Full Description

Low pressure membrane filtration, such as microfiltration(MF) and ultrafiltration (UF), are at a critical stage in their development. The watertreatment community needs the dispersed knowledge on these processes consolidated into asource that can be readily used as a reference to support the transition of membrane technologyto large-scale applications (greater than 100 MGD). In addition, water systems consideringsmaller applications need a single, reliable and usable source of information on existingmembrane installations to support informed decisions on the suitability of membranes for them.The membrane knowledge base developed through the project founded by the American WaterWorks Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF) will provide the drinking water communitywith a knowledge base of the installedMF/UF plants that are greater than 1 MGD. Another key component of the project is to generatean updated database of all installed MF/UF plants worldwide regardless of plant capacity. Thedatabase would list basic information of these installations, which includes the geographiclocation of the plant, the plant production startup date, the design of hydraulic capacity, the type ofmembrane, the manufacturer of the employed membrane, the membrane model, and the sourceof raw water to the membrane plant. Membrane vendors were contacted to provide the list oftheir existing installations of MF/UF water treatment plants and the future plants that havecontracts granted.The project consists of two phases. In the first phase, a literature search and a comprehensivesurvey were conducted to capture the existing knowledge of full-scale MF/UF installationsworldwide. In the second phase, the captured information was consolidated into a knowledgebase and validated through follow-up phone calls and emails for questionable or additionalinformation.The data intensive nature of this project calls for an approach to allow easyand quick access to all information by the project team. Hence, during the first phase, the projectteam developed a user-friendly interactive project web site to facilitate survey completion. TheMembrane Knowledge Base web site also includes a searchable database of literature. Theliterature database includes abstracts of literature related to full-scale use of low pressuremembranes for drinking water treatment. Pilot-scale studies having applicable information arealso included. As of August 15, 2003, over 130 literature references have been included in theliterature search database. A comprehensive questionnaire was developed to gather a wealth ofinformation from membrane plants participating in the survey. Input from utility representatives,regulators, academics and consultants were used in developing the survey, to ensure it meets theneeds of the entire membrane user community. Includes figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 11/02/2003 Number of Pages: 5File Size: 1 file , 290 KB