Reverse Osmosis
IDE's RO Highlights:
• Seawater and Brackish Water (SWRO/BWRO) Desalination
• Advanced Design, including Adequate Pre- and Post-Treatment
• Simple Operation & Maintenance
• Reduced Energy and Chemicals Consumption: Low Cost Desalination
• Product Quality: Drinking or Industrial Water
________________________________________
IDE’s proven RO plant design for best-in-class reliability and availability is comprised of the following basic components:
• Pre-treatment as required at the specific location
• High-pressure pump and efficient energy recovery system
• Membrane assembly
• Post treatment (if necessary)
Pre-Treatment
Effective pre-treatment is necessary to increase the efficiency and life span of an RO system. Pre-treatment removes suspended solids to assure that the feed water can pass through the very narrow passages used during the desalination process, and also works to prevent salt precipitation or micro-organism growth on the membranes. Selection of proper pre-treatment minimizes fouling, scaling and membrane degradation, resulting in optimized product flow, salt rejection, product recovery. As plant efficiency is maximized and membrane replacement rate is reduced, total operating costs are minimized.
High Pressure Pump & Energy Recovery System
The RO system’s high pressure pump supplies the necessary pressure to enable the passage of the water through the membrane and the salt rejection. This pressure typically ranges from 65-75 bar for seawater.
Reduction of RO plant operating costs is enhanced through the use of energy recovery devices connected to the concentrate stream. These mechanical energy recovery devices consist of turbines or pumps that convert drops in pressure to rotating energy. IDE has extensive experience in the successful implementation of innovative pressure exchangers in commercial applications.
Membranes
To minimize required investment, IDE uses a compact membrane configuration consisting of a pressure vessel and several membranes that permit the feed water to be pressurized against the membrane. Since semi-permeable membranes are fragile and vary in their ability to transfer fresh water and reject the passage of salts, it is critical to select the RO membranes that match the pressure profile of the individual RO plant.
Post Treatment
If necessary, the desalinated water is subjected to post-treatment in order to adjust the final pH level, re-harden the produced water and more.