Membrane fouling is a ubiquitous challenge in water treatment and desalination systems. Current reverse osmosis (RO) membrane cleaning technology relies on chemical processes, incurring considerable costs and generating waste streams. Here, we present a novel chemical-free membrane cleaning method applicable to commercially existing RO spiral-wound membrane modules. The method employs controlled membrane deformation through pressure modulation, which induces shear stresses at the foulant-membrane interface that lead to detachment and removal of the foulants. To investigate the effectiveness of the method, experiments on organic fouling by alginate are conducted on a flat-sheet membrane coupon followed by tests on a commercial spiral-wound module with feeds of varying fouling propensities. Cleaning durations are six-fold lower, and the experimental results demonstrate flux recoveries and cleaning efficiencies comparable to those of chemical cleaning. The experiments on the spiral-wound module indicate that this method will have applicability in industrially-relevant settings. To elucidate the underlying cleaning mechanisms, membrane deformation experiments with no flow are conducted, and in situ visualization techniques are employed for both the flat-sheet and spiral-wound modules. The results show that cleaning is caused by a reduction in shear strength at the foulant-membrane interface after cycles of repeated loading, a behavior typical of fatigue. By enabling more frequent cleanings, deformation-induced cleaning is shown to considerably lower operating costs in an economic case study while offering a more sustainable and environmentally sound solution to membrane cleaning and antifouling in desalination.

在水处理和脱盐系统中，膜污染是普遍存在的挑战。当前的反渗透（RO）膜清洁技术依赖于化学过程，产生大量成本并产生废物流。在这里，我们提出了一种适用于商业上现有的RO螺旋缠绕膜组件的新型无化学膜清洁方法。该方法采用通过压力调节的受控膜变形，这会在污垢-膜界面上引起剪切应力，从而导致污垢的分离和去除。为了研究该方法的有效性，在平板膜试样上进行了藻酸盐对有机物污染的实验，然后在带有不同污染倾向的进料的商业螺旋缠绕组件上进行了测试。清洁时间缩短了六倍，实验结果表明，助焊剂的回收率和清洗效率可与化学清洗相媲美。螺旋缠绕模块的实验表明，该方法将在与工业相关的环境中具有适用性。为了阐明基本的清洁机制，进行了无流动的膜变形实验，并对平板和螺旋缠绕组件均采用了现场可视化技术。结果表明，清洁是由于反复加载周期后污垢-膜界面处的剪切强度降低而造成的，这是疲劳的一种典型行为。通过更频繁地进行清洁，