ICCAD’17, Hammamet - Tunisia, January 19-21, 2017

Optimization of membrane filtration systems

Nesrine Kalboussi∗ , Jérôme Harmand† , Fatma Ellouze∗ and Nihel Ben Amar∗
∗ Université de Carthage, Institut National des Sciences Appliqué et de Technologie

Université de Tunis El Manar, Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Tunis, LAMSIN, Tunisie

Email: nesrinekalboussi@gmail.com
Email: ellouze fatma@yahoo.fr
Email: benamar nihel@yahoo.fr
† LBE, INRA, 11100,Narbonne, France
Email: Jerome.Harmand@supagro.inra.fr

Abstract—A membrane filtration system is a switching system
that operates in a sequence of two operating modes: filtration
and cleaning. The aim of this paper is to find the optimal
switching instants in order to improve the water production of
the process. The dynamic behavior of the membrane filtration
system described by a filtration model suitable for optimization
and control purposes. The problem is solved using two different
optimization solvers (GlobalSearch and PatternSearch) of the
MATLAB software. Then, the optimal solution is considered to
design the optimal control operating strategy.
I. I NTRODUCTION
A membrane filtration is a physical separation process that
finds many applications in the industry. The membrane acts
as a selective barrier that rejects part of components based on
particle size versus membrane pore size.
The transmembrane pressure (TMP) is the driving force of
the separation operation. The TMP is defined as the average
feed (inlet) pressure minus the permeate (outlet) pressure. The
deposition of the rejected particles on the membrane surface
or pores causes membrane fouling and the degradation of the
process performances.
To limit membrane fouling, the filtering operation is period-
ically interrupted and a cleaning phase is performed. As a
result, the membrane filtration is a switching system alterning
filtration and cleaning periods. In practice, the switching
instants are fixed according to the recommendations of the
membrane suppliers or chosen according to the operator’s
experience. This leads to sub-optimal water production and
to increasing in the operating costs, hence the necessity to
optimize the membrane filtration operation. Optimal control
of such a system consists in maximizing the water production
over a given period of time process constraints.
In the 1990s, van Boxtel et al. [1], [2] formulated the first
optimization problem of membrane filtration process to deter-
mine the optimal trajectories of the operation variables that
minimize the total operating cost.
In the other hand, strong efforts were made concerning the
advanced control and the advanced automatic control of mem-
brane units [3], [4], [5].
On optimization of the switching between operation and
cleaning of membrane a few publications appeared.
Paul Chen et al. [6] presented a statistical approach using
an overlay of surface response plots to optimize the filtration
time between two backwashing. They effectively improved the
system production compared to the strategy suggested by the
membrane supplier. However, it is recognized by the authors
that further efforts are required to synthesize more feasible
and cost-effective optimal operating strategies.
Analytically designed approach has also been used to predict
the optimal instants of backwash that maximize the overall wa-
ter production of microfiltration process [7], [8]. To determine
the optimal operating strategy the authors apply Pontryagin’s
maximum principle. Despite its simplicity, the mathematical
model used in this work is very specific which leads to a
specific control analysis of the problem.
Zondervan et al. [9] reported an adaptive optimal control of
the filtration cycle number per chemical cleaning cycle and
the number of chemical cleaning cycles over a given period
of time to minimize the total operating cost of beer membrane
filtration. Using a global optimization solver(PatternSearch),
the authors resolve the problem and they effectively decrease
the filtration costs compared to current industrial practice.
However, the successful application of the defined adaptive
control depends on measurements that are often not available.
In this work, we will use classical optimization tools in
order to find the optimal switching instants between the two
operating modes (filtration and relaxation) which maximize
the total water production of the membrane filtration system
under process constraints.
The optimization is performed as follows. The membrane
filtration process is described by a set of ordinary differential
equations proposed by Benyahia et al. [10]. It turns out that
the optimization problem defined in this work is an ordinary
non-linear programming problem (NLP) that suffers from local
minima. Therefore, we use the nonlinear optimization solvers
of MATLAB to solve this problem. We choose to work with
two different solvers: the PatternSearch solver and the Global
Search solver. Let N denote the total number of relaxation
cycles needed to maximize the water production. The idea here
is to find the optimal N which maximizes the water production
over a given period of time and to compare the results of the
two solvers to solve the optimization NLP problem.
The paper is organized as follows. First, the mathematical
model used in this work is described. Then, the optimization

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problem is drawn and the numerical results are presented
and interpreted. A robusteness analysis was after achieved to
validate the optimization. Finally, we present the conclusions
and we give some perspectives of this work.
II. M ODELLING MEMBRANE FILTRATION PROCESS
The model of Benyahia et al. [10] was chosen for this
study because, compared to others fouling models, it has the
advantage of being less complex while describing various
clogging mechanisms.
It was shown, in our previous work of Kalboussi et al. [11],
that this model is generic enough (it allowed approximating
satisfactorily many models of the literature) to be used for
optimization and control purposes. More precisely, it was
shown in [11] that the model of Benyahia et al. can reproduce
the dynamics of two well known fouling models: the model
of Di Bella et al [12] and the model of Pimentel et al [13].
The simulations of these last two models were performed to
identify a set of parameters of Benyahia’s model.
In the present work, we do not propose the full model as in
[10] assuming the inputs of the filtration process (i.e. the water
composition in solid content) are constant. So, the presentation
of the model differs slightly from that in Benyahia et al.[10].
Here, we assume that the membrane fouling is only due to
the particle deposition onto the membrane surface and the
irreversible pore fouling is not considered. Let m be the
mass of the deposit matter onto the membrane surface during
the water filtration. Then, the membrane fouling is growing
according to the dynamic described by the equation (1):
b solvers that can solve linear as well as nonlinear constrained
ṁ = f1 (m) = (1)
e+m
where b and e are model parameters that can be estimated
from experimental data.
We consider that the physical cleaning of the membrane
is performed only by relaxation: during the relaxation, the
filtration is stopped and the mass detaches from the membrane
surface with the following dynamic:
ṁ = f2 (m) = a ∗ m (2)
where a is a coefficient that can be calibrated with a data set.
Moreover, the water flow that passes through the membrane
is computed by a function g that depends on the accumu-
lated mass onto the membrane surface m as given by the
equation(3):
d
g(m) = (3)
e+m
where d is an additional parameter of the model.
This model was validated with experimental data in [10].
TABLE I
M ODEL PARAMETERS
Parameter a b e d
Value 25 2.75e+03 20 1800
III. O PTIMIZATION PROBLEM
As mentioned in the introduction section, the main goal of
this work is to design the optimal operating switching strategy
that maximizes the water production of the membrane filtration
process over a time interval [0, T ]. Then, the objective function
of the optimization problem can be expressed as:
 T
JT (m0 , u(·)) = u(t)g(m(t))dt (4)
0
with u(t) a control function that takes values 1 during
filtration mode and 0 during membrane relaxation mode.
Let N denote the total number of relaxation cycles required
to improve the total water production of the filtration system.
Let us consider the time required for the relaxation stage as
constant and equal to 0.08 hour and the time required for
filtration as variable. Given an initial mass m0 > 0, the objec-
tive of the optimization problem is to determine the optimal
number of relaxation cycles N and the optimal sequence u(·)
that only takes its values within the set of two elements {0, 1}
for maximizing JT (m0 , u(·)). The optimization problem may
be solved using various analytical or numerical methods of
dynamic optimization. This work only addresses the numerical
approach. The global optimization toolbox of MATLAB offers
optimization problems. Two solvers have been selected from
the MATLAB optimization toolbox to solve the optimization
problem. The first is the PatternSearch solver. The latter is
based on PatternSearch algorithm that requires an initial point
to search the better solution through several attraction basins.
The second is the GlobalSearch solver. The GlobalSearch
algorithm start the local solver fmincon from an initial point
and then generate multiple start points to sample multiple
basins of attraction. To solve the problem, we proceeded in
two steps:
• First, we varied N from 4 to 100. For each value of
N , the two optimization solvers are run to determine the
optimal sequence that maximizes the objective function;
• Second, we determine the value of N for which the total
water production over T is the best.
IV. O PTIMIZATION RESULTS
In this section, we compare the optimization results with
the operating strategy proposed by Benyahia et al. [10]. From
now onwards, this latter is denoted the ”classical strategy”. All
numerical simulations were performed with MATLAB using
the model presented in section II and the model parameters
summarized in table I.
The ”classical strategy” consists in operating the process
with 2 hours of filtration and 0.08 hour of relaxation, as
259
 450

400

The total water production (L/m2)

350

300

250 PatternSearch

200 GlobalSearch

150

100

50

0
0 20 40 60 80 100

Number of cycles N

Fig. 1. Classical strategy Fig. 2. The criterion for different relaxation cycles number N

1,2
TABLE II
T HE TOTAL WATER PRODUCTION FOR N=4: C LASSICAL STRATEGY VS
OPTIMIZATION SOLVERS 1

The criterion value [L/m2 ]

0,8
Classical strategy 254.5
Control (u)

PatternSearch 263 0,6

GlobalSearch 260
0,4

shown in figure 1. Over an operating time of 10 hours, 4 0,2

relaxation cycles were performed to lead to a total water

production equal to 249L.
As a preliminary optimization test, we fixed the number of
relaxation cycles to four (N = 4) and the relaxation period
time (TR ) to 0.08 hour, as in the ”classical strategy”. The
goal is to test if the optimization solvers can find an operating
sequence that enhance the total water production of the
system under those constraints (N = 4 and TR = 0.08 hour).
The optimization results showed that under the considered
constraints the two optimization solvers do not significantly
improve the total water production of the process. Indeed,
the value of the criterion at final time T computed by the
two solvers and the production of the ”classical strategy” are
shown in the table II: compared to the classical approach,
the water production is only increased by 3.34% using the
PatternSearch solver and by 2.16% using the GlobalSearch
solver.
In the following, we vary the number of relaxation cycles
N keeping the duration of the relaxation period equal to 0.08
hour. When we vary N from 4 to 100, the results of the
two optimization solvers enhance significantly compared to
the ”classical strategy”. The figure 2 presents the solutions of
the optimization problem provided by PatternSearch and the
GlobalSearch solvers. We note from this figure that for both
solvers the maximum water production is obtained when N
varies in the interval [26, 38]. This confirms that our problem
suffers from local minima.
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (hour)
Fig. 3. PatternSearch optimal sequence
However, from a practical point of view, the optimum cor-
respond to the minimum number of switching that maximize
the water production. In fact, by considering N = 26 as
the optimal solution we maximize the system production and
we limit the risks of wearing the permeation pumps that can
be caused by a high frequency of switching. This guarantees
maximum water production while minimizing operating costs
although such costs are not explicitly taken into account in the
optimization criterion.
For N = 26, the optimal switching strategy computed by the
PatternSearch and the GlobalSearch solvers are presented in
figures 3 and 4, respectively.
It should be noted from the figure 2 that the criterion
value (i.e. the total water production) obtained using the
GlobalSearch solver starts to decrease when the number of
relaxation cycles N becomes greater than 40 to reach a
value equal to 290L when N is equal to 100. This can be
explained by the fact that when N increase, the off-production
time due to membrane relaxation becomes higher than the
production time (the total filtration time) over T . However,

260
 1,2
180

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1 160

140

0,8
120
Control u

100
0,6

80

0,4 60

40
0,2
20

0 00
5 10 15
0 1 2 3 4 ϱ 6 7 8 9 10
Time (hour) 3HUIRUPDQFHYDULDQFHV

Fig. 4. GlobalSearch optimal sequence Fig. 5. robustness check of the PatternSearch optimal solution

the PatternSearch criterion reaches a maximum value which 180

remains roughly the same even when N becomes large. 160

7KHQXPEHURILWHUDWLRQV
V. T HE ROBUSTNESS STUDY 140

To solve the optimization problem, we have used a simple 120

mathematical model involving several simplifying assump- 100

tions. For that reason, the model does not take into account 80
the full complexity of a membrane filtration system. In view
60
of this fact, a robustness analysis is necessary to validate the
40
optimization results. In practice, there are two main sources
of disturbances that can affect the system and degrade its 20

performances: uncertainty in the model parameters and in the 0

0 5 10 15
inputs. In this section, we study the robustness of the optimal
solution with respect to uncertainty in the model parameters.
The robustness study is performed in assuming ±10% un-
certainties in the model parameters (a, b, e, d) with respect
to their nominal values. The procedure is as follows: we
generated 1000 combinations of perturbed model parameters
values. Then, the optimal operating strategy is applied to the
disturbed system and the variance in the model response (the
total water production over 10 hours of operation) is calculated
according to the equation 5.
|Jopt − Jpert |
α= ∗ 100
Jopt
where Jopt is the criterion (the total water production of the
system) result for N = 26 determined by the PatternSearch
solver (resp.the GlobalSearch solver). Jpert is the total water
production of the disturbed system over 10 hours of op-
eration according to the optimal solution of PatternSearch
solver (resp.the GlobalSearch solver). Results of the robustness
analysis test for the PatternSearch and the GlobalSearch solver
solutions are presented in the Figures 5 and 6, respectively.
It is clear from the robustness test plots that the variation
of the criterion for the both solvers optimal solutions is less
than 15% for ±10% uncertainty in the model parameters.
The robustness analysis thus underlines the effectiveness of
both optimization solvers (PatternSearch and GlobalSearch)
solutions.
3HUIRUPDQFHYDULDQFHV
Fig. 6. robustness check of the GlobalSearch optimal solution
VI. C ONCLUSION
In this paper, we studied the optimization of a membrane fil-
tration process subject to membrane fouling. The optimization
problem aimed at maximizing the total water production of the
filtration process over a given period of time. Two optimization
solvers were used to solve the nonlinear optimization problem.
(5) The obtained results show that by increasing the number of
relaxation cycles, both optimization solvers are able to improve
the optimization criterion compared to a classical operating
strategy. A robustness analysis shows the stability of the
solver results against the model parameters disturbances. The
proposed results are based on numerical simulations and the
use of direct optimization techniques. Therefore, we plan to
study the analytical solution of the optimization problem and
to evaluate the obtained results on a laboratory scale membrane
plant.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank project TREASURE (cf.
www.inra.fr/treasure) and IFT (Institut Franais de Tunisie) for
financial support .
261
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