Integrated System for Monitoring Permeate Quality in Water Treatment Facilities

Abstract

The invention provides a method and apparatus for continuous monitoring of permeate from membrane elements in a water treatment plant, including a desalination plant. The apparatus includes a probe that includes multiple sensors such that at least one sensor is associated with each membrane element. Each sensor is coupled to a node, which is configured to communicate a signal associated with the permeate quality to a central node sink. The node may communicate wirelessly with the node sink.

That which is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer program product, stored on a tangible computer memory media, operable on a computer, the computer program product comprising a set of instructions that, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to perform the operations of:
 receiving by a computer a signal from a communication node in a water treatment facility, said water treatment facility comprising a plurality of vessels, each vessel comprising a plurality of membrane elements and a permeate collection tube located within said plurality of membrane elements and operable to receive a filtered permeate flow, said permeate collection tube including a probe installed therein, said probe comprising a plurality of sensors such that at least one sensor is positioned adjacent to each of said plurality of membrane elements, said sensor being configured to measure a physical property of the permeate flow at the sensor location;   determining if the signal is different than a predetermined value, responsive to the receipt of the signal by the computer, the predetermined value being a threshold measure of the point at which the membrane element is in need of replacement; and   communicating to an operator at the water treatment facility, responsive to a determination by the computer that the signal is different than the predetermined value, that a membrane element in a water treatment facility needs to be replaced.   
     
     
         2 . The computer program product of  claim 1  wherein the step of communicating the need to replace a membrane element in the water treatment facility to an operator comprises sending an electronic notification to said operator. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the communications node is operable to receive a processed signal from a node. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the node comprises at least one of a processor, impedance analyzer, and a transceiver. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the node is positioned external to the vessel. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the ratio of the outer diameter of the probe to the inner diameter of the permeate collection tube is less than about 0.3. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising a fitting coupled to the permeate outlet of the permeate collection tube, said fitting comprising a removable water-tight fitting adapted to allow for the insertion and removal of the probe from the vessel. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the physical property of the permeate flow measured by the sensor is selected from conductivity, temperature and pressure. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the physical property of the permeate flow measured by the sensor is the conductivity. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising measuring the flow rate of the permeate. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the probe further comprises at least one sensor per membrane element present in the vessel, wherein each sensor is configured to measure the conductivity of the permeate flow at the membrane element.