Optimization of chemical cleaning of discarded reverse osmosis membranes for reuse

This study optimized the chemical cleaning process of discarded RO membranes for reuse in less demanding separation processes. The effect of physicochemical parameters, including the temperature, cleaning time, pH of the cleaning solution, and addition of additives, on the cleaning process was investigated. The membrane performance was evaluated by testing the flux recovery rate and salt rejection before and after the cleaning process. High temperatures (45-50oC) resulted in a better flux recovery rate of 71% with more than 80% salt rejection. Equal time for acid and base cleaning 3-3 h presented a 72.43% flux recovery rate with salt rejection above 85%. During acid and base cleaning, the best results were achieved at pH values of 3.0 and 12.0, respectively. Moreover, 0.05% concentration of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid presented 72.3% flux recovery, while 69.2% flux was achieved using sodium dodecyl sulfate with a concentration of 0.5%; both showed >80% salt rejection, indicating no damage to the active layer of the membrane. Conversely, 0.5% concentration of sodium percarbonate showed 83.1% flux recovery and 0.005% concentration of sodium hypochlorite presented 85.2% flux recovery, while a high concentration of these chemicals resulted in oxidation of the membrane that caused a reduction in salt rejection.