Genairclean, a revolution in Reverse Osmosis membrane cleaning performance

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Securing access to clean water is a major global challenge with water demand set to increaseby 50% over the next 50 yrs. Desalination technologies plays a vital role in the production ofclean water providing an unlimited & constant supply of high quality water for humanconsumption, industrial & agricultural application.With lower capital costs & energy requirements, Reverse Osmosis (RO) is the dominantmethod for desalination, with over 20,000 operational RO plants globally representing 70% oftotal world desalinated water production capacity. Despite RO’s widespread application, allRO Membrane (ROM) elements are subject to fouling by dissolved & suspended materialspresent in the feedwater which significantly impact operational efficiency leading to systemdamage. Typically membranes require cleaning every 3 – 12 months and replacing every 2-3yrs due to fouling .Genesys Manufacturing Limited, a leading developer of antiscalants, cleaners & biocides forthe ROM mkt, aim to address the mkt need for improved membrane cleaning through thedevelopment of a novel air assisted chemical cleaning process known as “Genairclean”. Thisis based on the use of the “Genairator” a proprietary venturi based dynamic air injector tocreate microbubbles for physical agitation, combined with the development of effervescentcleaning reagents. Basic proof of concept studies have indicated that Genairclean coulddeliver an increase in cleaning efficiency by up to 40% at no additional cost, resulting in asignificant improvement in plant efficiency. A reduction in electricity pumping costs &extended membrane life by 1-2 yrs is also foreseen.The technology will be applied across RO & Nanofiltration (NF) membranes used in thedesalination process including the industrial, commercial, municipal, healthcare,governmental & non-profit sectors worldwide. The approach offers the potential torevolutionise the membrane chemical cleaning mkt worth $625M resulting in savingsc.$52m/yr