I. Challenges
A large gypsum manufacturing plant had two reverse osmosis (RO) trains (A and B) but they were inefficient:
- Train A was operating but experiencing a steady decrease in permeate flow rate to the point of less than 60% capacity.
- Train B was offline because it was not able to produce adequate permeate for the plant’s process.
Recently, neither RO train have been serviced with a complete Clean-In-Place (CIP) and the plant had a CIP skid available but they still needed additional support to use the equipment.
Their current water treatment vendor was willing to do the following for an estimated $12,000:
- Instruct them on how to operate their own CIP skid.
- Sell the gypsum plant the cleaners needed.
- Oversee the entire process.
II. Approach
G-C’s commitment to customer service goes beyond meeting the immediate need of their clients. The service team surveyed the gypsum plant’s equipment and proposed a 3-chemical cleaning procedure which included the following:
- Formula 9033
- Formula 9067
- Formula 9098
Additionally, the G-C National RO expert and local territory personnel assisted with the CIP process. They provided training to the gypsum plant staff on the utilization of their CIP equipment.
III. Results
The RO system was fully returned to service:
- The RO membrane only took 8 hours to perform.
- It achieved approximately 89% of the original permeate flow rate.
As a result, the gypsum plant saved thousands in equipment and membrane replacement. They were also able to eliminate reductions in plant operation capacity. The plant staff are now equipped to monitor the system making it easier to determine when CIP is needed and run the CIP process with their own equipment.
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