Cleaners for MF/UF Membranes
Micofiltration (MF) and Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes require regular cleans to maintain system performance. However, unlike spiral wound RO membranes which are ideally designed around a quarterly cleaning schedule, MF and UF systems are cleaned much more frequently. To mitigate costs, the industry commonly uses generic chemicals including: citric acid, chlorine, and caustic. Within certain limits, the wide variety of UF/MF membranes are generally compatible with these products and cleaning results can be satisfactory.
However, generic solutions do not always succeed in returning the membranes to design performance values and this is where perceived cost savings using generics is negated. This led Avista to develop a new range of gentle but more effective cleaners specifically for UF/MF membranes. These specialty formulations can be applied in place of generic chemicals or used as a periodic ‘recovery cleaner’ between generic cleanings.
The formulations have proven effective on membranes supplied by: Hydranautics, Siemens Memcor®, Pall Corporation, Norit X-Flow, and Zenon. Membrane types include PS (polysulfone), PES (polyethersulfone), PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) and PAN (Polyacrylonitrile).
Each membrane type has specific limitations as it pertains to acceptable pH ranges, chlorine exposure, and other critical data. For this reason, it is imperative to review the membrane manufactures limits and the AvistaClean technical data sheets for compatibility prior to use.
