Fundamentals of Reverse Osmosis

WHAT IS REVERSE OSMOSIS

Anyone who has been through a high school science class will likely be familiar with the term “osmosis”. The process was first described by a French Scientist in 1748, who noted that water spontaneously diffused through a pig bladder membrane into alcohol. Over 200 years later, a modification of this process known as Reverse Osmosis allows people throughout the world to affordably convert undesirable water into water that is virtually free of health or aesthetic contaminants. Reverse Osmosis systems can be found providing treated water from the kitchen counter in a private residence to installations used in manned spacecraft. Reverse Osmosis is a technology that is found virtually anywhere pure water is needed. Reverse Osmosis is being used through out the world to provide or supplement drinking water supplies.

In The United States Reverse Osmosis is now providing municipal water to Cape Kennedy, Miami, Florida, Los Angeles, San Diego, and increasingly more Cities in the United States. The Arab world now uses Reverse Osmosis Systems now as their free or cheap gas supplies are dwindling. Europe uses Reverse Osmosis in many cities to provide or supplement their water supplies. On Catalina Island off the coast of Long Beach, California a Reverse Osmosis system is supplying 25% of the islands water. In the Caribbean Reverse Osmosis Systems provide water to numerous Hotels and Resorts, which would have had to close down or severely restrict their occupancy, if not for the installation and use of Salt Water Recovery Reverse Osmosis Systems.

Reverse Osmosis Systems in general have become very economical and automated in the past few years. The use of PLC controllers, Turbine Recovery systems and Variable Frequency Drive systems have allowed our engineers to save up to half of the energy previously required to produce a Cubic Meter of Water. These continual improvements by the Industry and our Engineers has also greatly increased the useful life of the membranes and the system overall. T he Reverse Osmosis Systems we produce are “State of the Art” both in design and operation.

The recovery of Salt Water (Sea Water) in still the most expensive of the basic Reverse Osmosis Systems this is due to many factors.

• Membranes are more expensive due to the requirement to remove contaminants to the Ion level and be able to withstand pressures in excess of 1000 psi.
• Pressure Vessels (the shell which contains the membrane) must be ASME certified and be able to operate at 1500 psi and have a burst pressure rating of 6000 psi. (We are the only manufacturer of the vessels in Asia).
• Materials, piping, pumps, gages; instrumentation must be made of materials which can stand the corrosive water as well as the high pressures in the system.
• Special design considerations must address the flow rates, flux of the membranes, as well as the safety confederations of the equipment and the system as a whole.
• The system is usually supplied fully automatic and provided with full safety alarms and cutout systems.

Reverse Osmosis in used for many applications, some of the applications are listed below.

•Drinking Water
•Cosmetics
•Humidification
•Animal Feed
•Ice-Making
•Hatcheries
•Car Wash Water Reclamation
•Hatcheries
•Rinse Waters
•Restaurants
•Biomedical Applications
•Greenhouses
•Laboratory Applications
•Metal Plating Applications
•Photography
•Wastewater Treatment
•Pharmaceutical Production
•Boiler Water
•Kidney Dialysis
•Battery Water
•Water used in chemical processes
•Semiconductor production, High Technology Electronics production.
•Hemodialysis
•Virtually any Industrial application where high quality water is needed, we are even cleaning radioactive waste water.