TY - JOUR
T1 - Autopsy of Used Reverse Osmosis Membranes from the Largest Seawater Desalination Plant in Oman
AU - Al-Abri, Mohammed
AU - Kyaw, Htet Htet
AU - Al-Ghafri, Buthayna
AU - Myint, Myo Tay Zar
AU - Dobretsov, Sergey
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments: The authors would like to acknowledge Nanotechnology Research Centre at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman for technical support. The authors acknowledge the support of Barka Desalination Company and the support from SUEZ, who is in charge of the operation and maintenance of the desalination plant. Additionally, the authors acknowledge the support of Nanotechnology Research Center and Department of Physics (Surface Science Lab), College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University.
Funding Information:
This research was funded by [His Majesty Trust Fund Strategic Grants (HMTF)] grant number SR/ENG/PCED/17/01.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - The Barka desalination plant, commissioned in 2018, is the largest desalination plant in Oman. It has a capacity of 281 MLD with a reverse osmosis (RO) first-pass recovery rate of 46%. As part of the standard operator practice, a membrane autopsy was conducted to determine the cause of reductions in membrane performance. This study investigated fouled membranes (model No. SW30HRLE-440) from two different locations in the membrane rack. Various analytical methods were used to conduct the membrane autopsy. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray (FESEM/EDS) analyses of membrane samples showed major components of inorganic foulants. Moreover, black and salt-like crystals deposited on the membrane surface revealed significant carbon (C) components and oxygen (O), with a small amount of magnesium (mg), chloride (Cl), sodium (Na), aluminium (Al), and calcium (Ca), respectively. A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed the presence of long-chain hydrocarbons, carboxylic acids/esters, carbohy-drates/polysaccharides, and inorganic foulants. Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) of the membranes showed a high initial weight loss due to organic and inorganic fouling. X-ray photoelectron (XPS) analyses further confirmed the presence of inorganic and organic foulants on the membrane surfaces. Bacteria identification results showed the presence of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus marisflavi. This paper offers a detailed analysis of the foulants present on the reverse osmosis membrane surface and sub-surface before and after a cleaning process.
AB - The Barka desalination plant, commissioned in 2018, is the largest desalination plant in Oman. It has a capacity of 281 MLD with a reverse osmosis (RO) first-pass recovery rate of 46%. As part of the standard operator practice, a membrane autopsy was conducted to determine the cause of reductions in membrane performance. This study investigated fouled membranes (model No. SW30HRLE-440) from two different locations in the membrane rack. Various analytical methods were used to conduct the membrane autopsy. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray (FESEM/EDS) analyses of membrane samples showed major components of inorganic foulants. Moreover, black and salt-like crystals deposited on the membrane surface revealed significant carbon (C) components and oxygen (O), with a small amount of magnesium (mg), chloride (Cl), sodium (Na), aluminium (Al), and calcium (Ca), respectively. A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed the presence of long-chain hydrocarbons, carboxylic acids/esters, carbohy-drates/polysaccharides, and inorganic foulants. Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) of the membranes showed a high initial weight loss due to organic and inorganic fouling. X-ray photoelectron (XPS) analyses further confirmed the presence of inorganic and organic foulants on the membrane surfaces. Bacteria identification results showed the presence of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus marisflavi. This paper offers a detailed analysis of the foulants present on the reverse osmosis membrane surface and sub-surface before and after a cleaning process.
KW - autopsy
KW - bacteria
KW - desalination plant
KW - fouling
KW - scaling
KW - seawater reverse osmosis membrane
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85133415935&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85133415935&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/membranes12070671
DO - 10.3390/membranes12070671
M3 - Article
C2 - 35877874
SN - 2077-0375
VL - 12
SP - 671
JO - Membranes
JF - Membranes
IS - 7
M1 - 671
ER -