Reuse of old reverse osmosis membranes used in desalination plants

The fate of spent reverse osmosis (RO) membranes appears as an emerging challenge faced by the water industry. In this project, alternative and valuable usages of end-of-life desalination membranes will be investigated. Opportunities like cost effective reuse in lower specification applications, potential recycling of valuable materials and conversion of RO into microporous separation devices will be assessed both technically and financially.

This membrane end-of-life (MemEOL) tool is aimed at promoting better practices in the desalination industry by helping users identify and select the optimum end-of-life option for their used reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. This dynamic and interactive educational tool uses inputs on membrane condition and the relative importance of a number of key criteria to provide recommendation and further information about available end-of-life options.

Research Team:  Pierre Le-Clech
                              Will Lawler
                              Mikel Duke (Victoria University)
                              Marlene Cran (Victoria University)
                              Bradley Ladewig (Monash University)

Collaborators:     Victoria University
                              Monash University

Funding Body:     National Centre of Excellence for Desalination Australia

Publications: 

  1. Lawler W; Alvarez-Gaitan J; Leslie G; Le-Clech P, 2015, 'Comparative life cycle assessment of end-of-life options for reverse osmosis membranes', Desalination, vol. 357, pp. 45 - 54,http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2014.10.013
  2. Lawler W; Antony A; Cran M; Duke M; Leslie G; Le-Clech P, 2013, 'Production and characterisation of UF membranes by chemical conversion of used RO membranes', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 447, pp. 203 - 211, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2013.07.015
  3. Lawler W; Antony A; Cran M; Duke M; Leslie G; Le-Clech P, 2013, 'Production and characterisation of UF membranes by chemical conversion of used RO membranes', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 447, pp. 203 - 211, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2013.07.015

Click here for membrane end-of-life (EOL) tool

Click here fore more information or contact us at p.le-clech@unsw.edu.au