Backpulsing strategy for membrane fouling control in produced water treatment

Abstract

This study focused on the membrane cleaning methodology of backpulsing (BP) in the filtration of synthesized produced water (PW) with α-aluminum oxide ceramic membranes. The purpose of this research is to screen three BP parameters (BP amplitude, BP duration and BP frequency) and develop an appropriate BP protocol to minimize membrane fouling. A full factorial design (FFD) method was used to investigate the significant BP parameters, interactions among them and the optimum conditions for BP with respect to final permeability and net yield. The following conclusions were drawn: 1. Ceramic membranes were less polluted and could filtrate PW for longer time when BP was applied. 2. Significance test analyzed by ANOVA investigated main and interaction effects of BP operating parameters. The relative importance of these terms was: Final permeability: BP amplitude > BP duration > BP frequency > (BP amplitude×BP duration) > (BP amplitude×BP duration×BP frequency); Net yield: BP frequency > BP amplitude > (BP amplitude×BP duration) > (BP amplitude×BP frequency) > BP duration > (BP duration×BP frequency). 3. The adjusted R-square were higher than 90% in both estimated models for the responses, indicating that the models fit the experimental data well. 4. The optimum BP strategy was found when BP amplitude, BP duration, and BP frequency were 1bar, 0.1s and 1/60 s, respectively. The composite desirability of 0.83 was obtained under this condition, which means the settings achieved favorable results for all responses as a whole.