Sustainable membrane management

低压膜越来越多地用于饮用水处理。这种相对较新的技术之所以能迅速得到采用，很大程度上是因为它能更有效地去除令人担忧的污染物。截至2011年，加拿大生产的所有饮用水中有10%以上是使用膜处理的。到2020年，这一数字预计将增加到约25%。定期的化学清洗（除液压清洗外）用于防止残留在膜表面的材料大量堆积。化学清洗剂虽然有效，但已被证明会使膜“老化”，不可逆转地改变其特性。随着时间的推移，这些变化会降低膜的性能，因此必须更换。对于我们的公用事业合作伙伴和其他膜用户来说，更换代表着巨大的资本支出，从100万美元到2000多万美元不等。不幸的是，没有足够的工具来授权我们的公用事业合作伙伴（和其他人）计划与膜更换相关的大量资本支出。

Low pressure membranes are increasingly being used for drinking water treatment. The rapid adoption of this relatively new technology largely results from its greater ability to effectively remove contaminants of concern. As of 2011, more than 10% of all potable water produced in Canada was treated using membranes. By 2020, this number is expected to increase to approximately 25%. Periodic chemical cleaning (in addition to hydraulic cleaning) is used to prevent extensive accumulation of material retained on the membrane surface. Although effective, chemical cleaning agents have been documented to 'age' membranes, irreversibly changing their characteristics. Over time, these changes decrease membrane performance such that they must be replaced. For our public utility partners, and other users of membranes, replacement represents a significant capital expenditure, ranging from ~$1,000,000 to over ~$20,000,000. Unfortunately, there are no adequate tools to empower our public utility partners (and others) to plan for the large capital expenditures associated with membrane replacement. The primary objective of the proposed research is to develop the knowledge and tools required by our public utility partners (as well as by other public utilities throughout Canada and internationally which use membranes for water treatment) such that they may better plan the operation and management of their water treatment assets in an effective and sustainable manner. This objective will be achieved by employing a focused approach to identify conditions that promote/minimize membrane ageing, develop protocols that can be used to estimate the actual (remaining) life expectancy, identify approaches that can be used to maximize membrane operating life expectancy, and develop tools to operate and manage membrane facilities using an evidence-based approach. The originality of this research stems from the knowledge-based approaches that will be developed to formulate strategies to address long-term aging of membranes.