A chief concern for the application of membrane technology for the removal of microbes
and turbidity in drinking water treatment is how to assure integrity of these polymer
barriers. This question has become especially important as the perceived value of
membrane systems for meeting the Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule
(IESWTR) has become apparent. There is demonstrated long-term success and
increasing use of membrane systems in municipal water treatment. Municipalities want
to employ this technology and regulators want to accept it, yet the question of a credible,
"in-situ" integrity test remains. Although not widely recognized within the municipal
treatment industry, integrity tests for membrane elements and systems with a proven
history do exist. They were mainly employed in final pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals
processing, and as internal quality control tests (seldom published) developed and used
by the membrane manufacturing companies. Recognizing that these tests are perfectly
viable for the purpose, but need to be refined, standardized and published, the ASTM
Committee D19 on Water undertook the creation of such a standard. This standard is
now in the balloting phase within ASTM. This paper presents the background on
development of that Standard Practice, the test methods it contains and how they were
chosen, the current status of the standard and how it may relate to the regulatory issues
surrounding the use of membrane. Includes 16 references.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 260 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 9 |
| Published : | 06/16/2002 |
