Adaptive Membrane Plant Retrofit – Rick Maffescioni and Leigh Heath

AquaManage Group was established in 2009, specialising in Projects, Service and Technical Support to the Water Industry. Our Employees each have 20-30+ years Water Industry experience in Microfiltration, Ultrafiltration, Reverse Osmosis, Coagulation/Flocculation, Demineralisation, Disinfection and Chemical conditioning. With the recent development in adaptive membrane technologies from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) around the world, AquaManage has focused on offering our customers with options for future membrane replacement and upgrade opportunities.

A couple of recent projects include the replacement of the now obsolete KOCH Targa II membranes by retrofitting the DuPont MEMCOR® L40AM Mk2 Type 2 modules. The retrofit works required the modification of pipework and manifolds to convert from inside-outside filtration path to outside-inside as well as pipework and structural support changes to accommodate the new housings and associated interconnections. Benefits include up to 72% reduction in power costs, reduced washwater and chemical cleaning waste volumes, 25% increased effective filtration surface area, resulting in reduced fluxrate or increased production. The new membranes no longer require Sodium Hydroxide solution (Caustic) as an alkaline cleaning additive thereby removing the need for another dangerous goods storage, dosing and handling equipment.

Author

  • Rick Maffescioni, Managing Director, AquaManage Group
  • Leigh Heath, Service / Project Manager, AquaManage Environmental Pty Ltd