AQUAPOT: study of several cleaning solutions to recover permeate flow in a humanitarian drinking water treatment facility based on spiral wound UF membrane. Preliminary test (I) Original Research Article

Access to safe drinkable water is a basic human right and an international goal. Since 1996, AQUAPOT international project, has researched and developed low cost, easy to use and effective water treatment technologies able to be used in developing countries. Recently, the project has carried out the design of three potabilization units based on membrane technology and its installation in rural areas of Ecuador with no access to safe water. Field experience has shown that maintenance and cleaning of spiral wound ultrafiltration membranes is not done properly what can reduce the membrane’s life due to biofilm growth. In a medium term, this growth would affect the quality and the volume of the pure water produced by the drinkable water treatment facility. An applied research has been initiated to study several cleaning solutions that allow to recover an optimum permeate flow. For the preliminary test, samples from UF membrane were used. Methodology includes static assays in which membrane’s samples were immersed in a cleaning solution for over 12 or 24h at a temperature of 25 to 40°C. The study has allowed to select the most effective membrane’s cleaning solutions and the optimum conditions for its application. In addition, the study has allowed to verify the efficiency of the cleaning reagent in a drinkable water treatment plant.