SECTION 43 32 56A

MEMBRANE ELEMENTS

PART I
1.01

GENERAL

GENERAL

A. This Section covers membrane elements to be supplied by the Membrane Element

Manufacturer/Supplier (SUPPLIER) under contract to Collier County (COUNTY). The
SUPPLIER shall furnish replacement elements for six (6) existing nanofiltration (NF)
membrane trains at the North County Regional Water Treatment Plant (NCRWTP) as
specified herein.
B. The membrane elements specified herein will be installed and tested by a reputable
Membrane System Supplier (INSTALLER) under a separate contract with the COUNTY.
The INSTALLER will conduct a membrane performance test to determine conformance
with these specifications and will coordinate potential warranty claims with the
SUPPLIER.
C. The SUPPLIER shall furnish to the COUNTY all certifications and warranties as
specified herein.
D. Patents:
1. The SUPPLIER shall warrant that the use of the membrane furnished membrane
elements to be installed in the existing NCRWTP NF process will not infringe on any
U.S. or foreign patent recognized by the U.S.
2. The SUPPLIER shall grant to the COUNTY in perpetuity a paid-up license to use any
inventions covered by patent or patents pending, owned or controlled by the
SUPPLIER in the operation of the facility hereunder, without the right to grant
sublicenses.
E. The membrane elements specified herein shall be the end product of one approved
SUPPLIER to achieve standardization of performance, operation, spare parts,
maintenance and manufacturers service.
1.02

DESCRIPTION OF OVERALL TREATMENT PROCESS

A. The existing NCRWTP NF membrane system comprises six membrane trains. Each train
contains 56 total pressure vessels with 32 pressure vessels in the first stage, 16 pressure
vessels in the second stage, and 8 pressure vessels in the third stage. Each pressure vessel
is capable of holding six (6) 8-inch diameter by 40-inch long elements. A total of 336
membrane elements per train and 2,016 membrane elements total will be replaced under
this specification.
B. The NF trains are located in the process room of the membrane building at the NCRWTP
site. The existing membrane elements are GE MUNI 365 NF membrane elements.

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C. Groundwater from Tamiami Aquifer production wells is pumped to the NCRWTP. The
well water from several wells is combined into a common supply line that receives
pretreatment before entering the membrane trains.
D. Pretreatment processes include 5-micron cartridge filtration and chemical addition
(sulfuric acid and scale inhibitor). Pretreated water flows in a common pipeline to the
membrane feed pumps.
E. Each membrane train has a dedicated membrane feed pump driven by an adjustable
frequency drive (AFD), first stage permeate throttling valve, and automatic concentrate
control valve. As part of a simultaneous improvement project, each train will be
retrofitted with an interstage booster pump between the second and third stages.
F. The trains are automatically controlled using a programmable logic controller (PLC)
based control system. The individual stage permeate and concentrate flow rates (and thus,
recovery) of each stage/train are controlled primarily by automatic adjustment of the firststage permeate and concentrate flow control valves. The new interstage booster pump
AFD will be automatically adjusted to maintain a third-stage permeate flow rate. The
AFD on the membrane feed pump is automatically adjusted to provide the flow and
pressure necessary to maintain total permeate production requirements of the respective
train.
G. Permeate from the NF trains is blended with permeate from four RO trains, degasified,
chemically treated, stored, and pumped to distribution.
H. Concentrate from each membrane train is piped through a common line from the
membrane building into a concentrate wet well under minimal pressure from which the
concentrate is then pumped into an injection well.
1.03

MEMBRANE WARRANTY
A. Workmanship and Materials: The SUPPLIER shall warrant that the membrane elements
and accessories provided will be free from defects in material and workmanship under
normal conditions and are free from liens and encumbrances. Should any defect in
material and workmanship be discovered within one year from initial operation of the
train (or 18 months from the delivery date, whichever comes first), the SUPPLIER shall
provide new replacement membrane elements on a prorated cost basis to restore
performance to warranted levels at the design flux and recovery rate.
B. During the initial performance testing period, The SUPPLIER shall provide replacement
membrane elements to be installed by the INSTALLER at no cost to the COUNTY to
restore performance to warranted levels at the design flux and recovery rate.
C. After the initial performance testing period, The COUNTYs cost for replacement of each
warranted element shall be limited to the Guaranteed Membrane Replacement Price per
Element entered in the attached bid form, FOB to the NCRWTP site minus a prorated
rebate on the unrealized life of the anticipated minimum 5-year life. The COUNTY shall
be responsible for installation labor. The prorated rebates shall be based on 1/60 of the
cost per month for each month remaining in the 5-year anticipated element life period
calculated from the end of the accepted performance test period.

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D. It is understood that the COUNTY is obligated to operate the membrane system within
critical operating criteria (submitted by the SUPPLIER prior to initial startup).

1.04

SUBMITTALS
A. Attached bid form including present worth energy cost.
B. At the time of bid, the SUPPLIER shall submit four (4) copies of all submittal
information listed in this section in a three-ring notebook and in electronic PDF format on
CD. The SUPPLIER shall submit with the bid the following items:
1. Cut-sheets and catalog data for the proposed membrane elements. Submitted
information shall include model identification, pressure rating, membrane area, feed
spacer thickness, and standard test conditions including test feed pressure, test feed
solution information, average and minimum salt rejection and average permeate flow
2. List all critical operating criteria limits including operating pressure, flow,
temperature, pH, turbidity, and SDI limits.
3. Computer design WQ membrane performance projections using the design feed
water quality criteria specified in Table 1 and the NCRWTP NF system design, as
specified herein. Projections shall be made for 0 and 5 years of operation at the
design flux, recovery and interstage boost.
4. NSF 61 approval certificate for the proposed membrane elements.
5. Certification that the existing Alkema AWC A-111 scale inhibitor and melt-blown 5micon nominal rated polypropylene cartridge filter media are appropriate for the
provided membrane elements.
6. Provide warranty information including agreement with terms listed above.
7. List of exceptions to this specification.
C. Not required at bid time, but a minimum of one week before shipment of membrane
elements to the WTP site, the SUPPLIER shall submit:
1. Standard operations and maintenance information including, installation instructions,
cleaning procedures, and storage information. Include pH, temperature and exposure
(time) limits for chemical cleaning
2. List of cleaning chemicals that are compatible with the membrane elements provided.
The chemicals shall not be proprietary to a single chemical manufacturer. A list of
acceptable proprietary chemicals and suppliers may be submitted as a supplement.
3. Date of element manufacture
4. Wet test data for all of the membrane elements conducted at the SUPPLIERs
standard conditions listed on the element data sheet that shows conformance with the
criteria in Section 3.02 Membrane Element Performance Criteria.

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5. Proposed custom loading schedule showing the pressure vessel and element position
of each element serial number in the wet test data. The loading schedule shall
include:
a. Average wet test rejection and flow data for the proposed element loading
schedule by pressure vessel to show that higher rejection and lower productivity
elements will be installed in the first stage and that highest productivity elements
will be loaded into the third stage.
b. Balanced flow and rejection by vessel so that the average wet test rejection and
flow for an individual pressure vessel is within 15 percent of the average for the
stage in which the pressure vessel is installed.
PART II
2.01

PRODUCTS

GENERAL

A. The use of manufacturer's model or catalog numbers herein is for the purpose of
establishing item quality and configuration desired. Elements by others must be evaluated
and approved by the COUNTY before acceptance for use on this Project.
B. All components that come into contact with drinking water or drinking water treatment
chemicals shall be in conformance with American National Standards Institute
(ANSI)/NSF International (NSF) Standard 61.
C. The SUPPLIER shall be responsible to provide identical membrane elements for each
train and shall provide all components required for a membrane installation in the
existing vessels as described herein.
2.02

MEMBRANE ELEMENTS
A. The membrane elements shall be thin film composite and be from the listed standard
commercial products of a membrane manufacturer that has supplied membrane elements
that have been operating for a minimum of 8 years in at least one municipal installation
within the state of Florida. The following manufacturers and membrane element types are
acceptable (listed in alphabetical order).
1. DOW/FilmTec (NF90-400 and/or NF270-400)
2. GE (AP-400 and/or HL8040F-400)
3. Hydranautics (ESNA1-LF-LD and/or ESNA1-LF2-LD)
4. Koch/Fluid Systems (8040-SR100-400)
5. Other manufacturers and models may be approved by the COUNTY during bidding if
they meet the minimum time requirements listed above and the performance criteria
specified herein.
B. Nominal 8-inch diameter membrane elements shall be designed to be loaded into 8-inch
(nominal) diameter pressure vessels capable of holding six nominal 8-inch diameter x 40inch long elements and meet the following criteria.

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1. The membrane elements shall be spiral wound with the feed and concentrate flow
through the element parallel to the central product water tube of the element. Each
element shall have nominal dimensions of 8 inches in diameter and 40 inches in
length. Elements shall be designed to operate at pressures up to 600 psig minimum.
The membrane elements shall be complete with brine seals, interconnectors, O-rings,
spacers (shims), and other hardware except end adapters necessary to make the
membrane fully compatible with the new Protec or Codeline pressure vessels that will
be installed during a simultaneous project. The brine seal and O-rings shall be made
of ethylene propylene rubber. The membrane element shall have a fiberglass
reinforced plastic outer wrap.
2. The active membrane area of each membrane element shall be 400 square feet
3. The membrane elements shall have a nominal feed-concentrate channel spacer with a
thickness of 28 mils or greater.
4. The membrane elements must be NSF 61 certified in accordance with Section 62555.320 of the Florida Administrative Code
2.03

EXISTING SYSTEM DESIGN

A. The SUPPLIER shall be responsible to provide membrane elements for six (6) trains
(2,016 elements total), each with a membrane permeate capacity of 2,000,000 gallons per
day for a total capacity of 12,000,000 gallons per day.
B. The proposed membrane elements shall be installed in the existing NCRWTP membrane
system with the following design features:
1. Six trains each with 56 6M 8-inch diameter pressure vessels, 2.0 mgd permeate
capacity each (12.0 mgd total permeate)
2. The trains are configured to act independently of each other.
3. First-stage average flux shall not exceed 17.0 gallons per square foot per day (gfd).
Minimum second and third stage average flux shall be 12 gfd.
4. The membrane feed pump AFDs will be controlled by the plant PLC system to
maintain the minimum required flow and pressure (up to a design maximum feed
pressure of 190 psi) to meet final permeate production.
5. The concentrate flow from each train (and therefore recovery) will be controlled by
the concentrate flow control valve located on each train.
6. Raw water parameters and permeate water quality shall conform to the values
specified in Table 1. It may be assumed that a phosphonic or organic antiscalant with
sulfuric acid will be fed to the raw water as membrane pretreatment.
7. Each train shall have a design recovery of 90 percent.
8. Maximum residual concentrate pressure needed for disposal is 5 psi
9. Use of a hybrid membrane configuration that uses different model elements from the
same manufacturer in different stages (maximum of one element type per stage and

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two types maximum in a single train) is acceptable to meet the water quality and flux
balancing requirements of this specification.
10. First stage permeate throttling is acceptable in order to meet the flux balancing
requirements of this specification.
11. Third-stage feed pressure boost may be used to balance/control third-stage flux rate
(up to 30 psi of boost pressure at 315 gpm).
12. Total permeate pressure 18 psi
PART III
3.01

EXECUTION

GENERAL

A. The SUPPLIER shall deliver FOB to the NCWRTP site the specified number of elements
and accessories in six one-train orders (336 elements each) per the purchase order terms
and conditions. Delivery schedule is anticipated to be in 2 to 4 week order intervals over
a 3 to 6 month period and shall be coordinated with the INSTALLER.
B. Indicate in writing on the labeling of the box that the membranes are shipped wet and if
appropriate, what type of preservative is used.
C. Membrane elements shall not be manufactured more than 6 months prior to delivery to
the NCRWTP site.
D. The COUNTY may purchase additional spare membrane elements on an as-needed basis
FOB to the NCWRTP site at any time over the one-year contract period at the
Guaranteed Membrane Replacement Price per Element as listed in item 2 of the Bid
Form. The SUPPLIER shall deliver up to 18 elements within 30 days per request.
COUNTY requests for more than 18 elements per 30-day period shall be based on
SUPPLIER availability.
E. The membrane elements provided under this Specification shall be complete and
operable in all respects including, but not limited to, accessories such as permeate
interconnectors and brine seals suitable for installation in the existing nominal 8-inch
diameter 6M pressure vessels.
F. The SUPPLIER shall provide additive alternative pricing above the base membrane
element bid price for optional membrane features including interlocking membrane
elements, single O-ring interconnectors, and anti-microbial feed/brine spacers if
available.
3.02

MEMBRANE ELEMENT PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

A. Each individual train adjusted startup feed pressure shall be less than the guaranteed
maximum feed pressure entered in the bid form and used for the present worth cost.
B. Individual stage startup differential pressure shall be less than 25 psi.
C. Produce adjusted total permeate water quality that meets the permeate water quality
criteria specified in Table 1 during the 1-year warranty period.

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D. The INSTALLER shall conduct a performance acceptance test on behalf of the

SUPPLIER upon initial startup of each membrane train fitted with replacement elements.
Conformance with this specification will be determined by the following:
1. The INSTALLER shall measure the actual startup feed pressure, differential
pressures, permeate pressure, and feed/permeate water quality parameters listed in
Table 1 when operating the NF train at the design total permeate flow and recovery
after reaching steady state performance after a minimum of 48 hours of operation when
conductivity, pressures, and flows have stabilized.
2. Running startup membrane performance projections using the actual feed water
quality measured during the performance test when operating at design permeate and
concentrate flows.
3. Calculating the adjusted startup feed pressure by multiplying the actual startup
feed pressure by the ratio of the projected feed pressures from the 1) startup WQ
membrane performance projections and the 2) design WQ membrane
performance projections included in the submittal.
4. Calculate the adjusted total permeate water quality by multiplying the actual
startup permeate water quality by the ratio of the projected total permeate water
qualities from the 1) startup WQ membrane performance projections and the 2)
design WQ membrane performance projections included in the submittal.
5. Non-compliance with adjusted startup feed pressure, individual stage startup
differential pressure, and/or adjusted total permeate water quality limits will
result in a warranty claim unless evidence of particulate fouling (i.e. sand) is visually
evident in the lead element of the first stage.
6. The SUPPLIER shall provide new replacement membrane elements at no cost FOB to
the NCRWTP site to restore performance to adjusted performance levels at the design
membrane train flows
7. The INSTALLER shall conduct pressure vessel permeate conductivity profiling of
the membrane trains. If the permeate conductivity of an individual pressure vessel is
greater than 20 percent higher than the average permeate conductivity for the stage
that contains the pressure vessel, the INSTALLER shall probe the vessel to find the
location of the high conductivity source. The SUPPLIER shall replace o-rings or
membrane elements at no charge to the COUNTY until the vessel meets this
specification.
E. When tested under the SUPPLIERs published standard test conditions, each individual
membrane element shall have a rejection equal to or better than the minimum rejection
specified in the membrane elements product bulletin and shall have permeate flow as
stated in the membrane elements product bulletin for average productivity plus or minus
15 percent. The average rejection and productivity of all supplied membrane elements
shall meet or exceed average specifications published in the standard membrane
elements product bulletin when tested at standard test conditions. This will be
confirmed using the provided wet test data in Section 1.04.C.

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F. The INSTALLER shall collect feed, total permeate, and concentrate water samples and
shall have a qualified laboratory, approved by the COUNTY, analyze for water quality
parameters not analyzed using onsite instrumentation. All parameters in Table 1 shall be
tested for in each sample.
G. In the case of a nonconforming elements, the COUNTY may at its option, withhold final
payment to the SUPPLIER until the elements are conforming. If final payment is made
with the elements specified herein classified as nonconforming, the provisions of the
warranty sections of this Specification shall be in effect, except that the 1-year warranty
period shall not commence until the non-conforming elements have been corrected.

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TABLE 1: NCRWTP FEED WATER AND PERMEATE QUALITY CRITERIA

Constituent

Design Feed
Analysis a

Calcium, mg/L

99

Magnesium, mg/L

19

Sodium, mg/L

51

Potassium, mg/L

Strontium, mg/L

0.6

Barium, mg/L

0.014

Permeate Quality
Criteria

< 160

<2

Bicarbonate, mg/L

395

Sulfate, mg/L

32

Chloride, mg/L

62

Nitrate, mg/L as N

< 10

Fluoride, mg/L

0.3

< 2.0

Silica, mg/L Reactive

20

TDS, mg/L

483

pH, units

7.2

< 250

< 500

Hydrogen Sulfide, mg/L

> 1.0

Total Hardness, mg/L as CaCO3

326

50 to 100

Total Alkalinity, mg/L as CaCO3

324

> 50

True Color, PCU

20

<5

Turbidity, NTU

< 0.5

SDI

< 3.0

Temperature, Celsius

25.5

Total Organic Carbon

9.3

Raw water before sulfuric acid and scale inhibitor addition and cartridge filtration

END OF SECTION

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