How does the size of an industrial RO system vary depending on the application and flow rate requirements?

Osmosis is a natural process that involves fluid flow through a semi-permeable membrane barrier, and reverse osmosis is a method used to remove a wide spectrum of salts to give water of a high purity. It is the method by which water reaches the leaves at the top of plants and by which nutrients nourish the cells in our bodies.

If you use a simple, thin semi-permeable membrane, such as a sausage skin, to separate pure water from a salt solution, the pure water will flow through the barrier and attempt to dilute the salt solution. If the salt solution is attached to a vertical pipe, the solution will gradually dilute until the "osmotic pressure" that pulls the clean water through the membrane is reached. This process may be stopped by increasing the pressure on the salt solution, thus the name "Reverse Osmosis."

Let’s discuss more about the size of industrial RO system vary depending on application and flow rate requirements.

The needed permeate amount, feed water salinity, and anticipated permeate quality will decide the size of the RO and membrane selection. Because low energy membranes enable the units to operate at pressures between 150 and 200 psi, fewer pressure booster pumps are needed to provide clean water, which also results in a considerable reduction in power usage.

From an input water of between 500 and 700 microsiemens, these membranes will create water with a quality of around 10 microsiemens. A different selection of membranes can be employed if a greater permeate quality is desired.

Typically, RO units are created and operated as solitary machines that produce the necessary quantity throughout the entire day. The RO units can be duplexed with a central control if necessary. Using a panel, the RO plant may be switched on manually or automatically. When there is a larger demand for water, the units can also run simultaneously, tripling permeate output.

The RO can also generate "double pass mode" for extremely high purity waters, which involves feeding the permeate water from the first unit into the second pass as raw water. This already high quality water will then be refined and a very pure water is produced, generally 14 microsiemens. The amount of water available on the raw water feed side needs to be carefully measured when sizing the pre-treatment system since the RO system requires a greater feed flow as the unit recovery for clean water is around 75%. Any application that requires soft water, such as wash water, grey water for toilet flushing, or in certain situations cooling tower make-up, can use the 25% concentrate that the RO rejects. Utilizing this water lessens any feed supply waste.

 

 

Sizing of RO

The following procedures can be used to establish the approximate system size (the number of membrane components and pressure tubes) needed to generate a certain amount of product water (permeate):

a. Decide on the model number and membrane type.

b. Determine the flow rate (GFD) taking into account the anticipated feed water quality.

c. Subtract from the intended plant capacity the membrane element surface area (the membrane area is provided in the element specification sheet) and the design flux rate.

d. Subtract the number of elements per pressure vessel from the total number of elements. To the nearest integer, round the result up.

f. Choose the proper array to obtain the desired recovery percentage. If more pressure vessels are needed, add more of them.

Why choose Netsol!

Make Netsol Water Solutions your go-to supplier for reverse osmosis systems when you want tested, affordable, and environmentally friendly water treatment. Your time and labour costs will be reduced by our turnkey services and systems, and thanks to our prompt customer support, you may frequently have answers to your inquiries in 30 to 60 minutes. We are pleased to spend the time talking with you about your particular industrial water purification needs and provide free quotations and round-the-clock service.

Contact Netsol Water Solutions' RO system specialists for additional information about reverse osmosis, or browse our online library right away. For additional information, call on +91-9650608473 or email at enquiry@netsolwater.com.