Microfiltration (MF) membranes are increasingly becoming critical components of treatment
systems, including water reuse applications. In water reuse, MF typically acts as pretreatment to
downstream reverse osmosis (RO) and advanced oxidation process. While numerous advances
have been made, membrane fouling and the development of effective membrane cleaning
protocols persist as challenges. New chemical clean-in-place (CIP) formulations were evaluated
in pilot tests at the Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility (ECLWRF) for their ability to
improve the performance restoration for the Phase III continuous MF (CMF) membranes.
Membrane autopsies found that the primary fouling mechanisms for the CMF membranes were
biological and organic in origin. The cleaning test results found that the current CIP regime for
the Phase III system performed better than the four commercially available cleaning solutions
evaluated here. However, improved results were obtained when hydrogen peroxide was added to
the current CIP regime consisting of caustic soda and the commercially available Memclean C
cleaning solution. The effects of the addition of hydrogen peroxide to the standard cleaning
procedure shows some promise; however, further research is needed to understand the cleaning
mechanisms and long-term effects of using hydrogen peroxide as a cleaning additive. Includes 35 references, tables, figures.