Just as acidic solutiosn aren't good for membranes, caustic solutions are equally damaging to membrane elements. Acid injection may be incorporated into the RO pretreatment system to control pH and minimize the scale-forming tendency of the feed water. Acid injection is indicated if the scale-forming tendency of the brine stream is above +0.3 as measured by the LSI. Either sulfuric or hydrochloric acid can be used for this purpose. However, sulfuric acid is less costly, and is more commonly used.