GE Power & Water

Water & Process Technologies

GE Power & Water

Report By: Poh Lip Ben
APAC Operations Leader
Date: 08 December 2010
GE Betz Pte. Ltd.
10, Tanjong Penjuru Crescent
Singapore 608973

T (65) 62684366
F (65) 62640763

E-Cell MK3-Mini Stacks Flow Path Restriction/Blocked

Contents

Issues
Goals
References
Site Observation/Review
Conclusion
Recommendations

Issues

1) Envitech Vietnam, has reported two E-cell mini stacks were losing production in Amway Purify
Water generation system. Issue identified as follows:
a) EDI 1 stack S/N5400066 complete block on the Dilute chamber flow path. Partial restriction
in Concentrate and Electrode chambers.
b) EDI 2 stack S/N5400060 experiencing High differential pressure drop in the
Dilute/Concentrate/Electrode chambers.

Goals

1. To assist in the root cause analysis and recommendation corrective actions.

References

1. E-Cell MK3 Operation Manual.
2. Quatest 3 Test report dated 06 Dec 2010
3. Quatest 3 Test report dated 06 Dec 2010
4. New system upgrade water treatment Process Flow Diagram
5. Site operation parameter records.
6. E-Cell normalization Sheet.
7. Emerson pH/ORP relationship chart







GE Power & Water
Water & Process Technologies








GE Water & Process Technology

Report By: Poh Lip Ben
APAC Operations Leader
Date: 08 Dec 2010

GE Betz Pte. Ltd.
10, Tanjong Penjuru Crescent
Singapore 608973

T (65) 62684366
F (65) 62640763



Site Observation/ Review

1. RO Operating parameters dated 07 Dec 2010.

Pressure
Before
cartridge
Pressure
After
cartridge
Feed
Pressure
Final
Pressure
Permeate
flow
Reject
flow
Permeate RO Recovery
rate
RO
1
28 psi 20 psi 130 psi 90 psi 8gpm 4.5
gpm
2.9
us/cm
53.3%
RO
2
40 psi 36 psi 195 psi 190 psi 7 gpm 3.5
gpm
0.8us/cm 66.7%
RO
3
28 psi 20 psi 105 psi 60 psi 9 gpm 5 gpm 10.8
us/cm
64.3%
RO
4
50 psi 50 psi 215 psi 175 psi 4.8 gpm 3.2
gpm
0.1
us/cm
60%

2. Sodium Hypochlorite dosing into softened water sample prior to Softener storage tank is
designed for ON/OFF operation.
To maintain consistent dosage the correct Sodium Hypochlorite concentration should be in
the day tank, dosing pump should be check and routinely calibrated. Routine grab sample
and test for Free and Total chlorine in the tank to ensure dosage of chlorine.

3. There is no calibration/verification of ORP sensor to ensure accuracy of online readings. The
incorrect measurement of the ORP could result in the poor control of the de-chlorination
process.
This could result in the feeding of chlorinated water into the RO and downstream process.
Chlorine level in excess of 1.6ppm to 0.5ppm was detected before the RO 3 and after RO 4.

4. The feed pressure on RO 3 has declined from the initial commissioning stage of 140 psi to
105 psi and the RO permeate quality is averagely at 10-12 us/cm, up from initial of 2-
5us/cm.
In comparison to the commissioning data, it is very likely that the RO 3 has been subjected
to Chlorine attack and a declined in membrane performance are being observed.


GE Power & Water
Water & Process Technologies








GE Water & Process Technology

Report By: Poh Lip Ben
APAC Operations Leader
Date: 08 Dec 2010

GE Betz Pte. Ltd.
10, Tanjong Penjuru Crescent
Singapore 608973

T (65) 62684366
F (65) 62640763




5. The water sample taken on the 1
st
Dec 2010 on the RO/EDI feed are as follows:

PW#1
SWT
Before
RO#1 IT-1
Before
RO#2
Feed
ED#1
Hardness <0.33 <0.33 2.0 <0.33 0.51
mg/l as
CaCO3
CO2 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 mg/l
SiO2 14.9 15.6 3.52 4.96 0.62 mg/l
Total Clorine
(Cl2) 1.6 0 0.0 0 0 mg/l
PW#2
SWT
Before
RO#3 IT-2
Before
RO#4
Feed
EDI#2
Hardness <0.33 <0.33 2.1 <0.33 <0.33
mg/l as
CaCO3
CO2 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 mg/l
SiO2 14.9 15.5 7.77 5.09 0.18 mg/l
Total Clorine
(Cl2) 1.6 1.4 1.5 0.5 0.5 mg/l

Water samples taken throughout systems show some variation but on the given samples
there appears to be chlorine breakthrough and that would lead to the frequent failures of
membranes and EDI stacks.

The considerably high level of silica and hardness in the feed water for EDI would mean that
the EDI system would require periodic chemical in place cleaning (CIP) in order to maintain
good performance of the system. This would also prevent the buildup of scale and foulant
on the stack. Timely CIP would be a recommended corrective action for recovering a given
stack to its baseline performance, failing that the stacks may be irreversibility fouled and the
stack would need to be replace.
GE Power & Water
Water & Process Technologies








GE Water & Process Technology

Report By: Poh Lip Ben
APAC Operations Leader
Date: 08 Dec 2010

GE Betz Pte. Ltd.
10, Tanjong Penjuru Crescent
Singapore 608973

T (65) 62684366
F (65) 62640763

6. The operating data was fed into the E-cell Normalization worksheet (see below) to study the
operating profile prior to the stacks issues. It was noted that parameters from 29 Dec 10
onwards generated alarming pressures profile. This would typically mean that the stack is
experiencing some form of abnormalities and corrective action need to be taken to prevent
damage to the stacks.

dp (Dilute
Outlet - Conc
Inlet) Recovery TEA E-factor
SiO2
Removal
% change in normalized pressure
drops
(psid)
(ppm as
CaCO3) (%) Dilute Concentrate Electrode
18.0 67.1% 1.9 14.29 0% 0% 0%
20.0 66.9% 2.0 13.22 -14% -4% 0%
18.0 67.1% 1.9 14.37 0% 0% 17%
14.0 69.4% 1.9 13.64 -3% 0% 8%
14.0 69.4% 1.9 13.27 -3% -13% 8%
12.0 68.1% 1.9 13.27 11% 0% 17%
20.0 68.2% 1.8 14.70 0% -4% 44%
16.0 69.4% 1.8 14.45 -3% 0% 8%
18.0 69.1% 2.0 12.59 -3% 3% 5%
-50.0 67.9% 1.8 14.45 106% 50% -350%
15.0 67.9% 1.8 14.45 59% 8% 17%
15.0 67.9% 1.8 13.79 59% 8% 17%
15.0 67.9% 1.9 13.56 59% 8% 17%
15.0 66.3% 1.9 13.45 66% 8% 6%
15.0 68.5% 1.9 12.90 63% 0% -50%
14.0 69.8% 1.7 13.90 74% -10% 83%
13.0 67.9% 1.7 14.80 59% 8% -67%

Value within normal operating range.

Value change maybe due to normal operation or system problem.
Continue monitoring!

Value change greater than expected. Intervention needed. Consult
Owner's Manual or technical support!



GE Power & Water
Water & Process Technologies








GE Water & Process Technology

Report By: Poh Lip Ben
APAC Operations Leader
Date: 08 Dec 2010

GE Betz Pte. Ltd.
10, Tanjong Penjuru Crescent
Singapore 608973

T (65) 62684366
F (65) 62640763
7. On 07 Dec 10, GE and Envitech conducted a reverse flush to eliminate the possibility of
upstream debris (from piping work) blocking the stack inlet flow channels. The exercise did
not yield any improvement on the stack flow. The flow restriction/blockage is unlikely due
to foreign debris in the feed water.

8. On 08 Dec 10, GE and Envitech also carried out a Low and High pH CIP on EDI 1 to access the
effectiveness of CIP on the flow issue. Similarly this CIP did not yield any improvement
results.

9. Below is an illustration of a typical ORP (mV) versus pH relationship. ORP reading can be
reflection of the change in the water pH. As such the ORP reading prior to the RO1/RO3
could change due to the variation of the softener water pH. Therefore the Chlorine content
in the Softener water may not be correctly reflected in the changes of the ORP (mV)
readings.



GE Power & Water
Water & Process Technologies








GE Water & Process Technology

Report By: Poh Lip Ben
APAC Operations Leader
Date: 08 Dec 2010

GE Betz Pte. Ltd.
10, Tanjong Penjuru Crescent
Singapore 608973

T (65) 62684366
F (65) 62640763








Conclusions

The incorrect ORP reading could lead to the over-dose of bisulphite and under dose of bisulphite.
Over-dosing of Bisulphite can cause bio fouling issue in some RO system depending on the species of
organism in the water. It would a good idea to optimized the Sodium Bisulphite dosing system to
ensure that residual sulphite is maintain between 0.5 ppm to 1.0 ppm.
The under-dose of sulphite will cause the incomplete de-chlorination. This would damage the RO
membranes and E-Cell stacks.
GE Power & Water
Water & Process Technologies








GE Water & Process Technology

Report By: Poh Lip Ben
APAC Operations Leader
Date: 08 Dec 2010

GE Betz Pte. Ltd.
10, Tanjong Penjuru Crescent
Singapore 608973

T (65) 62684366
F (65) 62640763
E-Cell operating parameters must be closely monitored by the use of E-cell normalization worksheet
to help identify abnormality in the system and pre-empt stack problem(s) so that timely corrective
action can be taken.
E-Cell stacks are sensitive to hardness (<1ppm) and Silica (<1ppm) content in the feed water. The
hardness are removed from the raw water source by means of the Softener ion exchange and RO
systems, As such softener and RO system must be kept in optimum operating condition so that
hardness can be removed from the EDI feed.
As the Softener ion exchange system would be able to remove such contaminates to a certain
extend, frequent backwash and regeneration should be carried out to ensure that these
contaminates do not leech out into downstream systems.
RO system is mainly used for bulk demineralization, Silica is being removed by this process and if
there is a decline in the RO %rejection this would impact the EDI Feed water quality. As less Silica
would be reject by it and the RO permeate would contain a higher concentration of Silica. Coupled
with a high raw water feed, the EDI feed water silica can exceed the feed limit in these instances.
The Chlorination process should be pre-set on the dosing pump and operator intervention required
when the outlet chlorine level is below or above the required set point of 1ppm. This will ensure
that chlorine is not being overdosed/under dose as the chlorine demand of the water changes with
respect to the micro-biological constitutes in the water.
The failure of the RO and E-cell system is a combination of poor operational practice, operating
personnel lack of water treatment knowledge, the failure to response to process changes and tell-
tale sign of anomalies in the system parameters.



Recommendations


1. The operation team needs to be trained in the process and system control philosophy of the
water generation and Purification process.

2. Routine Calibration of Instrumentation and analyzer must be performed thru a Preventive
Maintenance program. Eg. ORP sensor must be verify/calibrated monthly. Flow meter /pressure
meter, conductivity meter annually and etc.

GE Power & Water
Water & Process Technologies








GE Water & Process Technology

Report By: Poh Lip Ben
APAC Operations Leader
Date: 08 Dec 2010

GE Betz Pte. Ltd.
10, Tanjong Penjuru Crescent
Singapore 608973

T (65) 62684366
F (65) 62640763
3. A online Total Chlorine meter (colorimetric type) can be installed on the Softener water supply
line prior to the RO to monitor and ensure that chlorine are not over or under fed.

4. Adding an Online pH monitoring on the Softener water supply line would provide valuable data
for the better control of the de-chlorination process. A chart can be tabulated based on these
data against the total chlorine readings (grab sample). This chart will further provide a better
guideline on the chlorine content after de-chlorination with compensation for pH variations.

5. The RO ORP / bisulphite dose controller, it is recommended to program low limit cut off in the
ladder logic to ensure that the system would have a minimum bisulphite dosing even when the
ORP is lower than set point.

6. RO 3 membrane should be replace so as to maintain optimum RO performance. Ch3eck the
permeate conductivity to in order to identify the change required (typically 1
st
stage only).

7. Daily grab sample check points to include but not limited to:

a) Test for Chlorine on the feed to the RO (should use Total Chlorine Test).
b) Test for Silica in EDI Feed water and Raw water supply (should use Total Silica Test).
c) Test for Hardness in EDI feed water and Raw water supply (should use Total hardness Test).
d) Test for pH in EDI feed water and Raw water supply .
e) Test for CO2 in EDI feed water (good to have).


8. The EDI 1 Stack should be replaced and send to E-Cell Factory for Autopsy. An autopsy would
identify the root cause of the flow blockage and restrictions. With the autopsy findings we may
be able to perform some corrective action to try and recover EDI 2 performance.

9. Additional Analysis
a) System wide water chemistry analysis. Inlet and outlet of all installed equipment. E.g.
Softener inlet/outlet. RO feed, permeate, reject and etc.
Water analysis should include:
Calcium Bicarbonate
Magnesium Sulfate
Sodium Chloride
Potassium Nitrate
Strontium Fluoride
Barium Phosphate
Iron (total, dissolved and ferrous) ORP
GE Power & Water
Water & Process Technologies








GE Water & Process Technology

Report By: Poh Lip Ben
APAC Operations Leader
Date: 08 Dec 2010

GE Betz Pte. Ltd.
10, Tanjong Penjuru Crescent
Singapore 608973

T (65) 62684366
F (65) 62640763
Silica (dissolved) SDI (for RO feed only)
Total dissolved solids pH
Conductivity TOC

The above analysis would help in the re-evaluation of the raw water quality and the
compliance to the design specifications for the EDI system.