaining two are locatedinternationally. These plants range in capacity from about 7 to 24 mgd and represent a range ofdesign and operational parameters characterizing available MF/UF systems. Full-scale microbialchallenge testing with Bacillus subtilis spores was also included at two MF/UF plants to validatethe monitoring methods. The testing was performed at one full-scale membrane rack at eachplant. Experiments were performed with integral and artificially compromised membranes tomonitor, analyze, and compare integrity monitoring signals at various levels of breach. Indirect monitoring methods tested includeparticle counting, particle monitoring, turbidity monitoring, laser turbidity monitoring, multisensorlaser turbidity monitoring, and a "particle amplifier" approach. Includes 5 references, tables, figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 11/02/2003 Number of Pages: 10File Size: 1 file , 260 KB