Salt cleaning of organic-fouled reverse osmosis membranes

Cleaning of organic-fouled reverse osmosis membranes with concentrated salt solutions has been investigated. Polysaccharides (alginate and pectin) and Suwannee River natural organic matter were used as model organic foulants. By systematically varying the chemical and physical factors affecting salt cleaning efficiency, we were able to elucidate the processes and mechanisms involved during salt cleaning. Chemical factors investigated included salt dose, salt type, and organic foulant composition, while physical factors included cleaning contact time, crossflow velocity, cleaning solution temperature, and permeation rate. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was utilized to quantify the reduction in intermolecular foulant–foulant adhesion upon salt cleaning. Our results showed that salt cleaning was quite effective in cleaning reverse osmosis membranes fouled by gel-forming hydrophilic organic foulants, such as alginate and pectin. The proposed mechanism for salt cleaning involves structural changes of the cross-linked gel layer on the membrane surface upon exposure to the salt solution followed by an ion exchange reaction that induces the breakup of calcium-foulant bonds as well as calcium bridging (cross-linking) between foulant molecules. The results obtained from AFM force measurements as well as foulant release experiments confirmed that these chemical reactions were the major mechanisms of salt cleaning. Salt cleaning appears to be an effective cleaning method, and may prove useful for membrane-based advanced wastewater reclamation, where a large fraction of the organic foulants is hydrophilic.