3. Conclusion

Until now, the cleaning stage of membrane equipment has been regarded as one of the technical bottlenecks in membrane processes, and seen as a difficulty, or even a brake, on the development of these otherwise clean, sober and safe processes. The situation is evolving slowly due to a lack of published fundamental research, as researchers generally do not have a "noble" image of the studies that could be carried out in this field. It's true that previous work has focused mainly on repeating cleaning operations and on more or less satisfactory assessments of the evolution of flows. Faced with the need to evolve towards even more productive and environmentally-friendly processes, the focus of research is changing.

• Improvements to existing systems are possible, even without changing cleaning products. Improved water management using in-line sensors,...