Impact of halogen based disinfectants in seawater on polyamide RO membranes

The effect of halogen based disinfectants including monochloramines (NH2Cl), free chlorine (HOCl/OCl−), and free oxidants (mixture of HOCl/OCl− and HOBr/OBr) on polyamide membrane was studied in synthetic Ocean seawater. Formation and stability of these oxidants were also examined. Permeability and salt rejection of flat sheet polyamide RO membranes following exposure to the halogen based oxidants were compared to the baseline performance of unexposed membranes. The ratio between free chlorine and free bromine was found to depend on the ratio between the bromides, naturally found in seawater, and the added chlorine. Bromide enhanced the degradation of monochloramines but did not affect the stability of free chlorine. All the oxidants damaged the polyamide membranes studied while the free oxidants appeared to be the most aggressive.