RO Membrane Cleaning - Membranes lie at the heart of any reverse opsmiosis system, it is therefore essential that the membranes are maintained in a good clean condition and this should be considered to be an important part of any reverse osmosis maintenance program. Effective cleaning usually requires some knowledge of the type of foulant and the cleaning options available.

Membrane fouling

Foulants on the RO membrane surface can cause flux loss (permeate flow), an increase in differential pressure, higher product water conductivity, a need for increased feed pressure to maintain output or a combination of these effects.

When to clean an RO membrane?

It is essential to clean RO membranes at an early stage of fouling. It is often difficult to clean excessively fouled membranes and irreversible damage may occur during the cleaning process. Cleaning with a suitable ROC membrane cleaner is strongly recommended when one or more of the following parameters change by 10 – 15%, after data normalization: 

• An increase in product water conductivity or salt passage.
• An increase in pressure drop across the plant.
• An increase in feed pressure.
• A decrease in normalized permeate flow (NPF) output or flux.

If any of the above performance parameters deteriorates by more than 30%, it may be impossible to recover plant performance by routine cleaning practices using a suitable ROC membrane cleaner.

Technical support and advice

Reverse Osmosis Chemicals International work closely with a diverse range of global organisations, intelligently combining advanced treatment technologies with practical solutions to resolve complex issues. If you have a project you would like to discuss, or you require technical support and assistance; or if you simply have a question about our reverse osmosis technology solutions please contact one of our specialist advisors using our Technical Support page or call us on +44 (0) 330 223 31 31.