Esmil, a specialised provider of membrane treatment systems for the challenging waste water, often encounters unforeseen adverse conditions in their plants. Changes in feed characteristics due to upstream process upsets, feed contamination, or pre-treatment failure can lead to reduced performance, capacity drops, or damage to membrane elements.
Esmil’s specialized team is equipped to carry out on-site membrane autopsies for quick assessment of fouling nature, identifying chemical attacks, particulate blockages, or scale formation.
An autopsy is a valuable tool to determine the causes of fouling, how to prevent it, and how to enhance membrane life and performance. Further analysis can determine if the fouling is irreversible and if a suitable cleaning regime can restore membrane performance.
Starting with a physical inspection, our team checks for damage to components such as the brine seal, outer wrapping, permeate tube, and feed spacer blockage, followed by assessing chemical attacks on the membrane material.
In this instance, Esmil discovered fine solids fouling the membrane due to UF flush wastewater ingressing into the RO membrane system feed tank via an overflow line, caused by excess back pressure in an undersized common drain header. Necessary modifications were made to resolve the issue.
