Sustainable membrane management

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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.