Reverse osmosis membranes oxidation by hypochlorite and chlorine dioxide: spectroscopic techniques vs. Fujiwara test

Abstract The aim of this work was the study of degradation of a commercial polyamide membrane by two commonly employed oxidants for disinfection in seawater desalination, hypochlorite, and chlorine dioxide. A conventional reverse osmosis (RO) membrane is a thin film composite membrane composed of three different layers, a polyester support web, a microporous polysulfone interlayer, and a thin cross-linked polyamide barrier layer on the top surface, which is the active layer of the RO membrane. The degree of membrane degradation in seawater was evaluated in terms of decline in membrane performance calculated from permeability and salt rejection. In order to establish a relationship between the hydraulic properties and spectroscopic data, infrared and X-ray photoemission techniques (ATR-FTIR and XPS) were employed. The obtained results were compared with the Fujiwara test which is usually performed in membrane autopsies to check the degradation of polyamides with halogens. The chemical degradation of the su...