Reverse osmosis systems use a high-pressure pump applied to a concentrated, unfiltered water solution that can be seawater, brackish water, borehole water, surface water, or city water. The reverse osmosis system forces the water to pass through a semi-permeable membrane, thus retaining all dissolved salts and other substances.
The efficiency of reverse osmosis is directly linked to the filtration capacity or cut-off threshold of the osmosis membranes, i.e. 0.0001 micron. The contaminants thus removed can be dissolved ions or metal ions such as salts, chlorine, copper, calcium, magnesium, nitrates, fluoride, lead, potassium, sulfate, and many others.
The high-pressure pump that will be integrated into the reverse osmosis system will be chosen according to the quality of the water to be treated. Seawater, for example, requires pumps with higher operating pressures compared to brackish water or city water because it contains high amounts of solids and particles (TDS).
It is important to implement pretreatment upstream of the osmosis unit in order to protect the membranes and prevent premature clogging and failure.
The degradation of reverse osmosis membranes is the result of the accumulation of pollutants such as silica, iron, manganese, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate and microorganisms.
It is equally important to ensure the quality of the osmosis water downstream of the equipment. Free of minerals, it will potentially be necessary to remineralize the osmosis water in cases of application for water purification, or to correct its pH because reverse osmosis will have the effect of acidifying the water.
We will also monitor any possibility of bacterial growth by adding a UV ray device.