Diagnosis of Failure of Water Treatment Plants

Membranes are increasingly applied in a variety of industries, including water and wastewater treatment, food and beverage production and gas refinement, where high throughput and reliable separation are required. Membrane autopsies are an important tool for determining causes of fouling events in membrane systems. When conducting an autopsy it is usually on the premise that the fouling management process has failed and the aim of the autopsy is to identify the root cause of the fouling event and provide some recommendation on how to correct or manage it.

At CTET, we combine the use of conventional membrane autopsy tools and advanced techniques to solve problems including different observed losses in performance. Since 2004, the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science & Technology at UNSW has been developing an autopsy database which  stores information gathered from previous autopsies to be used as reference material for further work, thereby benefitting clients. Experiences and technical expertise from the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science & Technology provide strong back support to CTET to provide innovative solutions to previously unrecognised membrane failure modes for clients.

More details about our membrane autopsy service

For more information, please contact Dr. Yuan Wang at yuan.wang@unsw.edu.au