High-Pressure Jet Cleaning of Polymeric Microfiltration Membranes

The cleaning effect of a high‐pressure jet of water on a polymeric microfiltration membrane was investigated at different pressures, durations, and angles. The angle of 70° at a pressure of 130 bar and a cleaning duration of 10 s were found to be promising parameters. Throughput measurements show that this cleaning method can restore about 80 % of the initial throughput of the membrane. Analyses by capillary flow porometer and UV‐vis spectrophotometer imply that an impact on the membrane was detectable after 1800 cleaning cycles at a pressure of 130 bar. Therefore, high‐pressure jet cleaning is a promising method for mechanical cleaning of track‐etched microfiltration membranes.