Laboratory Cleaning Study

Laboratory cleaning studies have become an integral part of the Avista membrane autopsies and a useful tool in validating the effectiveness of a cleaning regimen against a site-specific foulant.

While Autopsies identify foulants and recommend solutions to minimize future fouling, cleaning studies identify the best cleaner(s) and procedure to address fouling on the membranes already affected.

This approach can also provide an opportunity for us to custom blend and test chemistries specifically for your application or site-specific foulant.

Samples of a dissected membrane are placed on a RoVision cell tester and baseline flow and rejection performance are established under crossflow conditions. A cleaning solution is then recirculated through the tester at optimum temperature. Upon completion, post-clean data is recorded to determine the effectiveness of that particular chemistry. If necessary, this process continues until we’ve identified the cleaner that provides the best result.

If a second, intact membrane element has also been provided, then the cleaning regimen identified in the laboratory study is tested on our full scale OSCAR™ cleaning skid. Pre-test and post-test data validates the effectiveness of the chemistry and procedures.