Is your system not performing? Need a second set of eyes to identify and solve issues? Speak to us about conducting a in depth system review.
What is a system review?
A system review is a comprehensive evaluation of the mechanical, operational and chemical aspects of a water treatment system. Key operational components such as membrane units, chemical dosing systems, pretreatment, control systems and operational procedures are reviewed to identify any issues and areas for improvement. The goal of a system review is to improve performance, extend the lifespan of equipment, and ensure consistent delivery of high-quality treated water.
What is generally included in a system review?
A system review can be a either a broad general inspection or it can be tailored to investigate a specific problem. Some of the key elements are typically included:
- Plant Inspection: This aims to identify problems in the operation or performance and any improvements that can be made. A detailed physical inspection of the entire water treatment facility is conducted including equipment, filters, pumps, membranes, and chemical dosing systems.
- Comparison to Performance Models: The actual performance of the water treatment system is compared to design models or expected benchmarks, helping to identify any deviations or inefficiencies in operation that may require corrective action.
- Operating Procedure Review: Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are reviewed to ensure they are current, effective, and properly implemented. This review includes protocols for routine maintenance, water sampling and analysis, operational KPIs, and equipment calibration.
- In-field Operation Verification: Samples are collected and analysed to assess the system’s effectiveness in treating water. This can include things like flux and salt rejection in RO systems, nutrient removal in MBR systems, and solids removal effectiveness for pre-treatment.
- Influent/Effluent Water trends: Monitoring the quality of influent and effluent water over time helps identify trends and evaluate treatment effectiveness. Analysing factors like turbidity, pH, dissolved solids, and contaminant levels allows us to identify causes for problems and ensures the system meets water quality standards.
- CIP Effectiveness: The effectiveness of Clean-In-Place (CIP) procedures is evaluated to ensure that cleaning processes effectively remove fouling, scaling, and other deposits from system components, crucial for maintaining long-term performance.
- Historical Data Trending: Analysing historical data from the system helps identify patterns and trends that could indicate issues or gradual declines in performance. By trending this data over time, we can identify and address problems so that they can be remedied.
This review provides a understanding of the system’s performance and provides a range of insights and recommendations to restore and improve performance.
Case-study: Municipal MBR audit.
A recent case study came from a municipal MBR that had been operating for 6 years. They had been noting a decline in membrane permeability and increasing filtrate turbidity and wanted to understand the causes, remedies and get a membrane life assessment for replacement planning.
The onsite audit included:
- The physical plant including instrumentation, pretreatment and the condition of the biodigester and membrane plant
- Samples and measurements were taken across the plant to evaluate biological and solids removal efficiency
- Review of historical water quality data and plant operational trends
- Review of analytical and cleaning (CIP) procedures
- Consultation on plant upgrades and improvement planning
The report gave a comprehensive assessment of the current condition of plant and its operation. We identified that major problems were in the pre-treatment section which was causing grit and rags to enter the MBR and this was then causing blockages of the air-sparge nozzles and the membrane fibre bundles. This in-turn was reducing air scour, backwash and CEB efficiency and leading to continued fouling of the membranes. Luckily the plant had sufficient capacity to adsorb this reduced efficiency and remedies could be implemented.
We also happily found that problems with treated water turbidity was caused by dirty turbidity meters rather than a loss of membrane integrity which would have meant replacement.
Is your system in need of a second set of eyes? Contact us today to discuss how we can help.
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