Operations and maintenance are critical for ensuring efficient and reliable plant operations while minimizing downtime and maintenance costs

Project Overview

A leading global chemical manufacturing company was experiencing operational challenges with the third stage of its Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant, an essential component of its effluent treatment facility. These challenges not only hindered the plant’s efficiency but also escalated operational costs.

Challenges

Frequent Clogging of Membranes, leading to Increased Delta Pressure: RO plant was plagued by the frequent clogging of membranes, which resulted in increased Delta Pressure, indicating a significant obstruction in water flow, necessitating additional energy expenditure and risking membrane integrity

Lower Recovery and Permeate Output Compared to Designed Capacity: The RO plant was operating below its intended efficiency, with a noticeable reduction in the volume of treated water produced

Reduced Plant Availability Due to Frequent Cleaning in Process (CIP) Requirements: The necessity for frequent CIP cycles significantly hampered the plant’s operational availability. Regular shutdowns for cleaning indicated a persistent issue with membrane fouling, which not only reduced the effective operational hours of the plant but also escalated maintenance efforts and costs

Inability to Effectively Treat and Recycle Incoming Effluent Water: The RO plant’s struggle to adequately treat and recycle the incoming effluent water stemmed from the incompatibility of the existing water treatment processes with the specific characteristics of the effluent

High Operational Costs, Driven by Excessive Chemical Usage for pH Correction and CIP: The operational costs were directly linked to the excessive use of chemicals for pH correction and the frequent CIP cycles. This reflected the inefficiency of the water treatment process and highlighted the financial burden of relying heavily on chemical treatments.

Solutions

Wipro Water was commissioned to address these challenges. The approach undertaken involved multiple strategic steps:

Comprehensive Plant Analysis: Wipro Water conducted an exhaustive study of the RO plant, reviewing the designed data, RO projection, and array arrangement.

Water Quality Assessment: An in-depth analysis of the feed water quality was carried out to identify compositions potentially causing membrane clogging.

Antiscalant Optimization: Based on the analysis, it was determined that the existing antiscalant needed to be better suited for the specific water quality. Wipro Water recommended switching to a more compatible antiscalant.

Operational Management: Wipro Water enhanced daily operational control by deploying its skilled Operation and Maintenance (O&M) team on-site for diligent management.

Results

The strategic interventions led to significant improvements in the RO plant’s performance:

1. Enhanced RO recovery rates and overall plant availability.
2. Reduction in plant downtime, ensuring continuous operational efficiency.
3. Lower total operation cost is achieved by minimising the need for excessive chemical usage and reducing frequent CIP cycles.