Developing a Protocol to Evaluate New‐generation Membranes for Desalinating Brackish Groundwater: Fid-Bau Portal

Developing a Protocol to Evaluate New‐generation Membranes for Desalinating Brackish Groundwater

Kumar, Manish / Adham, Samer / Pearce, William

For some water‐scarce regions, desalination of brackish groundwater represents an important alternative resource for water utilities. High‐pressure membranes that use reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) are recognized as a viable technology for groundwater desalination. Many improvements have been made in membrane production, and new membranes are being rapidly introduced into the market, highlighting the need for standardized evaluation protocols. This article presents a step‐by‐step approach to pilot‐testing new high‐pressure NF and RO membranes. The proposed steps are basic data collection, comparative pilot‐testing, optimization pilot‐testing, membrane autopsy, and feasibility analysis. Within this framework, the article describes the various aspects that must be covered during new‐generation membrane testing at the screening level. In addition, data obtained during pilot‐testing of two new‐generation RO membranes are presented. The pilot tests conducted following this protocol shows clear performance distinctions between an established high‐pressure membrane and a new high‐pressure membrane. Testing also demonstrated that the operating pressures of the new‐generation membranes have been greatly improved, which could lead to substantial operational cost savings. Finally, a preliminary cost analysis revealed that the higher productivity levels of the new membranes could result in power savings of approximately 13% per year.