Reverse Osmosis RO
High-pressure desalination & demineralisation. High-pressure semi-permeable membranes that reject dissolved salts and organics to produce near-pure permeate — the backbone of desalination, reuse and ZLD.
System Schematic
Representative process-flow — configured to your streamUnderlying Technology & Scientific Principle
Reverse osmosis applies pressure above the natural osmotic pressure to drive water through a dense semi-permeable membrane against the salinity gradient. Dissolved salts, organics and almost all contaminants are rejected, yielding a high-purity permeate and a concentrated brine reject.
Working Mechanism
Pre-treated feed is pressurised by a high-pressure pump and distributed across spiral-wound membrane arrays. Permeate diffuses through the membrane film; rejected salts concentrate along the brine channel and exit, with energy recovered from the high-pressure reject in seawater systems.
Separation / Removal Efficiency
Rejects 97–99.5% of dissolved salts and >99% of organics and microbes; produces permeate of <500 mg/L TDS (brackish) or <200 mg/L (seawater post-treatment).
Operating Principle & Parameters
Pressure 10–25 bar (brackish) to 55–80 bar (seawater); flux 12–25 LMH; recovery 40–75% (single pass) to >90% with brine concentrators. Scaling/fouling controlled by antiscalant and CIP.
Flow Rates & Volumetric Capacities
Trains from 5 to tens of thousands of m³/h; multi-pass for ultra-pure or high-recovery duty. Modular and skid-built.
Fluid Media Compatibility
TFC polyamide spiral elements in FRP/duplex vessels; energy-recovery devices on HP reject. Requires robust UF/cartridge pre-treatment and is chlorine-sensitive.
System Schematic & Process Integration
Core of desalination, wastewater reuse and ZLD trains; downstream of UF/NF pre-treatment, upstream of polishing (EDI/IX) and brine management.
Options / Variations Available
Brackish vs. seawater membranes; single/double pass; high-recovery and brine-concentrator configurations; energy recovery.
System Complexity & Automation Level
High — automated pressure, flux, recovery, dosing, flushing and CIP with permeate-conductivity and normalised-performance trending.
Applications & Performance Delivered
Desalination for injection & process
Produces low-TDS water for waterflood, boiler and process duty.
Wastewater reuse
Reclaims treated effluent to high-quality reuse standards.
Zero liquid discharge (ZLD)
Concentrates brine ahead of evaporators/crystallisers.
Contaminant Removal Profile
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