IMPROVED AUTOMATED ANALYZER FOR SILT DENSITY INDEX

EXCESSIVE RATES OF RO (REVERSE OSMOSIS) FOULING MAY REQUIRE FREQUENT RO ELEMENT REPLACEMENT, WHICH IS BOTH EXPENSIVE AND TIME CONSUMING. THE OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS OF PRETREATMENT PROCESSES TO REMOVE COLLOIDS AND ORGANIC MATERIALS CAN BE MONITORED USING SDI (SILT DENSITY INDEX). THE FIELD ARMY FOR OPERATION OF THEIR ROWPU (REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER PURIFICATION UNITS) WANTS A PRACTICAL MEANS OF SDI MEASUREMENT THAT IS FAST, ACCURATE, AND FACILE. EXISTING AUTOMATED FILTER PLUGGING MONITORS HAVE PROVEN THEIR VALUE IN ESTIMATING FOULING POTENTIAL, BUT THE USE OF FILTER TAPE IN THESE MONITORS HAS INCREASED THEIR MECHANICAL COMPLEXITY, INCREASED THEIR COST, AND DECREASED THEIR FLEXIBILITY TO UTILIZE ALTERNATE FILTER TYPES. SEVERAL NOVEL APPROACHES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MORE PRACTICAL, ACCURATE, AND FLEXIBLE AFPA (AUTOMATED FILTER PLUGGING ANALYZER) WILL BE INVESTIGATED. SUCCESSFUL USE OF DISPOSABLE, READY-TO-USE FILTER MODULES FOR SDI MEASUREMENT WOULD ELIMINATE THE AFOREMENTIONED DISADVANTAGES OF FILTER TAPE. MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS OF THE ENTIRE FILTRATION FLOW DECLINE CURVE WOULD ALLOW THE SDI DETERMINATION TO BE COMPLETED FASTER AND PROVIDE SDI ERROR ESTIMATES. HIGH FILTRATION PRESSURE AND SELECTION OF ALTERNATE FILTER TYPES COULD ALSO INCREASE SDI ANALYSIS SPEED AND ACCURACY. A PRACTICAL, INEXPENSIVE AFPA WOULD HAVE WIDE APPLICABILITY TO HELP MAKE RO WATER PRODUCTION MORE EFFICIENT AND ECONOMICAL.