Optimising operation of an integrated membrane system (IMS) — A Box–Behnken approach Original Research Article

The optimum operating conditions of an integrated membrane system (IMS), consisting of microfiltration (MF) followed by reverse osmosis (RO), has been defined using Box–Behnken design associated with generalised linear models (respectively quasibinomial logit analysis for the MF process and quasibinomial probit analysis for the RO process). Parameters studied for the MF process were the flux, backwash frequency and chloramine dose and dosing point. Parameters studied for the RO were the flux, recovery, pH and antiscalant dose. For both processes, the statistical method successfully determined an envelope of operating conditions. Results showed MF membrane fouling propensity to be mainly controlled by backwash frequency and flux, whereas fouling of the RO membrane was primarily defined by the pH and the recovery. The model was found to accurately represent the plant performance within the operating envelope studied.