Industrial Intelligent Reverse Osmosis Systems

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a unique process of filtration that utilizes a semipermeable thin film composite membrane with perforations small enough to allow pure water to flow through while preventing larger molecules (i.e., dissolved salts/ions) to pass.

Industrial Reverse Osmosis Water Systems are typically used for:

1. Pressure – in order to overcome the natural osmotic pressure,  a minimum threshold of pressure must initially be reached. The rate at which the membrane produces product water (flux) increases as pressure is increased. A practical limit exists because salt rejection does not continually improve as pressure increases. There can be scaling or fouling problems as a result.

2. Temperature – membrane flux is heavily dependent on temperature. As temperature increases and pressure remains constant, water production increases. Higher temperatures can also result in an unfortunate drop-off in salt rejection due to an increase in diffusion rate for salt ions through the membrane. RO membranes are volume rated at 77°F.

3. Recovery – the percent of feed water converted to the product water. A functional limit exists for the recovery rate – too high of a rate requires a more concentrated waste stream. This increases the likelihood of membrane fouling as salt accumulates and creates scale on the membrane surface.

4. Pre-treatment/Post-treatment – additional water treatment steps needed either before or after the RO process vary, depending quality requirements and water conditions. If raw water contains iron, chlorine, turbidity, hardness and high total dissolved solids, then pre-treatment should be considered to improve system performance, extending membrane life. Post-treatment steps should be considered if water quality requirements require purified or sterilized water.

5. Recycle – the process of recycling waste water back through the RO to increase efficiency and reduce waste water, improving efficiency up to 75 percent.