Membrane replacement in desalting facilities

As membrane facilities increase in number and age, the need for membrane replacement has continued to be required. Membrane replacement requires careful planning, and should involve computer modeling, membrane probing, membrane profiling and hydraulic evaluations to document modifications in plant performance. Although many existing plants have undergone membrane replacement, little information has been published in the literature on this component of membrane plant operation. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of membrane replacement, and describe two case studies to document membrane replacement. One case study describes membrane replacement at a hollow fiber membrane facility (Sarasota, Florida), and a second case study describes membrane replacement at a spiral-wound membrane facility (Marco Island, Florida).