Advanced control system for membrane processes based on the boundary flux model

The development of membrane processes as a technology for environmental treatment applications and in particular for the purification of wastewater streams has significantly increased in the last decades. Fouling on membranes appears to be one of the main technical limit of this technology. This phenomenon causes the unavoidable deposition of particles on the membrane surface, building a resistive growing layer to permeability. Sensible fouling of the membrane leads to a significant reduction of the performances, a decrease of the operating life and, as a consequence, the increase of the operational costs due to the replacement or cleaning of the exhausted membrane modules. This paper will start from the theory of the boundary flux, in order to approach a novel design of an advanced control system that allows to limit fouling formation during operation. The developed system is validated by the analysis of collected experimental data from previous works, in particular on the membrane treatment process of olive vegetation wastewater streams by ultrafiltration and nanofiltration membranes.