V

PUBLIC TJTILITItrS BOARD OF SINGAPORtr

Corporate Training Departrnenr

1

r*-;

ReverseOsmosisGuide
Design& trngineering

Thble of Csntent
CHAOTEOl

CHAPTER

Reverse

Osmosis

Presure
How

Drivff

Membrane

Ooes A rrlembrane

Different

Membrane

lrrembEne

Module

Hoilow

Fine

Spiral

Wound

Plate

& Frame

Fiber

Feed Waler
Feed

Pressure
YVater Temperature

Conf -gurat-ons
(HFF)

Permeate

Membranes

CHAPTER

4
Oesign

System

20

Components

20
22

Concentrate

Staging

23

Flow

Permeate

RO System

Salt

Passage

71

Salt

Sall

Rejection

11

Flow

(8 Factor)

l7
f8

Rerarculation

'to

Polarization

Ratio

Concentrate

Transport

Conce ntration-Factor

Recovery

RO Sys(em

Salt

(Gonversion)

16

5
6

Pressure

15
lf

Feed

Pammeters

Goncentration

Salinity

Membranes

Recovery

Performance

Processes

Transport

Permeate

Affectang

RO Operating

Factors

Work?

CHAPTER

Water

Preeses

Ceramic

Osmotic

Fsndamentals

Oistribution'

Average

24

Stagang
Oesign

26
cuidelines

Flux Rate

Passage

lncrease

2A
2A

per Year

Limitations

z9
29

12
12

GHAPTER

13

RO Pre-Treatment

30

Fre-Trcatment Considerations

3O

Satuiation Limits in the Concen(rate

33

Thhle of Gemtent
CHAPTER

(continued)

6
CHAPTER

Membrane

Start-up,

Shutdom

and

General
Flushing

35
Storage

Procedure

for

46

Guidelines
MembEnes

Preservative
RO System
RO System

Ftushing
Starl-up
Shutdown

38
Short-term

Storuge

46

Long-term

Storage

46

to Installation

47

35
36
Prior

Plate & Frame

Ceramic

I
CHAPTER

lmplementing
CHAPTER

a RO Proiect

RO Membrane

Foulan(s & Their Removal

37
APPENDIX

Foulan ts

3t
References

Foulant

Removal

Membane

Gleaning

Volume
Materials
Cleanang

System

41

APPENOIX
Langelier

Data Monitoring
Cleaning

52-

37

4?
$pecifications

Requirements
/ Components
Procedqre

42
43
43
44

B
Saturation

Index

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGIHEERING

Reverse SsmcsEs
Fundarmenta!s
4

PressureD rtuenfuIembraneProcesses
Reverse Osmosis

(R-O), Nano Frltrauon (NF), Ulta Elrrarion (UF) and rucroFrltrauon (ivIF) are the commonly used pressure dnven membrane processes in the
order oF increasing pore opemng
MF rnembranes are prunaril1, used to rernove
part culate n-Latter and bacteru'r frorn rvatcr and proce ss liquids
L.lltra Frlranon
mcntllrenes are usecl to remo\re partrculate, col.loiclelntatter and [ractene,
+]]rroBen,
-f'hcy
vlruses frour rvater and process liclurds
are also used to concentratc r-aluable
s o l u t e s s r t c h a s i n r r , h e l ' c o n c e n L r a t i o n , c l e c t t o - d c p o s i t i o n p 2 r i l t r e c c ) \ ' e 1 1 c, .o o l a n t
conce ntratiori :rncl a varre t]' <i[ applicatrons
Nano Frltrauon nre nrbranes arc oftcrr
called as lrtosc [lO:rItd

a r e u s e d a s s o f t e n i n g r n e r n b r a n e s o r t o r e r ] r o v c d 1 ' e sa n d
florn water and liqurd effluents RO as u,c knorv rs rrsed tcr
temorre ilorganic salts, conrmonly termed as roLal dissolved salts or sunply TDS
frorn brackish and sea water and ftom wastewater. Table 1.0 gn'en belorv gives a
orgaruc com;rouuds

comparison oI these membrane processes with the conventional

hlttauon

FIowDoesA MenbraneWork?
A membrane can be consideted as z.very thrn FrlmoI a barricr rvith small pores. A
fhble 1. Con(aminan(Fittra(aon
l zc rf Fil er

lomstioul

C@taru-mt

(CB

R@oval

['rwe

psi

lr,latsiels Filbrod

1rmo100.000-TA

to >l 000

Ftbs. SaM. Htir. Pollm

Rou, Y9

Itidodltosti@ O{F)

l00mor200-1000004

to >100 (ave 10J

Fibo, Baasia, Hgnerds. Sroole Dast,

FrnulsitredOiIs. Collo&l Silicar
Pstr-orlabs, Wus, H6vt' Mdrli, Lb/-

Jttoi_filtosdmruF)

002pmor10-m0A

to 250

CilloidBl
Polmss,

'l@[10abon

fNF)

-000lpmor5-l0A

to 1000

lew*mcis

1 rm lmiom)-

(RO)

000051mor1-54

]0.000 A {mestrm)

to 1000

SiUca,tPonicles, Dre, Cubo,

Fmd Stu&, &otien, Gdatin

SuEAr, Srnftdc
(xqt

Gilori&

Red EimdCdl

Drrc,lr{eel

drloride sJts|

lm-

Akdrds

Sslts rrd Ar@ic Rldii

Ssls

RO

DL5IGN

FNGINLLRING

n r e t n b r a r t cc a n h a v e s l r a p c c r i . r c 1 ' L r d n c a l f i b e r o I r ] r r r n e t c r a s s r n , r Ua s 4 5 m - r c r o n s
or 1 0 nun or rn a rubtrlar fortn tt crn bc 1 rnch

A rnernbranecarr also be Ln form

o f a f l a t s h e e t l - r k ca p a p e r l t c a n b e r l a d c o I d r F [ er e n t n r a t en a l s s u c h a s c e l l u l c l s c
2 c e t 2 t e , a t o m a t r c P o l 1 , 2 1 - t - t 1o6l",,l o r t d c n r . ' a n 1 ' se, p o l l ' r . r n y l a l c o I o l d e r i y a h r - . e p, o l l '
a c 1 1 , [ s n r r r t ] . ,p o l l r s p r i p l t o r t . , p o l y g i [ . . r r . . t 1 p h o 1 e a n c ] o t h e r . - s S e l I s u p p o r t r n g
m e m b r a n e s o i o n e t n a t e r r a l a r e c a U e d a s l ' I T u n c t r r cr n d t h o s e \ \ j l t h a s L r p p o r t a r c
cailed syrnrnetllc or composrte meimbranes
For a membrane process to rvork, first, membrane rnatenal should be such that it
preferennally attracts the solvent, that is rvater and rejects contaminants that are
salts in case oF RO
N4embrane materials such as cellulose acetatc, aromauc
polyamrde have a pre[erenn-rl athacLion for lr,atcr and prefere naal rejecnon for
charged ronic substances
Second, the membrane should lrave proper rnor?holog)/ to ger desired separadon
and producuvrq,. N'loqrholopl' can be vern sunply stated to rnclude pore sizs aod
pore sze distfibunon
If the pore srze rs smail, solute separadon rwll be very good
but membrane producti!'rry that is penneate flow drrough the membranes wtll be
rrery lo\\r arld to get a- desired penne ate florv u'ould requre large rncmb rane ^telL
I-atger potes wLll )'ield [rrgh proclgcttvtq, but lorve r salt separatror.r
E , r ' e na f t e r h a v r n g a s u t a b l e r n a t c r u l a n d n r o r p [ r o l o g y , o n e n e e d t o p r e s s u n z e t ] r c
-fhis
fecd watcr appropnate ly
i s r J r cr h i r d r e L l u r r n r n
r :t F [ i c h e r p r c s s L r r e sp r o d u c e
t n o r c p c r r n e a t c b r r t L n c r c a s cc l l x n c c : r , f f r t r r L r r t
Once dre membrane process ls operarrnl the separaoorr perfonleoce depends
prunanly on three factors - attracuve and repi-rlsive forces and sterjc factors A
solute having attractron to\vards tlre memL;rane and snrall enougfi (to pass tlrrough
the membrane) l.ras lrrgher probabrhty of appeanng rn the permeare sLream,
Hydrophilic (water lormg) and polar compounds, for example metl-ranol and urea,
can Pass easrly through the RO membtanes
With dre rcpulsive forces Lhe result is
opposite for non pol-ar and hydrophobic (warer rejecrlg) compounds, Mernbrane
surface cl"rarge plays an important role rn the separation. Steric Factors meaos
those related to the size of the solute molecule
Even a hghly hydrophrlic
compound n'ill not pass through the membrane i[-tts size is much larger dran the
pore operung o[ the rnernbraue
Herc pore geometry, geomefty
rnoleculeand rts one nution can aiso play a part,

o[ the soiutc

Based on the pore operung o[ fhe membranes, steric or attractive/repulsive forccs

or both pl^y ^ role rn the membrane processes
In RO and NF all forces are
tmportant u'hile ur UF and I\,lF stenc forces are predorninanr for separadon
although all forces are responsible for fouhng ir all membranes

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGIHEERING

D fierenI i\{etnbtztneProce.rse
t
'fherc

are three mau-l q,pes oImembtane

Reverse osmosi-s and Nano

desalinatron and

filtration

dtsilfccdon.

RO

s]/stem conunonll,used Ln rndtrstui,.

arc uied ertensrvclr [or r,,ater punFcauon,

aod

NF

rnernbranes are usecl ro rernove

In RO and NF, r,ater and srnaller
aicohols and polar compounds pass thtough thc rnembrane into the permcate side
but all ioruc rmpunaes, Large molecules, colloids, emulsified orls, [ats, proteins,
drssolr-cd norgatuc

and orgaruc unpuntles

bactcria arc coocentrated on the concentrate side.

Prcsent day Ro

rnembranes are made of polyamrde layer on a polysulphone

mernbranes are also made of cornposire pol\:arnide and o&er
polyrneric tnatenals, Although these are avarlable Ln vanous configurations, the
suDport

Nl'

srngie rnost popul-ar configrration

used all over is spual

In the rvater irdustty RO Frnds applicatrons

water and vaste water rncludrng city sewage,
several yeats

Proper

ur treaffnent o[ bracl<rsh water, sea

Lzrge sized plants are operaturg for
design o a pre-treatrnent system rs ',.ital for successful

oPerauon of an1' RC) system Often it rs found not giverr the attenuon drat it
-flus
requrrcs.
results rn operatlng uoubles once the systetn rs corrunissroned
\ X / : r s t e u , a t c ta p l i c a u o n s n e e d t o b e r n o n i t o r e d
rtot posstblc to csorrtate thc exact r-rarlrre of
-l'he
s)'stern
pre treatrnent miglrt need to bc
e.\penencc wrth dre cfflucnt received rn dre
lfirPortant and good undersundng
'lailtrrc of a RO sys(em

o[it

c l o s e l y b e c a r - r s cu r r r r o s t c a s c s r t i s
the efflr.rent t!) l]c treated n ltO
rnodrfted bascd on dre operatlng

plant,
Process c[rcrmsq' ls vcry
can make a drfferencc betrveen sLrccessor

U]tra filtration
ts ,'videly used [or: oil, water and emulsron separatrons; parnt
recovery; and thc separadon of [ats, oils or greases n thc food urdustry
Ultra
filtratron
membranes
remove parricularcs, collods, emulsified oils and large
rnolcculcs frorn liqurd streams. In ultra Frltrauon, \rrater, a[ ioruc substances,
smallcr alcohols pass through the mernbrane into the petrneate srde but large
molecules, colloids, emulsrfled orls, fats, protems, bacteria are concentrated on the
toncentrate stdeUltra Frlttauotr nrembranes are made oI a varie $, of polymenc lnateflals and are
hber, spual, tubular and plate & frame confrgurations
While
tubular ot plate & frame conEgurauon is best toi high sohds loadrng, therr low

avar.lable rn hollou'

membrane atea to volume ratios make them too expensive or u,atcr apphcations.
SpLra[s have a lugh mernbt^rTearea to volume

ratios but tlreir narrou, florv channel

cao get pl%ged unless a tlucker channel (or feed -bnne spacer is used, Hollorv
)
6bers are good for pure *ater applicatrons and thel' provide srrarghr flow paths

RO

OSIGN

&

ENGIHEERING

Lauc,s Spuai systcnls ate \:er]J easy to

a{rd have llgir rnenrbr:rne area to r.c.,[u.rtre
build and have been used even ur \\'astc-\r,atcrapplrcalrons r"tth hlgh cl'.ances c.'[
[ouirng
In ttrc *'ater rni]ust5y r-rItra fillr2tuor] L.d.

rpplr.auon)

ut bactcrta ar-rd pl,rogen

removal Ln the phannaceubcal urdustrt', producnon oI potable and mneral rvater

and Lreatment o[ \L,astewater contalrung e urulsrfied coolants, [t rs also Lncreasr.ngly
used as a pre treaunent for RO systems because lt pro\ndes an ercellent quaiity oI
feed water.
Wtule ultra filtraaon docs remorre colloidal and paruculate

RO

rrnpuntres from u'ater, RO

membranes can stlll get fouled u'ith dissolved and

brologrcal substances as observed dunng extensive studres catried out at the Water
Factory 21 Ln LISA

\,'nbrhg of a UF RO combLnaoon is case depcndent and user

s h o u l r j e v a l u : i i ea l i o p f i o n s b e f o t e g o u r g f o r r t
Ail drese systems requlre carehrl system design
cross flow

over

the membrane

Nlost cnncal patameter

u,hich has to [re high enough

to

is the

keep the

Either batch or feed & bleed or condnuous systems are used It

is essential to carry out a pilot study for a rrcrv apphcation to establish separatron
\rersLls pressute, tetnperaRrrc, flou, and conceotratron
petfonrrance ; flux
tnembrane clean

rclauonsllps and the cleaning protocol

filtration rs epplred to trlauttaln dcgrcasrng pr,...r, soluoons for metal
e
ltarricf recctvery/ retnoval or to concentlatc other parlicu[atc materials frotn
N'l[' rncnrbranes rcrn()r't parLlc.uhtcs, colloicls and
lrclurds or slurrrcs
nucrobiokigcal irrrpurrtres ftour liquid streatns Irt N1ft, \r'irtet, aU torrc and orgaruc
Micro

sr-rbsLenccspass drror,rglr the rnembrane urto t]re permeate side but

parliculates; bactena are concenLrated or't the coocenLrate sicle

coUoids,

MIr mernbranesare also rnade of a variety oIpolymenc matertals, comrnon bcng

spual and platc & frame
ate aveilqblg rn hollou'fibet,

polysulphone,:rnd
conFtgutations

In dre water rndLrstrl, N{tr finds applicauons

rn paruculate and bacter-ia removal tn

Lndustry and producuon oF

the pharnraceudcal, electronics and semiconductot

potable and rnineral water.
systems like Ultra filratron

It is also mcreasmgly used as a pre-t-reatment [ot RO

membranes.

du/e eonfgurdttznr
M embrcneA'''Io
The ru'o rnajor mernbrane module configuraubns used for reverse osmosis
applicanonsare hollorv fiber and spiral wound. Two other configuradons, rubular
and plate and frame, lrave found good acceptance tn the food aod daty rndustry
and rn some specl"l appircatuons,but modules oItfus confrgurau.onhave been Lcss
frequentlyusedrn reverse osmosis applicauons

RO

OESIGN

ENGINEERTNG

-I-uhtrlar

rnembranes

easy to understarrd

-l-he
l - r a v eb c e n a r o u n d [ o r a l o n g n r r i c
d e - : L g nr s s u n p l e a n d
-i'ubular
m e m b r a n es c : r n t o [ e r a t e s u s p c n d e c i s . L d s L n c l t r d r n q

fiber-. to a largc c\rcnt

A l l n r b u l a r m e r n t r l : r n c s s r r f f c r [ ' r c t r ns e v e r a l d _ L s a d r . a n f a g e s
'

'I'he,v

'

Change oImcrnbranes

.
'
'

requrrc a lot of space.

ft'raybe qurte chfficult and fime conisuprlr-rI

T'he tubular sJrsternsrvith large tD (1 mch) use a lot oIenergl,
I-arge internal volume makes flushing and CIP costly ln rerms of usage of
chemicals and rr.ater
It is cosdy and drfficult for the manufacruret to clrange rhc rubrrrlardesrgn

llle advantages clI drc rubular systcms somebrrles oun'ergh t-he cl-rsadvantages,and
d-re tubulrr rnembr:rrrc desrgn has a place in the market, aldrough q,.,,r. r,r,rl

Ilo/low Fine Fiber @fry A.4embranes

ThLrsconltlgutatronuses membrane rn the form of hollou,'fibers rvluch [rar.cbecn
extruded frrtn.rcclluloslc or non cellulosic material T[rc fibcr rs :rs),rrlrnetncm
structure and ts as lurc as a human harr,about 42 rrrcron (0 001(r urch) I l_] and 85
rrucron (0 0033) urch) O lJ. lv{illiooso[ rhese Frbersare formed urto a brrgclleand
f o l d e c l r n h a l f t o a l e n g t h o [ a p p r o x r n r a t e l y1 2 0 c m ( 4 f t ) A p c r f c r r a t e dp l a s t i c
n t b e , s c r v l n g a s a f e e d \ \ ' a t c r d t s t f l b u t o ri s r n s e r t e di n t h e c e n t e r . . r r r cclx r c n d s t ] r e
-fhe
full lengtir ott thc [tr-rlrdlc
bundle rs u,rappcd and borl'reods arc cpoxy sealed
to fomr a shect'UkePcrrneatetube end and a termirral end rvhich prevcnts rhe fccd
sLreamfrom bypassrrg to the bnne outlet
The hollou, fiber nrembrane bundle, 10 cm to 20 cm (4 to B rnchcs) rn drarnetcr,is
corrtarnedin a cyllndlcal housing or shell approxirnately 137 cm (54 Lnchcs)long
and 15 30 cm (6 12 mches) in diameter The assemblyis cailcd a permeator
1-he pressunzed fced watet entets the penneator feed end through thc center
distributor nrbe, passes through dre rube rvall, and flows radially around thc fibcr
bunclle toward the outer permeato( pressureshell Water permeates tlrrough the
outside rvall of rhe Frbcrstnto the ho[ow core or fiber bore, throug[-rtlie bore to
dre tube sheet or product end o[ the fiber bundle, and exirs throlrftr rhe prodtrct
connecuon on dre feed end oI the permeator.
In a hollow ftber rnodule, the permeatewater flow per unit area of meribrane is
low, and thereFore,the concentrauon polarizatron is oot high at the membrane
surface- The net result is that hollorv Ftber uruts operate m a non-h,rrbulent or
larninar flov,' regrme The HFF membrane must operate abo'e a mirumum reiect
flow ro mimmrze concenftation polaruauon and maintarn even florv drstnbuuon
through dre fiber bundle, TypicaUy, a sLngle hollow fiber pennearor can be

RO

DESIGH

ENGINEERING

o p c r a t c d r r u p r o 5 0 p c r c r : r r t r ( : c o \ .c o / a n d t l e e ( t h e r n u u u r u m r e i e c t f l o r v r e q u u c d
-fhe
l - r o l l o r vh b e r u r u t a L l o r t ' sa l a r g c r n e m b r a n c 2 r c : r p e I u u t ! , o l u n r e , - r f p e r m e a t o t
r i ' h i c h r c s u l t s r n c o { n p e c t s \ s t el l s

Hollo*,

h b c r p e n r n et c r s a r e a v a i l a b i e [ o r

b r a c k i s h a n d s e a \ \ , a t e ar o o l i c a n o r r s

Nlembrane mated?ls are cellulose acetxte blends and aranud (a propnetar)J

polyarrude fype rnaterlal rn an arusotroprc[orm) BccairseoI r'ery close packed
fibers and tornrous feed flou' ursrdet]ie module, l.rollot' fiber modules reclurrefeed
water oI better qualiq' (o,,ver concentratlon oI suspended sohds) than the spLral
wound module conEgurauon

Spira/ WoundA4embranes
In a sprral wound contrguranon ru,o t]at shcets of metnbranc are separated wrdr a
permcatc collector clrannel material to fcrt-.'r t leaf This assernbli, is sealed on
three srdes wlth tl-re fourt]r side left opcn for perrneate to exrt, A teed/bnne
spacer nuterL2l sheetis addcd to dre leafassetnbly
or

leaves are u.or,.rndarouncl

A nurnbcr oIthese assembbes

a central pl-asnc pcffneatc

tube

Thls

rube is

perforated to coilect d.re penneate frorn thc mtrluple ieaI assemLrlies. ll he rypical
rndustnal spiral rvound rnembrane element is appr,rx-ulately 100 or 150 cm (40 or
60 rnches) long and 10 or 2[) ctrr ('[ or B) rnches rrt dt:rrn:ter
'fhe

f e e c l , / b n n e f l o w ' t h r c i r - r g l rt h c ' t : l c m c n t t s e s t r a i q l r t a v a l p ; r t l r f r o n r t h e f e e d e - n c i

to dre opposite bnne encl. running parallcl to thc nrcmbrane strrflce The feed
s p a c c r i n d u c e s t r - r r L r r L l e r r cacn d r e d u c e s c o n c e n t r a t l o n p o l a n z a u o n -

channel

lvlanufacrurers

specrfi'

bnle

florv

polanzanon by lrrniung recovcrf'(or

Refer to Fg i 0 belor.r',

reqLUrenrerlts to control concenLrauon

converston) per clernent go l0 ' 20 percerrt

Thcrefore, recovery (or converston) is a Functiorr oI dre fced-bruc path lengdr

In

ordet to operate at acceptable recovenes, spLral systems ate usually staged wrth
three to six membranc clements connected rn scries in a pressure tube. T[re bnne
becomes dre fecd to t]re following elemerrt, and so
on for each element widun the pressure rubestrcam flrom the first element

The brure stream frorn tlre last elernent exits the ptessurc tubc to rvaste The
permeate ftom each eLenrent enters [he penneate col-lectorrube and exrts the
vessel as a conunon peffneate stream A surgle pressure vessel r'".td-rfour to six
membrane elements connected in senes can be'opetated at up to SO-percent
recovery under norrnal design conditions Tl.rebnne seal on d.reelement feed end
sealcanier prelrentsthe feed/bnne strealnfrom bypassurgthe followlng element.

RO

DESIGH

&

ENGINEERIHG

P er f o r a l eC
d e n t r aTlu b e

F e e dC h a r r r r e l
Spacer

Merrrhra
ne

P e r m e a tCeo l l e c t i o r r
Malerial
Membrane
f e e dC l r a r r r rSetll a c e r

0 u t eW
r rap

Fig. 1.0.Cross section oIa spral rnernbrane

Spual

wound
elemcnts arc l]rost conrLlonly rnanufacnued
wrtl'r n"t shcct
tnetnbrane o[ either a ccllulose dtacetate and rrr-acerate({-A) blend or a t]rin Frhr
c o l n p o s i t e A t l u n f i l m c o m l r o s t t e m c r n l : r a n e c o n s r s t s < l I a d i u - ra c n r . c L r y c r o f o n c
-['he
corn;rosrte
Pollrmer cast on a thicker suPportrng Layer o[ a different polyme r
men-rbranes usualll, exlrrbit lrrghcr relecuon at lou'er opcrattng pressures tharr the
cellulosc acetate blends The gornpositc membrane materials may be polyamdc,
p o l y s r - r l [ o n e ,p o l y u r e a , o r - o d r e r p o l y m e r s

Plate dy Frame
These werc largelypioneered by DDS and acruallydomrnated tle darry market ur
E,urope for 15 years.Lack of devcloprnent and an nflcxible pnce structure more
or less killcd the deslgnberrveen 1989 and i995 There are severalncw plate andfrarne s1'51sms
availablefn-E,urope The best knorvn rs the ROCHE,N4desgn FIar
sl-reetsystems o[[er a very robust and compact desrgn,but for a pnce. Ir,lodern flar
slreet systems are bu-tltto tolerate very hrgh pressure,rn excessof 100 bar There is
a small market [ot this extrelrle pressure range rn treatment of landfll leachate and
for dcsalinauon o[sca watcr onboard shros.

RO

OESIGN

ENGINEERIHG

Ceranttc
-fl're1,
'flreoredcaU]',
2Es very, vert expcnsnic
ceraffuc s];stems can be vcry effecuve
I r r r e a l i q ' t h e m a r k e t L sv e r t , l u u t e d t o s p e c L a la p p l i c a n o n s

for N{F

Ta6le 2 belou' provrdes a companson

Table 2: Comparison

amongst drfferent rnembrane modules.

Amongst

I{ollow
Spital

Fine
Fibet

Packing Density,
m2/m3
Fouling Tcndency

Cleanability

Crossflo*'requirement
Pre-filtration
rcqutferne

Plrnt

nt

investrncnl

Treatment

cost

Different Me mbrane Modules

Hollow
Fibe r

Ceramic

Tubular

Lorv

Plate &
Frame

Hrgh

Verv high

Fhgtr

[-ow

N{cdrum

\req, lugh

Nledrun

Nfedrurn

Lor'

Low

Cood

Lou

[.ou

Good

Good

Good

N,Iedrurl

Low

lvle ch un

I ()

.:5ll

1 5 01 r

Lr:rr.

N(edrurn

ttglr

l-oq

Lou'

Nledr unr

V"ry

\/ery

hlgh

Hgh

)creen

S c r e en

Vc11,

lwh
lrer)
t El.

fvtedium

I{rgh

< 1 0 0p t

Hgh

Ir{edrum

Hrgh

N{edrum

RO

DESIGN

6.

ENGINEERING

RS Operatins Faranreters
O.rmoticPres.rure
The osnrotrc pressure, n, o( a soiuuoo can be determrned experimentaLlt'bi'
measufutg r-heconcentraoon of dissolved saltsin soludon,

n-l19(T|:ZJt*ffntt

(1)

-lt'here n - osrnorrc pressure (rn psr),

rs the ternperaturc (Ln'C), and l(N,I) rs the
sum of Inolal corrcentrauon of ail constrtrrents Lr a solutron Arr rpproKrrxiEon
l o r n r n e l ' b c m a c l c b y e s s u r n i n g d r a t 1 0 0 0 p p r n o f f o r a l D L s s o l r . e dS o l i d s G D S )
equals ;rborrt I 1 psr (0 16 t:ar) of cismottc []ressure

IYtater

'I'ran:port

Tl-re tatc oI rvater passage tlirough a mernbrane rs de{l-ied irr Ecluanon 2

Q..=(AP

A^)*K_*S/d

(2)

u'here Q-. is the rate o[ water flow drrough dre membrane, I P is the hydraulic
pressute drfferenual acrossd-remembrane, An is the osmotic pressuredrfferenttal
acrossthe metnbrane, Kw is the membrane penneabr.hry
coefficient for rvater, S is
m
c
m
b
r
a
n
e
a
(
e
a
,
a
n
d
d
the
t s t h e m c m b r a n c t h i c k n c s sB
, e c a u s ed i s v c r y s m a i l a n d
Q " , / S e q u a l su , a t e rf l u x f l . ) , E q u a u o n 2 c a n b e s u n p l i f i e dt o :

(3)

J-=A-(l\DP)

NDP rs thc net dnvrrg pressure or net drirnng force for the uansport of rvater
across the mcmbrane surface.Thc A is tefrperanue dependent and represents a
uruque coostarrt for each mcrnbrane material type [t rs referred to as the "A"
v'altre,solvent trensport coefficrent, or watei transport parameter The A value
(for a specific temperature)is easily obtarned expcdrnentaUyby measuringj" and

9\

RO

DESIGN

ENGIHEERING

Oncc drc A vrlue for a spccrirc

tlrcr' rppivurg thenr io thc Equauorr 3

NDP

nrembran( ls kno\'.'n, l]ermeate fLtrx rna1, be predrctcd for a varteqi oI net drivurg
t
*
p r e s s u r e s f h e A v a l u c m a y h a r . eu n t t s o I g p t n 7 ' [ t 2 p s i o r t r l , ' ' s k P a
(-

L --r-

,) ft1t I t'flil-rut7
The rate r,rI salt flou' through the n.ren'rbrane ts defined by E.qLLaaon'1

Q,

= (C- - C.) *' K. * S/d

(4)

ivhere Q, is t[-re flow rate o[ salt through the membrane, K ts the membrane
permeabihry coefficient fbr salt, C- is t]rc salt concenLratloo at the membtane
surface, Cn is tl-re salt concentranon in the pcrmeate, S is the membraoc area, and d
is dre rnembrane tlrickncss, Because d is very small and Q, / S equals salt flux (JJ
ihrough ilre me inbr:rnc , this E.quation can by sirnpl-ified tc.,

1,= B*(C* C)

(s)

Where (C- -

C,.) rs the drivLng force for dre nr-lss transfer of salts The B is
constant Fot each membrane rypetemperature depenclar-rtand represents a r-rni<1ue
Thc B rs oftcrr relerred to as the "B" r'alr-re,t]re solut'e trllrlsPort Parameter, or the
,^alttransport coefficient Becatrse the concentration at the tncm[rrane sut[ace
( ( . , . , )c a n t l o t b c o l r t a u l e c le x [ ] c n r r r c r l t a l l t "t , . , , t l r e t n o r e c h f f i c . r r [ t o c a l c u l a t c t h c B
value t['rarr thc
cxpentletttaUl,

r.alue

An

lt1' uslltg the

e strtrlate oI

avcrage

rtI

dre

drc

leed

valtre r-nay be

obtarned

and

concenLralion

conccnff:ltlon rn olace of thc co0ccntl2rtlorl at the rnetnbrane surfitce

brule

In other

rvords

C-=(C,+Cb)12
Where bodr the feed concentratron (C)

and dre brine conce(ltfauon

(Co) can be

easily measr.rted

The rvater transport Eguatron (Eguanon 2) and the salt LransPort Equanon
(E,quatron 5) shorv that fot a givert tnembrafte at a grven temPerafure:
a)

Rate o[ u,ater flot, t]rrough a membrane ls proporuonal to applied

pfessurc

b)

R a t e o f s a [ t f l o u , r s p r o p o r t r o u a l t o d r e c o n c e n L r a u o nd i f f e r e n d a l a c r o s s
t h e m e r n b r a n ea n d i s i r d e p e n d e n t o I a p p l i e d P r e s s u r e

Permeate salinify, Co. dependson the reladve rates of water and salt transport
t h r o u g l i r e v e r s eo s m o s i sn r e m b r a n e .

RO

OSIGN

&

NGINEERING

Ln - (l.i(1.

(6)

The fact t.hat,.r'atcr and salt have drfFerent nuss cransfcr rates thr()ugh a grven
tnctnbrane creates the phenornena oI salt rejecaon No rncrnbranc is itleal rn dre
s e n s e t h a t L t a b s o l u t e [ 1 rr e f e c t s s a l t s ; r a t h e r t h e d r f f e r e n t L r a n s p o r t r a t c s c r c a t e a r l
relccuon
The Eguatlons 2, J and 5 exp[arrr rmp()rrant desrgn

apparent

c o n s i d e r a t r o r r si n R O s l ' s t e m s F o r e x a m p l e , a n t n e r c . r s eu r o p c r ; i t - u l g p r e s s u r c , , v r l J
tncrease u,ater floq, g'rthout clranging salt flor',', thus resultrng ur lo,ver peffneate]
sahnity.
C

1, T\

J Ll/[ l-aSSt/9
S a l t p a s s a g ei s d e h n e d a s t h e r a t i o o F c o n c c n t r a u o n o f s a l t o n t h e p c r n i e : t e s r t l r , I
the rnembrane relauve to t}re average feed concenftanon
Nlathcmaucaliy, rt is
expressed rn E,qr-ratlon 7

= 100* (cPic'.J
9.,osP

(.j .)

whcrc ozbSP
is thc salt passage(rn %), eo is thc salt conceotraoon rn the pcrmeate,
and C.,, is dre rrean salt concentratronur feed stream T[us concentraticln may be
estrmatedas follou's.
c,,r=(cftch)/2
\Mrcre
C , - [ i e c d( o n c c n t r ; l l l c ) n
C,, = Brine conccr)trauofl
Applyrng the iundamental Equauon s of water flow and salt flou, illustratcssolnc
o f t h e b a s i cp n n c i p l e s o f R O m e m b r a n e s F o r e x a m p l e ,s a l t p a s s a g ei s e n L f l v e r s c
funcnon of pressure; d'rat is, the salt passage rncreasesas applied pressure
decreasesThlrs is because reduced pressure decreasespermeate flo',r' rate, and
hence, dilution oI salt (the salt flows at a constant rate through the membrane as
its rate o[ florv is rndependentof pressure)

.\ alt Ketectnn
Salt rejccuon is the opposite of salt passage,and is deFrredby EqLrauon
o/oSR= 100 - %SP
\X4rere%SR is the sait rejectron (^"h),
Equauon 7

(B)

and %SP is tJresalt passageas deFrnedrr

11o

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

P erzzeateRecouer1,(-,0nue,ston)
Permcate reco\rer! rs arrother mrportznt pararneter Ln tlie desgn :rnd operatron oI
R O s i ' s t e m s R c c o t . e n , o r c o n s e r s r o n r a t c o [ f l e e d \ ( a l e r t ( ) p r o 6 l u r l ( p e i l n c d t c rI \
deFrned bi, Equatton 9

o/oR
= too. ( e,.ieJ

t-o)

whete 7oR is recovery rate (nYo), Qo rs the product water flou,rate, ahd Qrrs the
feed water florv ratc
fhe recovery ratc affects salt passagc and product flou' As
thc recovery rafe increases, the salt concentradon
membrane

increases, rvhich

causes an

mcmbrane as indicated b)' Eqr-raoon 5

on the feed bnne side o[ dre

incrcase in salt flor'.' rate across the
Also, a hrgher salt conccntrarion m the

feed-bnne soludon increases drc osmotic pressure, reducrng the NDP

consequerrdy reducrng the ptoduct ',r'ater florr.,rate accordmg to Fiqrratiol 2.

and

eoncentrationFactor
Concentration

factor is unportant

Ln calculaoons rnr.olvu)g saturation levels of

sparmglv soluble salts irr a RC) system

perlneate fecovery trsing Equatron l0

ConcenuaLron lactol rs calculrtcd from

( _ F = 1 0 0/ ( 1 0 0 u / o R )

(r 0 )

As thc peffneate rccoverl Lncre:rsesconcenftadon [actor also urcreases but the

tncrease ts stceper at hlgh tecoveries as shown bclow-

Reiect concentration (Cj is obtarned by mutnplyurg feed concentrauon (C) and

concenttation factor [t is assurnedthat the Deffneateconcent(atron is zero in this
calculation

RO

DESIGN

NGINEERING

Conccntrrtlo^

Fccro.

{CF)

'Recoverv
Fig. 2.0: Concentration Fairor variauon u4fh Penneare

eancentrationP olan<ation (BetaJactor)

lhe

'alue

of

corresponds to

dre Concenuador) Polarlzafion ljactor oF | 2, for example,

.l
89/o peffneate reco\/ery fcir a 40" lorrg rnernbrarre clement.

As rvater flows tlrrough the membrane and saits are rejected by the rnembrane, a
'membrane
borindary layer is formed
flear the
surface rn wlich
thc salt
concentration exceeds the salt concentradon rn the bulk soluuon. This incteasc of
salt concentradon
is called concentration
polarizatron.
The
effect
of
concentration polarization is to reduce acnlal product lvater flow rate and salt
reicction versus theotetical

esdmates Thc cffects of concentradon

polanzzfrona.re

as follows:

Greater osmodc pressureat the_mernbranesurflacethan tn the bulk feed

soluuon, A n, and reduced Ner Dnvrng Pressuredifferenual across thc
membrane(AP An)
Reducedrvater tlorv across membrane (Q.)
Increasedsalt florv acrossmernbrane (QJ

13 r

RO

DESIGN

&

EHGIHERING

lncrtase,i piol,,ibiiq, t:I c:,:cecdingsoiubri_rq,

<_risparrrgil, soluble salts at
the nremltranesurface,and dre drstrnctpossibrJrtyo[ preciprratroncaus1ng
nrembrancscai-r-rg

The Conccntrauon Polanzation Factor (CPF) or Beta carr be deFured,rs a ratio oI

salt concentrationar the membrane surface(C") to bulk concentrauon (C,,).
CPF = C./Co

(11)

An increase in permeate flux wrll inctease the delivery ratc of ions to the
mernbranesurfaceand increaseC,. An increaseof feed florv increascsturbulence
and reducesdre-ifuckness o[ the hgh concentradon layer near t]re membrane
surface fherefore, the Beta is clitecdy propordonal to permeate florv (Q),
"na
irrverselyproporuonal ro arreragefeed flow (Qr",J
CPF = Ko * cxp(Qo/ Q""J

(2)

Where I! is a propordonality constantdependrngon sysremgeomcul,

Usng the adthmeuc average of feed and concentrate florv as averagc f..d flort,
dre CPF can be expressed as a funcLion o[ dre penxcate rcc()vcrl] ratc a o[
membraneelement (R)
( . P F - K n ' e x p ( 2 R - / ( 2R J )

(l l)

RO

DESIGH

ENGINEERIHG

Factors Affecti n g Pes-forsma

FEee
FeedWaterSa/iniry
Some RO systems exoerience flucruatroo of fced l-r,reter
ccmpcsidon d
g
operation. T[us may be due to seasonalFlucruadon<-,ffced warer salirury supphes,.
or due to intermittent operadon of a nunrber oI water sources of drffetent salirury
As long as different feed rvater compositions rvill not require a change in rhe
system recovery ratio, changing feed warer cornposidon wrll affect only dre
reguired feed pressute and permeate watcr sahrity
-f[-re

chart below shows dre change in reqtrued feed pressure and projected
pertneate salrruryas a funcdon oI Feedsalluq' fr;r a 51'519111
operartng at an averagc
flux rate of 15 gfd and recovery tatc o[ B5'l'b Calculations ,.r,eremade for r',vr>
membrane types:Lorv Pressr.rretype (b,SPA) and Standard Pressurc q,pc (CPA2)
The ESPA membrane l'rasspccific flux o[ 024 gfd/psi nct, wluch is rwicc as lilgh
as specific flux oI CPA2-membranc
lt can be seen that for both membranes fleed pressure and permeate salinity
increase with feed salnity il a sirni-larwa)r.The rate of increase in permeate salrrury
is hrgher than the rate of increase ln feed pressure. If the drfferent feed water also
contains concentrations of sparingly soluble salts higher than in dle design feed
water, then the recovery ratio may hal'e to bc rcduced to avoid t['re possibrlity of
precipitation o[ scale from thc concentrate sLrcam

15*

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

E F F E C T O F F E E D S A L I T . I I TO
Y N S Y S T E MP E R F O R I V I A I . i C E
F L U X 1 5 G F D C P A 2 A N D E S P AM E M B R A N E s

oo

z. l-

<E

EO

ur o_
o_tuF
E
--)=
=J

a;<
g1 ul
rlur
o-F
o*
ur=
urd
LE

100

UI
o-

10m

70g]

30m

40m

50m

F E ED S A L I N I T YP
, P MT D S
lcecipressrrreandpq]Icalc s4lt!]_!1]
FLg,i {) Etfcct of fccd s:rhnrlr,_grt

I-.etr/Pr-e.rsurt
to
cqLLippeds'idr sPrral wound metnbrane elements are de-srg-necl
RC) s1'51srx5
o p e r a t e a t a c o n s t a n tf l u r r a t e ( i - e , t o p r o d u c e a c o n s t a n tp c r m c a t c f l o r r , , ) . ( l , " e r
operaturg drne, dre feed pressureis adjustedto compensatefor fluctuauon o[ fecd
water temperature,satrniS,and permeate flux decline due to foulurg or compactron
of the membrane For the purpose of specr[,mg the lugh pressure pump, lt ts
usually assumeddrat spcciFrcflux o[ the membrane rvi-[ decLne by about 70oh rn
drree years.T[re purnp has to be desrgnedto provrde feed pressurecorresponding
to the rrutralmernbraneperformancc and to compensatefot expected flux decline
I[ thc RO systern is equrpped rvtth centrtfugal purnp, then the conventlonal
approach is to use an oversrzed purnp and regr-rlateleed pressure b1, fll.o,6n*
(parually close dre leed r.alve). Today an incteasing number of RO system use
elecrric motors rvith vanable speed dnves, t'lrrch,enable adjustment o[ florv and
feed pressureoI dre pump over a wrde range with very litrle loss rn efficiency. The
r.artablespeedddve reduces unproducdve ptessure losseswhich were ccrtrrrnon ln
dre past Some.RLI s'/stems use positlt'e drsplaccmentPumps (prstcn or plurrger
pumps) as a Lugh pressure process pump. The positive drsplacements pumps
enable reguiationof feed pressure at constant pump outpug rvith Iirtle changc of

RO

DESIGH

&

ENGINEERING

p u n r p e l f i c l c n c \ P o s r o v ei 1 - r s p L a c c r n e
pn
u r n p s a r e l e s sc o r m n o n u r R O s v s t e m s
di,ie io.apacit1 Llrutauorrol rh,rspurnp q'pe, h g i r i r c q u c n c \ o t r e q u L r e c i
r r u [ n t e n a n c cn, o r s y o p c r a 0 o oa n d s t r o n g ! , - l b r a U o r l s

ater Teruperatare
FeedI.Yt
feed r','ater temperarure resulrs ur the change ur tl-rc rate o[ drffusron
through the metnbrar-re The change Ln the permeate Flux ratc r.vith temperanrre is
descnbed by the followr-ng equatron.
Change rn

TCF - 6t-t

zs)

-fCl-'is

temperatife coriecnon factor, K rs :i coostarit characieristic ior a

-f
is feed water temperatr,rre in degrces Celsius In
matctia[, and
eqtratron,
this
a remperature o[25"C rs used as a teFerence pomt, u'it]r TC[j = 1.
'Ihe
change rn flux rate w'ith temperarurc fcrr polyanlde mcrnbranes is sl-rown in
the follorvrng graph
Where

gn'en membtanc

F L U XC H A N GW
E I T HI E M P E R A T U R E
t(l

uJ16
F4.tt

rr

x12
--l
-to
LL

UOB

2os

F
{oq
J

LJoz

00
s20253015

FEEDWATERTEMPERAIURE
C
Fig. 4.0 E,[[ect of feed temperature on permeate flux
The rate o[ change is about 3o/oper degree. Srnce RC) svstems are desrgned to
opetateat constant output, feed pressure ts adjusted to cornpensate Forwater fltrx
changesrvhen temperature changes The salt diffusion through tl.remembrane
changeswtdr temperatute appfo
teil' 21 the same rate es t'ater flux Beca'lse
flux.
rs
constant,
marntarned
peffneate salrLify changes accordtngly to dre
Permeate
temDetaturefluctuauons-

17 *

RO

DESIGN

ENGINERIHG

IEI'/ PERATURE EFF ECT ON n4Elyl

BRA NE PERFORldANCE

a
F

s
L

\ct

FEED
: ALINITY 1 5 0 P
0 P{ T D 5
RECO\: K I h A tr tJDlil

A PRES URE

E
z
J
LN

ut
F

E S P PRESf JRE

150

/*

!1!
(L

o
7

IL

E S A SALII

UJ

rY
C P AS , L I N I T Y

l
a
6

ut
d

15
O
uJ
uJ
tr

20

15

l0

FEEDTEruPERATURE C

I i c 5 0 l : l { c c t o I f c e t ] t e r n p e r J r u r cn n f c e d t , r c s s t r r t . r r r t lD r ' r r r r , ' a tser l u u r v

Effect o[ feed u'ater tetnper:rfute on RO s),stenr feed pressure and pemleate
*.r.r.r,"6
rborre
The calculatrons oI operatutg parall'Ieters were

sahniry t,

condr-rcted [or an RO system operafurg at 859/orecover]r rate, using frvo membrane

g'pes; h-Lghsalt rejection CPA2 and lugh permeate flux ESPA
Ttre gerreral trend
of

perfonnance

change is sirnilar for both

membrarrc types
However, as
cxpected, dre drfference oI feed pressure benveen two rnembranes tncreases with
decrease of temperaftrre T1-re permeate salrruty changes rn opposlte way The
absolute value and difference between fivo membranes increases wrdr feed water
temPer2ture

Penneate
Recouery
Ratto
Recovery rario alfects system pcrformance, i.e
pressure, by deterrnimng the average feed saluug,
calculated

ftom

feed saluurv

uslng

calculauon oF the avera.geconceotratlon

on recovery rano [R) rs asslrrned.

the

averagc

penneate
The

salinity and

feed

average feed saliruty rs

coocenuanon

factor

For

factor (ACF), a logant]unic dependcncl'

RO

OESIGN

&

ENGIHEERTNG

,\CF = Lr(l/(l R)),'R

\X/herc "ln" reprcsentstlrc narurallog

Average Concentration Factor,ACF

60

s0
40
ll-

C)

30

i
5

20
1n

oo
4D

50

60

70

BO

90

100

Recovery, To

Fig. 6.0 Average Conccntration [jactor yariauon widr Penneate Recover]

Bccause recoverl'rate

strollgly afflects process econofiucs, drere rs a tendency to

design operation of RO systelns at the highe st pracrical value.

{9

a-

RO

OESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

RO System Design
Slstem Components
A fyprcal RC) systeftrs consist oI the follo,,vrng basrc components
'

Feed \vater supply urut

'

Pretreatment system

'

Hrglr pressure purnprng Lrrut

'

N'fembrane eletnent assembly unit

'

Instrurnenlatictn and control systerrl

'

Pcrrneate tfe2rtJrlcnt;rrrd storage unit

'

C - l e a n m gr r m t

'l-he

uenrLrrarrc ,rsscrnbly unit (RO block) conslsrs oI a stand supporrutg thc

pressure vesscls, lnterconneccurg plprng, and [ecd, penrezte and concentrate
m;rrufolds fr'lenrbrarre elcments are rnstailed tn dre pressurc vesscls fhc pressure
v e s s e l h a s - p e r m e a t ep o r t s o n e a c h e n d , l o c a t e d i n c e n r e r o f t h c e n d p l a t e , a n d f e e d
and concentrate ports, Iocated on the opposite ends of the vesseI Each pressurc
vessel mav contain from one to seven membtanc elernents coonected rn series

Permah
prt

Inl g conned o r

Briresd

pod

regJ

r e !E:sd

F i e 7 0 : P r e s s u e V e s s e i* l t h l - r r r e e M e m b r a l e E , i e m c n r s

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

A s s h o r v n a L r c - r r ,t e
h ,c p er r t t e : r t ct u l r c , r f t h e f r r s r a n d t h c l a s t e i e r n e n t r s c o n n e c t e d
to thc enci plaics of rirc Prcsturc vessc[ l)enncate tubes 9[ e[er-nelts ut Lhe
p r e s s u r c v c s s e la r e c o n t t c c t e d t o c a c h o t h e r u s r n g r n t e r - c o n n e c t o r s C ) n o n e s r c l co f
each tncrnbrane eletnetit *rcre rs a bnne seal, rvh-rch closes rhe passagc befrvecn
'flus
o u t s l d e r u r - t o I t h e e l e r n e r r t e n d u r s i d c r t ' a L i .o I t h e p r e s s u r c v c s s e l
seal
ptclicots fced u'ater frorn hl pessLng tLe tncmbrane rnodule, and fttrces rt ro flot,
drrough dre fced channel-s of the clement As fced u,ater flon's through each
subsecluent mcrnbtane e[ement, part oI thc [ced volume is removed as pcrrneate
The salt concentratlon of the remaimng feed water increases along the pressure
vcssel Pcrmeate rubes conduct the perncate- from all connected elements The
collected penneate has the lorvest salniry at thc fecd end o[ the prcsswe
and rncreases gradua[y ur dre direcnon o[ the ctjncentrate flou,

vessci,

A systern is dir.rded urto groups oF ptessure vesscls, called concentrate stages In

cach stage pressure r.essels arc connected Ln p:rrallel u,rdr respect to the drrecdon
o I t h c f c e d / c o n c e n t r a t e f l o r v . T h e n u n r b e r o f p r e s s u r e . ' e s s e l sr n e a c h s u b s e q u e n t
stage decreases m the drrccrion of the feed florv, usua[y rn tlre ratio of 2:1, as
shos,n belorv rn Fig B 0
'l'hus,

o n e c a n r . i s u a l i z et h a t t h e t l o r v o f t c c d . , v a t c r t h r o u g h t h e p r e s s u r e v e s s e l s o f
?r systern resen-rblesa pyramicl stnrcnrtc: a tugh volume of feed rr'ater flo\L's ut at
d r e b a s e o I p y r a r m d , : r n c ]a r c l ; r t r v e1 1 ' s 1 r . t "ti-lo l u r l c o f c o l c e n t t a t e l e a r . c sa t t [ e t o p

J'he

clecreasrng numbe'r

of

parallel pressure vessels frorn stage to stzge

c o l n P c t l s a t - c sf o r t h e d c c r e r s i n g t - o l u n r e o f t e e c l f l o u , , n , h i c h t s c o n [ t n u o u s l l ' l > e r n g
'I'he
parually c()nvertcd to pennc-ate
p e r t r i e a t e o f a I p r e s s L r r ev e s s e l s i n c a c h s t a g e ,

is conrbinecl together furto ;r corrnron

[)crnreate urarufold

.-I'hc ob;ecur.e of the taper confrguraLion oI pressure vessels is to marntailr a sirnilar

feed/concenftate florv rate per vessel tluough the length of the systen] and tcr
rnaintain feed/concentrate
flou' wldiln the [rlrts
spectfied for a grven type of
nrcmbtane

element

Very trgh

flov,' through a pressure vcssel wrll result in r hrgh

prcssure drop and possible stt'ucfutal darnage of the element

Very low florv u'ill

not provtde sufFrcient turbulence, and may result in excessive salt concenLralion at
the tneu-rbrane surfacc
For

a grven RO

petmeate

urut, the number

recovery tatio and

o[ concencrate

the number

vesscl, In order to avoid excessive concenLration

surface, the recovery rate per indrvidual

stages wdl depend

of membrane

on

rhe

elements per pressure

polartzadoo at thc membrane

membrane

elemeflt should not

exceed

18"h It is common engmeenng practice to desrgn buacklsh RO systems so that the

arrerage recovery rate per 40 rnch long membrane clement u'rll be a6out9o/o.

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

Perrn=:tp

I ' 1 1 1l i 0 l ; l . r r . [ ) r : r q r r r r ( ] t r r i l ' o s t r g c I i L ) s f , s r c ( n

Accordrngll', the nutnber of cc)nccnLratestages [or an RO urut havrng 6 elerlents

per pressurc vessel rvould be two lor recoverl, rates ovet 600/o, and drree for
Iecovry rates over 7596 Wrdr pressure vessels contairling seven elernents, a furo
stage conflrgr-rrationrvould be suffrcient [r:r recovery rates up to B5%

e on.centr'ateRe-ctrca/ati on
T h e s r m p l e s t m e m b r a n c c l e r - n c n ta s s e m b l y c o n s i s t s o f o n e p r e s s u r e v e s s e l ,
contatrung one rnembrane element, Such a configuration, used in a '"'ery srnall
systems,can operarc at a Li-rnitedpenneaterecovery ratio, usualiyabout 75o/o ln
order to increasedre overall systernrecover!,raUo ind strll marntarnan accepLeble
concentrate florr',a part of dre concentratestream is rehrrned to the suction oI t]re
llgh presstrreprmp
The concentratc recyciing configuration, shown belou', is used mainly in a veq,
s m a UR O u m t s A n a d \ r a n t j r g oe f s u c h a d e s r g nr s t h e c o m p a c t s i z eo f t l r e R O u n i t

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

-fhc

d , r s a d v a n t a goc I c ( ) n c e n u a t er e c u c u i a a o n d c s r g n L s r c l a t c d t o t h n e e d f o r a
laiger fee,i ptirrrlr t, harrdic lrrgircr ieeci fjo,,r. Accorcirngil,,rhe porver consumpuon
rs relahlell' llglrer than tl'rar rcqu-red rn a multrstage conEguradon Due tcr
blendrng o[ the feed wrdr d'rc concerrtrate strearr\ the average feed salrniq, rs
incrcased.There[ore, bodr ric feed pressure and the pcffneatc saliruft are lu,qhcr
as r,.'eU-

,f

Fig 90:Flo.uDiagramofashglestageROsystemwithconcentuationrecircularion

Concentrate Stagng
A comrnerci-al RO utut usualiy consisrs of single pymp and a muldsage array of
pressure vessels.A simphflredblock diagtam of a fwo stage RO urut is shorvn rn
here

?3

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

20.1psi
14.{bar

1 1 2p m
25.4nB.,]T

150pm
14,0rf8/tr

F r g l i ) 0 [ ] l o w L ) r a g r r ror rI a n v o : i t a g rI i C ) s y s r e m
ftrc conccrtttate [i()n] the ltrst stlrge []ecc)rnes rlre feecl to d1e seconcl stage, this is
-fhe
u'hat is l]tcant b1, thc tenn "conccrltrate staging "
florvs and pressrrres ilr the
nlr,rltrstagc utut ate conuoUed ,,vith tl-rc [-eed and concentrate rralves f he [ced
valve, after the tugh pressure pLrmp, controls feed florv to the urut
concentJate vak'e, at the outlet of RO block, controls thc feed Dressure

The

Flow Dtstnbution
In some cases it ts necessar)r to equili$12te permeate flow becwee11sages tedecrease Peffneatc florv ftom the fust stage and increase perl-reate flow from thc
-l-hs
l-ast stage
can be accomplished rn one o[ rwo design confrguradons, onc
soludon is to nstall a valve on thc perrneate line from t]re Frrst stage, as show.n

RO

DESIGH

&

ENGINEERIHG

5op;

1 5 0g p m
34 m?,,hr

3 db-)r
nFn<t
16 3 bar

2 0 0g p m
4 5 d m3,4-r

dS gpm
11 1 trr3.,hr

21Op=i
1 45 b a r

-:,
$

50gpn
1 13 m 3 , h r

ljrg

I I 0: Flot'l)ragranr

oi-;r tt,o sragc Ii() svsrenr {rlh

lrcrrrrcrle throtrLng

1\uirr^r1

B-vthrotthn{ this valve, pcrrneate lracl<pressLrre\\rrllncrcase, rcducrn!] nct dn\.urg

'I'hc
ilifferenual penneare
Pressurcand reducing Penneate flux from tlre fust stagc
flux rs produced from drc sccond stage by operatrng'the RO unit at a bugherfced
re.
ptessLr
fhe odrer solution is to mstall a boostet pump on dre concentrate llne berwecn
the fust and the second stagc, as dragrammed below. The booster pump rvill
tncreasefeed pressute to the second stage rcsulting rn hlgher pen:neateflow- The
advantageoI the peffneate thrordrng desrgo is sunphciq, oI tie RC) urut and lorv
capital cost. However, dlis deslgn results rr additronal power losses due to
petmeate throtdrng and hrgher power consulnption. The interstage punip desrgn
requres modificanon o[ the interstage marufold and a{.taddruonal purnprng urut
The utvestment cost is hrgher than rn tlre fust desrgn,but the po\\,er consumptron
is lower,

25o

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

1 3 6p s
128br

'10 gpm
1
7?9 mAtu

1 5 0g p r n
34 0 m3hr

F i g l 2 i l F l o . t ' [ ) t a r r y a nor f a n v o s t a g eR ( ) s \ s t c r l r\ q r l ) r n t c r s r i l ] c p L r f t r p

t"

l- ( l'//? ( t.tt(" \ / t 191/ /.q

liot sornc applicauons, the srngLe pass RO sysrern rnaf sq1 be capable o f
producrng penrreatc q'2ter of a requi-red sallfriry Such condiLions
rnay b e
encountercd ln |\vo types of RO apphcaUons.

SearvaterRO systems,whrch operate on a very hlgh salrruty feed water, A T

hlgh recovery ratio and/or at hlgh feed water remperafure
'

Brackish RO applicatronswhich req 'irg very low saltnity pemreate such

s u P P l yo [ m a k e u pw a t e r f o r p r e s s u f e b o r l e r so r p r o d u d o o n o F r i n s e w a t e r
[or microelectronics app [ca tl.ons-

To achieve an addiuonal reducdon in penneate sal,rrury,the per-mearc water

produced ur t1re fust pass is desalted agarn iri a second RO sysrem Thrs
conEguratron is called a rwo pass desrgn, or "permeate stagmg " Dependrng on
quality requrrements,aU ot part of the first pass ptmeatevolume is desalted agaur
in the second pass system The system configurauon is knorvn as a corrrplete or
parual two pass system dependrngon whether all of the permeate is fed to dre
s c c o n dp a s so r n o t .

RO

OESIGH

ENGINEERING

-i-hc

[ L r s tp a s sp e r m e a t cr s a , . e n ' c l c a n r r , a t e rl r c o n t a u r sr . e r 1 ' l o r ' , ' c o n c e n L r a u o n s

o f s u s p e n d e d p a r n c l e s a n d d r s s o l v c d s a l t s , t h c r e [ c > r c ,i r c - l o e sn o t r e q u r c a n 1 ,
s r g r u f i c a n tp r e [ r e e t m e n t T h c s e c o n d p a s s s ) , s r e n rc e n o p e r a r ea t a r e i a o v c l l ' h g h
-l'hc
al'crage Permeateflux alld lugh recovcrl"ratc
conulron desgh pararnetersFor
r l i e s e c o n d p a s s R O u r u t a r c a \ . e r a g ef l u x r a r c c , i 2 0 g t d a n d r e c o i . c r l r a r e o f
85% 90o,/oIt a r\L'opass s}'stern,thepcnneatc From the fust passflou.s tl'rrouglra
storage tank or is fed duecdy to the suction o[ dre second pass hrgh pressure
pump Thcte are number o I possible configurauo n <-r
f t]re rtvo passRO uruts One
conFguration, which is a paru-alrwo pass slrstem,shown here, spIts the permeate
from the first pass into nvo sLreams

F i g l 3 0 F [ o u , D r a g r a r n o f a n v o p a s s R O s ) , s r e m . v r t hb l e n d

One stteam is ptocessed by dre second pass unit, and is then combrned wrth the
unprocessed Part o[ the permeate from dre fust pass. Provided that the partral
sccond Pass system can produce the required pcrmeate quahty, tfris configrlration
results io smaller caplt-aland operating costs, as wcll as lugher combrned peffneate
recovery rate (uulizauon o[ dre feed water), con'rpared to a complete flvo pass
systcm
It is a cotnmon procedute tn a hr/o pass systcms to rcturo concentt-atefrom the
second pass unit to dre suction of the lugh pressure pump o[ the fr-rstpass urut,
The d-rssolvedsalts coocentrahon u.r dre conceotrate From dre secdnd pass is
usually lorver the concentraLion of dre feed to the first pass unit, Therefore,
blendrng feed water wt_thdre second pass concentrate reducesshghdy the salniry
of the [eed, and increases.theoverall urilizadon of the feed watcr

27\

RO

DESIGN

ENGINEERING

ir,

, \

fl( i .\)'.tii .4/ Uetl.qn I r/11ft/1111.t

-fhe
se arc
Follo,-r,rngr;rble i 0 pror-rdesgudelnes for desgrurrg RO st'srem-s
p r o r . r d e da s a n e x a m p l c o n [ 1 ' a n d m a l t - a r y t . , r d rt n c t n b r a t t et n a r r u l a c r u r c rp. r c
t r e e t m e n tp L c , r ' r d eadn d t h e r y p e o I n r e n r b r a n c
a
Table
3.0, RiJ Svstem Desrsn GudelLn
R:w Water source

Brackish
Well

Brack-rsh Sea
Surface

WeH

Wasre

Sea

Surface Teruary

Feed rvater Pararneters

Recommended

N{axtmum:

Turbidity

as NTU

TOC

ppmasC

241.1

@ 15 -Lt .tes

SDI

02

04

03

04

0-{

l0

I3OD ppm as ()2

ll

26

COD ppm as 02

11

18

il

ll

J6

System Average Flux (rr Lt\lFt)

106

204

L r ' : d l i - l e r n e n tF l r r r ( u r L N G l )

459

106

108

l4

255

7o Flu-r Dechne (rer year)

15

l0

10

120

120

o o Salt l-r.sagc Irr.rease (per

1'"31y
Re r:

t0
120

(mdrvid,ul clement)

ficed nr],/h

(nrarnrum

1445

l0

lf)

r20

I20

per r.cssel)

1" drarlctc

l6

r6

)()

l(

B" thrmeter

170

170

170

110

l7{l

'1" ti-temetcr

01

07

07

r)7

0l

8" diameter

21

21

21

2i

2l

238

238

238

212

212

P r e s s u r eD r o p ( p e r e l e m e n t , r n b a r ) 0 6 8

068

068

068

068

068

Feed water Tempe rahrre

5to45

5to45 5to45

Reject m3,/h

(nururnmr per vcssel)

P r e s s u r eD r o p ( p e r v e s s e l ,r n b a r )

(- C)

212

5to4-5 5to'15

AN

,tlueragef lux rale

Fol.lowng table 4-0 pro\rldes guideltnes for average membrane flux ratcs and
percent decrease rn flux evefl,'year for drfferent quahry oI fecd tr'ater as
chz.ractenzedby the SDI of feed rvater. These are pro\,'1dedas an example only;
actuaI valuesm^y varti unt]r membrane tnanufactuter, pre-fteatment provided, feed
rvater qr.rality.type of mernbraneand deslgn philosophy

RO

DESIGN

ENGINEERING

T_'
_
I Water l\De

\r "j1[

t ] r r i r : r e , . r n Jr l p e c r c do . d e c r e a s e r n f l u x o e r
I tnli, gld

Surface..'ater

i'o Fiux

Decline/year

I j.99

ll

\\teU rracer

20 i0

R(l oernrerte
\\ :: tc rvl te r
\I aste rvatcr

l f t h e f c e d rvater ls fouling rt rs advrsableto desrgn drc RO systcrn at loq'er average

flux rate to reduce the chances o f f o u L n g a n d o b t a h a stable performance.

Salt PaisageIncrease
71er-year'
Follorvrng table 5 0 proi'rdes grudelmes for salt passage rncrease over trrnc These
as an cxample on11,; actual valucs n1a\t vary wrth the
rypc ot
tnembrane useci
are pror.rded

l'able5.0

Increasc over dmc

Menrbrane T;pe

% oS P I n c r e a ' s e / y e . t r

Celltrlosrc rr-rernbrane
Cornpositc N{cmbrarre
'l'lte

-l-[rey
rctatfl t[-rc
[)rcsctlt day cottrltosttc tttcrnbr:rncs :rrc qLrrtc suilrle
n l c t l r b r a n e s a l t r e i e c t i o n f o r : r l o t r g c r t i r n c . \ n r c m b r a n c l - t f co f a b o u t 5
),earsur.r
u'ell ope rated planr is not uncomr-non

Flow ftnzitations
Follorvrng table 6 0 prorrdes feed and concentrate florv lirnitauons for
membranes, Tlre actual values may vary u,rth the typc o[ membrane and feed
rvater qualiq', The maxunum Limit for feed water is to lulrt the membrane
Prcssurc drop atrd mrnirnurn lirnit for concentrate flow is to marntain requrred
cross florv 6r'er the'membrane surface
Tablc

Passa

Increase

Membrane

Feed Floq'

Diameter (in)

Max (m3lh)

Concentrate Floq,

Min (m3lh)

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

RO Fre-treatment
P re-treatm ent C'onstdera tt ons
-Ihe

feed watet, dependrng on its sourcc, may contafl1 various concentradons of

s u s p e n d e d s o [ d s a n d d i s s o l v e d m a t t e r S r r s p e n d e ds o l i d s m a y c o n s i s t o I r n o r g a r u c
parrrcles, -colloids and biological, debris strch as rnicroorganisms- and algae
I l i s s o l t ' c c l m a t t e r t n 2 y c o n s r s t s o F t r g h l y s o l u b l e s a l t s , s r - r c ha s c l r l o n d e s , a n d
s p a n n g l l , s o h , t r l e s a l t s , s u c h r r s c a r b o n a t es , s r r l f a r es , . a n d s i l c a D u n n g d r e R O
P r o c e s s , t l t e v o l u m e o f f e e d u ' a t e t d e c r e a s e s ,a n d t h e c o n c e n t r a u o n o f s u s p e n c l e d
p:rrtrclcs arrcl clssolr,crl rons irrcrcases Suspendecl perticIcs rrut'scttle on the
t t r t r t t l ) t l t t c : t r r f l c c . t [ r t r s I r l o t . k t r r g t c c t l c h a n n e l s r r r c l t r r c r r : r s u l gf t - t . , , r , , rlro s s c s
( p r c s s r r r cd L o p ) a c . r o s st h e s v s t c l n
S p a n n g l y s o l r . r b l cs a l t s t n : r y p r c c r p i t a t e f r o r n t h e c o o c c n t r a t e s L r c a r n ,c r e a t e s c a l c o n
the membrane surface, and restrlt irt lorver watcr pernreabrirty thrbr-rgir rhe RC)
tnembranes (flux decltne) Thrs process o[ formanon

of a deposrted Leyer on a
surface rs called tnembrane fouLng and results in performance dechnc
-lhe
of the RO systern
objecuve o[ dre feed u'ater preLrealment process is to
irnprove the quahty o[ tlre feed u'atel to the levcl t,llch u'ould result ur rellable
tletnbtane

operahon of the RO tnernbranes

-fhe

qualiry of thc feed u'ater rs deEned rrr tn-ns of concentraBon_oI suspcnded

and sahrranon lev.els of the sparLngly soluble salts fhe cotril.rron

parncles

indicators o[ suspended parucles used in the RO Lndustq, are turbLdrtl. and SLlt
Densrty Index (SDI). The rnaxrnrrrn lrrnits rviLh convcnuonal pre treatment are.
turbidiry of 1 NTLJ and SDI of 5
Silt Densiry

Index rs an emprrical rest developecl for mernbrane sysrefirs r(-)

t n e a s u r e d r e r a t e o [ f o u h n g o f a L ]4 5 m c r o n h l t e r p a d b 1 ' r h e s u s p e n d e d a n d
col-lordal parucles ur a feed u'atcr
Tlus test rnvolves Lhe trme reqLurecl to Lilter a
v
o
l
u
m
e
specified
o f f c e c la t a c o n s t a n t 1 0 p s i a t t r m e z e r o a n d t h e n a f t e r 5 r r u l u t e s ,
10 nuoutes and

l5

llilnutes of

contrnuous fiitratron

Tvorcal R(-) elernent

RO

OESIGN

ENGINEERING

\ L ' : r t 1 2 t l t l c )l t : t : r t t t l l . L t t t u r nS l i l o i + . 0 a t 1 5 m r n u r e s f o r t l - i c f c e d \ r ' : t t e r I i t - t t cS D I
' . e s tr : ; h . r r l t r c l t o o a l y 5 o i 1 C n i i ; - i u t c . e a d i l g . , j r .
r,, pluggurg oiiirc irjrer paci, rirc
L r s e r c a n c \ P c c t a h r g h l e t " ' e lo [ f o u L n g f o r t h e R C )
D e e p r u ' e [ 1 sq , p r r c a l h ' h a v c :
SDI's r-'[ ] or less and tr:rbidrdcs lcss rhan one u.ith lirrlc or no prerrcauneor
prctreat1nent For remor-al pI collr,,rdal :r.d
s u s p en d e d s o L d s r o : r c l r L c v ca c c c p t a b l e S D I a n d r u r b r d r q , r , a l u e s
Surface s()urces t,,plcal.l\ requirc

C o n 8 - n u o u s o P e r a u o n o f a n R O s y s t e m w r d r l e e d u , a t e r u . h u c h h a s t u r b r c i r r y *o r
values near thc Lunrts o[ t]rese values n'ray result rn sgnificant rnernbrane
fouling
For iong-term, re[able operafion oI the RO urut, the rveragc values of
rurbrdrtl' ancl SDI n the fecd rvater should not exceed 0 5 NTU and ? 5 SDI uruts,
SDI

resPectrvclJ/ for conventional pre-ueatment. When usrng micro filtrauon or ultra

hltr'ation nrcrlbranes dre feed rvater lirnitrng conditrons can be srncrcr
fhe rndrc;rtors oi safuratron levels o[ spamgly soluble salts rn the concenrrare
-t-hc
streanr are tlle l-angelier Saruradon Index (I-SI) and dre saturadon rauos
L.Sl
providcs att tndrcauorr o[ the caiciurr carbonate saturadon
Negauvc valucs c,f
LSI urdrcate thai the lvatcr is aggrcssivc and that it rvill have a tendency to dissoh,e
carbonare Positivc values of t-SI indicate the possrbrhty of calcrum
carbonate precrprtzuon. Refer to appcndr-x A for LSI calculaflc,ns
calcium

l-he LSI ',r':rst.,ngutaUl'cleveloped b,y Langel-rer for potable u'ater of a lo..,.salinir]

F - o r l u g h s a l i n r q , \ \ ; a r e re n c o u n t e r e d r n R O a p p h c : r n o n s , t h c t - S I i s ; r n e p p r o x u n a r c
indicator ,,n[1'
Thc Sti[f L)at'is index (SDSI) atterr)prs ro ()\,crc.)rrr(' rlrc
s h o r t c o t n t r t g s c . , i t h c l . ; r n g c l r e r I n d c x r v i t h r e s [ ) e c r t o [ r r g l - rt o t a l d r s s o h , c c l s o l r c i : ;
\ t T a t c t s : t r t c j t l t c l t n l t a c t o f " c < t r n r n o n i o n " e i - f e c t so n t h e c l r i r . r r r gf o r c . c F o r s c a l c
fonnaoon
L - r J t ct h c I - S [ , t [ r e S o f [ - D a v i s i n d e x l r a s i t s b e s r s u ) t h c c o r r c c p t o f
-fhe
saturatton lcve'.i
solubrht)'prodLrct used to prec[ct tlic pl{ oIsanrranrir', (pHJ
For a water rs crnprncaily' mochfied rn the SufF-Davis inde x. Strf[ Da".rs indices wil.l
predict that rvatel ts less scale formng than the I-SI calculated for the sarnc rvater
chetnisul' anci conditrons
strength

Interpretauon

The devrauon bervee(t dre indiccs increases u,itlr ioruc

o[ the urdex is by the sarne scale as for the Langelier

Saruradon index
The saturattc)lt tauo rs the ratio of the product oI the actual conccnuatr()n oI the
lons
rn Lhe concentratc strcam to the dreoretical solubrhrl, o[ the salt at a-grven
conditions oI tempcrature and toruc sffength These raUos are apphcable marnly
t o s P a n n g l y s o l u b l e s u l [ a t e so I c a l c i u m , b a r i u m a n d s L r o n t r u m
a potennal sc:rle fonmng constiruent.

S r l - t c ac o u ] d b e a l s o

Other potentral scale form-mg salts, such as

calciutn fluoncie or phosphate wtriclr may be present Ln RO [eed, seldoln represent
a oroblem,

3{

RO

DESIGN

ENGINEERING

L 1u : r L f , i h e p r C h c a i r n t l l t
, , I d i c t ' u L l o l iL n g L l c l t m ( n f s l c l . ,'

f).pc,,,Jurg
,,r \nln(

oit rir- ra\!: \!/icr

:rij
[ J r ( J (t \ : i l l I ' l \ c C r n : , t S t ]o: i

R c m o r . a l o f L a r g ep a r t r c i e s L r s r l g 2 c o a r s e s t r a u r eI

\\'ater cl-rsLnfecuonrtrd:r clllo rule

Clanftcatron unlh or u'tdlr-rrrt floccuiatrort

Clantrcanon arrd hardness reducnon usrng Lnrc Lre2tlnerlt

N'{edra Frltrauon

Reducdon o[ alkalrrury by pH adiustrnent

Addruon

Reducdon

of scale rnhLrbitor
o[

lree chlonne

usulg sodlum brsulfitc ot acnt'ated carbon

filters
I

Vv-aterstenLzatron usng Li\r radrauon

F jnal removal oI suspended parucles using carurdge filtcrs

The rmtral remo.",al o[ large parucles ftom the feeci q'ater rs accot-nplislied usrng
mcsh strainers or traveling screens- Mesh strarners are used ur t'ell rt'ater supply
systems to srop and rernove sand pardcles which may be purrrped frotn dre well
Travehng screens are used marnly for sutfacc watet sources, tvhtch ryprcally l-rave
large conccntralions oI biologrcal debris
I t t \ ( ( , n u r r ( ) np r t c t l . ( . r o d r s r r t f e csr r r r f a c cl c c d u : t t , t , r, , ' , , 1 . ' , l ' ) . , ) t l l t ( , 1L t , r l , r g t c e l
,rcti!'it) Brological acn\111'tn a rvcll rvatcr Lsusually vcty lt-ru':rntl trt rll't;r.lrrfl'of
c l r s c s .r ' , , e Lwl x t e r d o e s n o t r c q L u r c c h l o r t n a t l o n l r t s o t r r c r . : r s c : sc,l t l c , t l r l a t t o t tr s r - l 5 e d
t o o x r d r z e i r o r r a n d m l n g a n s e m t h e r ' , ' e L rl v ; r t c r L r e t o r e f l i t r a t t o r t \ \ ' c l l n ' a t e r
contairung hy,clrogen sulEdc should not be chlonnatcd or exPosed to arr [n
presence of an oxrdant, t-l-resr-rl[de ton can oxlcllze t() cletrie rltal strlfur rvFuch
eyeltpaLly ma1' plug meftrbrane eletnents
Setthng oI

tank results ut soure ted'.,cuon oI

Addrnon of flocculants, slrch as Lron or alumrnutr-r salts,
oI correspondtng hydtoxtdes; these lrydroxides neutralize

sutface rvater in

suspended partj.cles

a detention

results rn formatron
surfacc cl.rargcs oI colloidal patticles, agglegate, arrd adsorb to floaring pardcles
be[ore setrlurg at t[-relowcr part oI the clarifier To increase thc size and suength
oI t[-rc flock, a long chatn orgaruc Polymer cao be added to the \L'atet to bLnd flock
particles togetl-rer Use o[ lirne results in increase of pH, forrnanon o[ calcrum

patf,lcles Ltrne clanfica|lon results rn

the
clanficaUon oF treated urafer
and
reductlon oI hardness and alkalrrrity,
cerbonatc

and

rnagnestum

hydtoxrde

parflcles, due to the

V,'ell water usua[y contai-os low concenftadons oi ,.r.p.nd.d
Frluatron eflect oItlie aqui[er. The pre.treatment of $'eU u'2tet is usually lunrted to
screeolng o[ sand, addrUon of scale inhibitor to the feed q'ater, and cartndS:e
frltratron

RO

OESIGN

&

ENGIHEERING

5 u t t a c e \ ' \ ' a t c r m a \ r c o n t e r n \ . ' a n o u s c o n c e n t r a t l o n s o I s L l s p e n d ed p a r t t c l e s , $ l u c h

zrc eltilcr oi Lnorgaruc or broiogrcai ongln
5urtacc'..vater usuaUl rcqurres
drsrnfecuon to conrtol brologrcal actrf ir\, and remo\.al o( suspended parncles bry
medra hlrrauon

T[.re efficiency of fi]ranon process can bc urcrcased br aclchng

Friualron aids. suc[r as flocculants and organie pol1,n]cs55ornc surtacr rrater rrr.rV
-1-hosc
c o n t a - L nl u g h c o n c e n t r a o o n s o I d - r s s o l v e d o r g 2 m c s
can be remor.ed b1
Passlng Feed rvater tLrrough an acovatcd carbon frlter Depcndtrg on composruon
of the llrater, acidificauon and addincin scale rnhibrtor may be requrred Thc flo.r,
dragram of pretrealment system for surface \r/ater ts shorvn belou.
Cartndge filters, almost univcrsally used in ail RO s)/srems pnor to tle hrgh
The nominal
Tressure Pump, serve as the Frnal batrier to water born parricles
raung conllTlonly used rn RO applications rs rn the range of 5
l0 trucrons Some
systems use cartndges with tnicron ratrlgs as low as i mjcron
There seems ro be
Iitde bene fit from lower micron ratcd Frlters as such Frlters requrrc a hrgl.r
repLecen-reIrtrate with relanvcly small irnprovemenr in rl-rr'hnal {ecd .,r,arerqualiq'
When

etther mrcro

frltrauon or ultra filtrauon nrcmbranes are rrsed for prc

then cartr-idge Frlters are not neccssary
These rnernbrane FLltrauol
proccsses reduce feed water rurbidrry to less than 01 NTLI encl SDI ro lcss
rhan ? 0
freatment

.\'rrturrt/ionI-tnits in the eoncentrate

[]oLlou'urg t:rltle 7 0 ptovrdes safuradon hrruts fcrr spanr.rgll, solLrl-r[esalts r,n tlrc
(-clncenttate -fhese values are with an assurnptron that a
goocl antrsc;rl:rnt,,t,illbe
usecl. In nrost cascs the respecuve antrscalant closage calcr-rlauon progranr
esilfilates

mzxlmulll

at rvhich dre systenl carl operate and the

It rs adr-tsal-rleto [o[or,v the anuscalant manufacfurer's
reconrrrrendations. The actual values m^y v^ry with the anoscalent rlanufacturer
recomrnended

recovery

dosage.

Table 7,0: SarurationLimits

Salt

Sanrrauon7o

CaSO4

230

SrSO4

800

BaSO4

6000

sio2

100

33

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGIHERING

Deprii.iilrg up(r11wli-ther a,-,a,tiiscalariiis usctj anri lt's ryPe, ijrnits oi saruratron

rrdrccs are used ul thc r-rrdusrr.r'Witlrout :r.ti :niscalant ooe tries to be safer to
maintam negati.'c- ..,'alucro thc conccntratc. ln dre Past SHiVtP rvas uscd
commonly unUl hrgl-refficient orgaruc antrsqalantcame tn thc markct Somc o[
theseorganic anuscalantsallorv nruch h4;her valuesthan thc trad-rUonalSHMP
Condition

Value

LSI and SDSI without antiscalant

I-^SI& SDSI wrFh SHN{P (sodruqn hexarnetaphosphate)
tSI & SDSI_with organic andscalant

<
02
< + 0-5
< + 2.5

lt is advisableto run the computet Pro,echonswith actual feed u'ater comPositlon

and operadng pa-rametersto ensure the chosen antiscalantwril indeed perflorm rts
dury of prevendng scaling on membrane surface It is a good pracUce to 6rst
evaluarethe prospecdve andscalantsin laboratory studies to confirtTr compatlbdlry
wi*r the feed.*rater and trrembranes

a.

RO

OESIGN

&

ENGIHERtNG

Mernbraffie Start-urp, Shu*down

and Flushing GexidelEmes
Preseruatt ueI' iusltzng
-fo

preserue cletnents fror-n brologrcal grou'dr and tt.r help rnauitarn pcrfcrrmance o\rer
tirne, cornposite qpe membtanes are storcrcl rrt I 29/o sodrrun brsr-rlEtc and 5 10or'o
propylene glycol solunon It rs drcrefore advrscd to 0ush mernbrarres
l]n()r ro use t(-r
cllninatc rcsidual presen/atl\resm the prodr-rct stre:lrn
( . ) n c e t h e e l e t n c t ' t t sl - r a v cl r a c lt h e p r e s e r l a f r v c s t - l u s h c r il r o r r r t h c n r , r h c t , r r , o r r l dn c e c lt < t
hetc presc:n'xt.lvrrsrc-r.r[)pLiccl
fcrr long tcnrr :,Ii)r,\g(
O n c e e l e r n e n t s h a v e b c e n l o a c l e d : r n d v e s s c l s s e a l c c l .r r i s r c c < i r n r n e r r d e dt o f l u s l r t h c
s)'stenr to draul \r.ith feed rvatef at desrgrr opcratulg pressurc Frrr a nrirumurn o[.1
hours If d're elernents are to be used ur sy'sterns requlnllg ult-rapu-rc watcr, a
lrurlmurn
flusl-rrng urne of 24 lrotr.rs is recornrnended to reduce the TOCconcentratron to [.relou' 50 ppb (assumrng zero TOC ur drc fecd rvater)
apphcauons, drscard the product ',varcr for ar leasr 24 hours pnor ro
or usr.ng in food appl-icauons Irgcsrion o[ dre prcscn'arive ma]r causc
rritaoon to dre gastrourtesonal tract, colic, drar.rhea,or othcr sunilar symptoms
For pouble
drtnkng

RO Syltent,Start-ap
It rs Lmportant to be sure drat dre elements arc loaded and shinlned correcdy tcr
remove any excess slack that nuly cause discorinects A [ow pressure fhrsh to puge
atr from the metnbranes is alwal,srecommended before a lugh pressure starrup Th.is
can be accomphshed drrough dre usc of a soft start rleclrarilsrn, or a vad-eble
ftequency ddr.e, Failute to do drG ian resuli rn a u,atcr sirock u,ar-e(rvater hamrner)
drat can causephysical damage to the Ro rnembranes The permeatc ',,alrresshoLrld
ahvaysbe open to draur dururg tlus flush to pre'ent darnagcto drc membrancs

35s

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

After the lr frasbcen pr-ugtc irorr drc svstenrtire fecd pressurcshou]d be urcrc-ased
graclualll,up t,-.,
dre '.r'or[.:rr-rg
oI drc l{(-) urut
p[(,qsure

RO .t;,-rir
nt .l htftltiu'u
B rack: :h I I{/a sle lV a Ier J-yrlent :
Upon shutdown for brackrsh systetns, a ilush wrth the feed u,atcr at low recovcrl.'
(bnne valve u'rde open) rs usually sufficient to'remove the hgh coocentrauon oIsalts
from the membranes The penneate vah'es should be open to draLn dunng thrs flush
to Pre\rent damage to dre membranes
S eatualer 51ilent s
LJpon shutdou'n tbt seelliater s);sterns,a fluslr \\rtth RO penneate rs recornlnended to
rctno\:e the irgh concencralron oi saits frorn Lire rnembranes- Tirc penneate values
should be open to drarn dLrnng tlus flush to prevent damage to dre membranes
I{
RO permeate is temporarily

unaveil"$le, th<: rnembranes sh<-ruldbe flushed rrndr RO

feccl at lott, recovery (undr bnrre ta.lve u,ide open) The membranes should tlren be
'f[-re
fh-rshed rindr RC) perrr-reate rs soon rrs rt rs available
searvater RO systenr shou]d
not []e le [t tur-flushed
a liglr corrcentrafior) brurc oo tlre rnernbrane surface
"r'id-r
'l-lre

clttannq,oIt.'atcr trscd ur Lroth nonl,rl R(-) J'y.s16711

.Starttrp anc{ RO -\^yslern
J-hutdoan
flr-rsltng shotrltl be ccltral t() ()r qlcatcr tir:rrr tlr:rt .r,trich is retainccl in thc sl sterrr [;or

s t ; r n . h t c l 8 - i n c h X 4 0 u r c h c l c n r e r r t se s s r r r n ct c n g a l l o n s ( 3 7 8 5 D p c r e l e m e n t
stetrrlard 4-urch X 40-rnch e lements assurne tJrrcc gailons (i 1 35 D pcr clenrcnt

For

RO

DESIGN

ENGINEERING

RG Mermblane FouHar"nfrsmd
TheEr Removal I:oa/ant.r
L)uring nonnal operauon over a penod of time, RO rnernbranc clernents are
s u b i e c t t o f o u L u r g b 1 ' s u s p c n d e d o r s p a n n g l y s o l u b l c m a t e r i a l s r l - L a rt l a 1 , b c p r e s e n t
in the feed u'ater
Cotnmon examples o[ such loulants are calcrrrrn carl]or)ate
scale, calcium sulfatc scale, metal o>iides scale, sihca coatlntl, ancl ,rg.rlr(

(ir

biokrgrcal deposrts
I-he naturc rnd rapichry of toulng

d e p e n d s o n t h e c o n d r u o n , , , t r l r t - .t . . . 1 * , . , t " ,
[ - ' o l r h n g i s p r o g r c s s t r e , a n d . t f n o t c o n t r o l l e d e a r l l ' , r ' , ' r l li r n p a r r r l r t l ( t ) r n c r r r l r r r r ' r c
eleme nt perfcrnnencc Ln a rclatively short tlne,
N'lonitonng o'erall planr perfor-rnanceon a regular basrs rs arr csscntLal srep in
t'hen tnctnbrane elements are beconrrng fouled
Pcrfcrrmance rs
affected progressr'ely and rn varylflg degrecs, dcpendrng on thc narurc of rhe
recogruzlng

foulants. Table

8 provides

a sufiunary of the cxpected cffects rhar conunorr

foulants have on performance and table 9 provides drflferent clean.urg soILruons
and drerr compositrons,

Fou/ant Rernoua/
Fo.rlant

rernor.al is contro[ed

by cleanurg and fiushrng or bv changrlg rhc

As a general gurde, foul-ant removal rs requrred lvhen any o[
conditrons occur:

operaung condruons
tl-re foUot'ng

Penneate florv has dropped to 10-i5 percenr belorv rarecl

f-lorvat normal pressure
-fernilerature,ccrtected
feed rvater pressurehas rncreascd 10
15 percent to marntain rated product water florv,

37t

RO

T]ESIGN

&

EHGINEERING

D-...,,1,.,.. .,.-,.--

-.,,^t,h,

L-^,-

4.,--^^.--)

l (
r-,

^^--^-.
PLrLCrrr)

-^lJdtt

p 2 s s e q eh a s i n c r e a s e d1 0 - 1 5 p e r c c r r t
. b o u t 1 0 i 5 p e r c en t
A p p h e d p r e s s u r e l . L a rsn c r c a s e d a

-il,e

drlferentral pressureacross an R() stage hes rncreased

o o o c e a b l y( L n s L r u m e n t a t t ot n a Y n o t b e a v a r l e [ [ st o m o t u t o t
thusrndrcator)
The fol]owing paragraphs provrde a discussron of dre colrurron foulants and theu
t"t-t9r,al
Calnum Carbonate Sca/e
Calciurn carbonate may be deposLted frorn almost anl, flsscl rvater iF there ts a
farlure in the inhibitor addrt-ron system or rn r-hc acrd Lnjectron or pH control
sysrenl that results ur a hgh feed rvater pl-{ An e:rtly detecoon of the resultrng
calcium

carbonate scalurg rs ab,solutely essentr-al to

ptevent the damage

that

crystals can cause on the acLive membranc layers Calcium carbonate scale that
-has bcen detectcd early can be temoved by lo'.venng dre fecd u'ater pH to between
Longer restdent accumulations of calcium
I 0 and 5 0 for one or two hours
carbonate scalecan be retnoved by re-crculatrng a citrtc actd soluuon o[2 percent
s t r en g t h a r r d a p H o [ n o l c s s t h a n . 1 0 t h r o u g h t h e R C ) t t t e n r b r a n c c l e m e n t s
l l r r s r - r r et h a t t h e 1 t H r l a r r l ' c l c a n i n g s o l u t t , . r n d o c s r t < . r tt : r l i l r c l r w ' 4 0 O d r e n v r s e ,
darr-ragc to tlrc RO lncrnbranc elenrents lna)/ tlccur, par hctriarll, at elevate d
-fhe
Use anunoruum
telnperaturcs
lrlaKlrnum pFl shoulcl be less tl-rarr10 0
h y d r o x r d e t o r a i s c t h c p H , a n d s u l f i r r r co r h y d l o c h l o n c a c t d t o l o s ' e r r t
Ca/rzum .f afale Scak
S<-rlutron2 rs the be st knou,n medrod For remo.,'rng calctut-n sulfate scale frotl

the

l{O men.rbrane
A,'Ieta/Oxtdes .f ca/e
Ptecrpitated hydroxrdes (e g , Fernc hydroxrde) can usuaU;' [6 1s11eved by ustlg
t h c t e c h r u q u e s d e s c r t b ed a b o r . e f o r c a [ c i u m c a t b o n a t e s c a l e

Silica Coalrng
A srl-rcacoatrng not associatcdu'ith eltl-rermetal llydroxrdes or orgaruc uratter rvtll
Consult [or
usually tespond only to ve[' specralized clcamng methods
insrucdons relzted to a specrficproblem

38

RO

OESIGN

ENGINEERING

()ryantc Dtpoittt
Orgaruc deposrts ic g.

r'mcrobroloqicalslrmes and rnolds) arc best rcrnor.ed b1'

uslng

Solunon I
fo rrrhibrt :rdchuonal grorvth, rc crculatc and soak thc
m e m b r a n e s r . v t t ha a p P r o v e d b r o c i d e s o l u c i o n 1 ' [ u s r e q L r r r c sc x t c n d c d e \ p o s u r e t o
t n R O b l o t t i ( ] r r r r L n L sr o
b e e f f e c u v e ; a b t o c t c l , :, s o l u n o n i s b e s r e r n p l o l , e d , , r , h e r a
be left n a standbl, c.rndtoon For rnore than three days

( . - o n s u l t [ r - r rs c l e c D o n o f a

biocide compatrble to rrrcrnbrirncs

C/eaning Solzttons
The

fo[owrrg

membrane

chemrcal

elements

solunons

The

ate recomrnended
For cleaning rhc RO
appropnate soludo'n to use can be determned by

chemical analysis of dre [oulrng marcnal

A detarled exarruoahon of the results oF

the anal;,si5 rvtll pror-rclc addltronal clr-rcs as to the best method oI clcarung

Keepurg rccords oI tlic rncdrods used and results obtaured rvrll provrde data use ful
tn devcloprng the nrcthods and solutiorrs that rvork best under the feed rvater
condidons at hand
Solunon

1 is recorrunended

fot

u'rorgaruc foulmg,

recommended for calcirrtn sulfate and orgamcs

Soludon

2 is specrfrcaLly

Solunon J is recomrncnded for

All soltr[rons are to be used at the hrghcst available

hugh orgaruc fouLng
temperature up to 104! l-' (40il C) (30[] (- tor I-FCI) for rrp to 60 rrunu.tes <.,f
T h c q u a r - r t r r , r egsr \ r c r ) a r e p e r 1 0 0 L l S g a l i o n s ( 3 7 9 l i t e r s ) o f ' . v a t er .
cleaning
P r e p a r c t h c s o l u u o n s b y p r o p < , r u o r l u r g t h < :e r n o t r n t o f c h c m r c a I s t ( ) t l i e a l r o L r n t o l
clcantng watet to bc Lrserl Ilsc clilorrrrefrce pemreate to mL\ t]re sollrttorrs NLi.r
thoroughlv.

39\

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGIREERING

I aDle at

t((J t\Icmllt:rne

)vrnDtotlls

Founot

f-lcrnent

G e n er a l S \ n l p t o m s

Foulant
I Calcium Precrprtates
:ncl
(carbonares
p h o s p h ar e : .
at
g en e r a U l ' f o m d
the concentr3te erld

-{

decrease m

marked

,rroderate rnrrease rn

Response
and

sqlt relectron
l[r

[eed arrd

be u'een

r\lso, e sLghr decrcase ln svstem

corraentratc

ChemrcrLI clesn
rlre sfsterrr rrrtir
S o l u o o nI

p rod ucoort

of the systcm)
2 Hydrated C)rudes
(iron, ruckel. coppcr,
etc )

rncrease Ln J P betu.een feed and concerltrate

Chemrcally clean
the system rtlth

Also, a raprd decrease tn system producf,on

Soluoon I

A rapid decrease rn salt rejecuon

I \'tuied Collords
(rron, orgarucs, rnd

decrease

trr

rncrease in

salt

il P

re;ection

ben"een

and

feed

and

AlsO, a gradual decrease over

concentrate

ftrmd

the conccn(ratc

at
end

and a

sigruEcant decrease tn salt rejecnon

shght

4 Calcrurn Sultetc

to

nroderate

tncre:rse ut -J P betwee n

[eed and concentrare

ChemrcaUr, clean
tJre s1'stenr *'rth
S o l u u o r r2

several rveeks il st'stem Producnoo

silrcates)

(generallv

sLght

gradul

arrd a rapid

r\lso, a sltght decrease

Chetnrcally
the

clean
\uth

svsfe(n

Soluuorr 2

u r s \ / st e n r p r o d r r c t i o n

of the sl,stcnr)
[)ossrltlt
5 ( )rganrr L)eP.stts

clecrcasc rn

grrrJrrrl Ln.rcilsc rn

salt
J I'

rtyr:ctrorr artd

lrctlcen

fccd

and

,\lso, r grldrral dccrcase ur sys-

corraentcrfc

For
Soluhon 2
fo,'ling,
heavl,
use Soluoon 3

rern producdon

Possrble

6 Bacterial Foulng

marked

decrease m
acrease

concentrate

saIt

in U P

relectron

ben"een

,{lso, a marked

tem p rooucuon

C h e r n r c a l J l ,c l e a r r
ille SVStern \tl ut

and

feed

and

decrease tn sys-

Chemically clean
the system u'rth
the
of
either
soludons,
on

dependrng
possible

com-

pounded foulrng

All ptoblems (equrrc the cause oI the fouLng to bc couected. Consult for
instructions rei2tedto a s p e c i f i cp r o b l e m

RO

DESIGN

ENGIHEERING

Table 9 Sr-rnuna4'of RecornrncndcdClearririgSoiuuons

Solutiorr

Ingredient

Quanucl per J80

hters

Citnc.\cid

kg

pH Ad;usrment

.\djusr'to t,fJ .l{r 'rrrh

rnlrnoruum

l r lc l r o u J c

(1..iHrOF0
RO

Pemeate

(Chlorine

lB0 hters

Free)

Sodrurn Topoiyphosphare

t-7kg

-\d jusr to pt{

l0 0 rurh

sulfuncacid (H2SO+)
Tetrasodium

EDTA

i lBkg

( \ ' e r s en e

220 or equal)
R O P e r m e a r e( C h J o n n e F r e e )
l

180 litcrs

rTkg

Sodiunr Tnpolyphospharr

Ad;ust to

pFI

l0 0

sulfunc acid (H2SOr)

Sodrunr
Sullonate

097kg

Dodecl,l[61123..
(Sorhm

l-auryl

Su l p h at e )
[].(l Perrleate (ChlorLne Free)

l B l , |[ r r c r s

Membr,tne(./ee.ning
Over tr,tne, tnembrane systerns can trecome foulecl rvid-r an1,o[ a number of
foulants such as colloids, orgaoic marter, meralhc scales, and brologrcal
constifuents These materials can build up on tlrc rncrnbrane surface and ur the
feed brurc channel. If teft uncortected, dre accumulation oI these foulants can
cause a se\rereloss oI petflormance in the systcrn: prcssure requrements rnctcasc
to maintain flou,, pressure drops Lncrcasc,and salt reiectlon can suffer- If the
systetn is not cleanedand the system contlnues to build up foulants, thc elements
may "telescope," or shear intetna[y, causrngthe rntegnry of the membrane surface
to be cornprormsed and rendenng dre mcrnbrane irreversibly damaged.
This secnorr udi cover serreral pourts reLeted to cleanLng The fust part rvrll
concern itself with data collccdon and syrnptoms o[ membrane fouLng. The
second part rvill define the cornponents of a cleamng systern afid prorade
gu"rdehnes for buLldLng and operaong a cleamlg slud Frnall1,, direcrions and
gudeLnes for perfonnrng a cleamng rvrli be g1r'efi; the reader rs encouraged to
doublc click on topics relareci to specihc proccdures [or cleaorng , speclflc
membrane elements-

41

RO

OESIGN

&

EHGINEERING

L)aia i\'lrintlonnp
Goqd rloruronng oi drc pcrfonwrnce oI a svstern can aLert dre user to possrble
-[lre
p r a c u c e o I e n t er t n g o p c r a t r o n a I
[ i - r u h r r gb e [ o r c t h e s r t u a t r o n b , c c o r n es s e. ' er c
p1
foql:ltn cln provtde thc mearrsto
t l a t r s r V e r r r l U J n e sa u , c c k t r t t r . rr r l o r n r a L z : r t 1 ( ) 1
Lrl. k prr fornrrnc. o\ el LLltle
S'i'mptoms of foulng would urcludc onc ()r aU of the [ollou'mg condtdons
.

Nomralized \r,ater flou'has dccrcased bv 10 150r'ofron.r start-up (rcfcrence)

condrtrons
D e l t a P , o r p r e s s t r r ed r o p o v e r : l s t a g e o r t h c s l ' s t e m , h a s u r c r e a s c d b y 1 0 | 5o,i
S a l t r e y e c d o o t r a s c l e c r c a s c d ( i c p c r r n e a t e I - t ) S [ r a s t n c r e a s e d )s g r u f i c a o d y

Note that lt ls unportallr t.r usc rronnaLzed data Nonnalized data corrccts for
temperarure eflfects otl s\/steln perfonnance For instancc, i[ the tcmPcraturc
d r o p s , r t i s c r p e c t e d - t o r e q u u c n r o r c F r r e s s u r et o a c . l u e v c t h e s a l n e f l o r v L o S s o [
f l o n ' d u e s o l e l y t o a r e d r r c f l o n u r t c r n p c r a t r r r ec l o e s n ( ) t t ' r ] e 2 nt h e s y s t e t n r s f o u l c d

, i // / //.1!,\-)'.t[(/i,' -\

1lr / /1t)// t
li't'.t /

['hc fbUc,wng dngrarlr grvcs thc basrc perts oI arr [{L) c.lcarung s[<rd Clcamng
solutron is purnped lrcrm a storagc tank throrrqh a caruidge filtcr to thc RO arral'
Solution rs then recycled back tci tllc t:rnk l-he volurne o[ solrrtion should bc
adequare to fill the volurnc oI rhe vcssels, ilters and pipurg The dirgiarn belorv
shou,s no lnstnrmentadon, hou,ever, tt rnay bc adviseable to add a low lcvel
su'itch to thc taok to ptevent dre pump frorn mnmng dty Addruonally, a
telnperature controiler and heate r/cociler unit may be added to nrailrtain solutron
at the optrn1um temPerahrte tenge

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGIHEERING

0ncentrate

ljtg

r,/

I4 0

Flo.. p12g12p of a cleanng sl,stenr

l/ olumercquu-emett/.r
To figurc drc volurne of solutron r e q u r e d f o r a 5 1 , 5 g 6 1c1o1n s l s t [ r g o I s r x B " r r e s s e l s
w i d r s r - xc l e r n c n t s p c r r e s s eI a n d 40 teet o[ 4 urch prpe (3 82 " lL)), furr.rre dre
volrrme o[ thc t-csscls arrd adrl rr to thc r.olunre o[ the
l)rprng ro olrraur the toral
r.olurnc

lVate rza/s (,'ompottr:r'tt.r

N'latenals[cr-rthe skid shoulcl bc the follorwrng:
-farrk

Fibe rglass reinforced

rubberl,rned

plasrtc

(FRP)

or

po[y'propylene or

Piprng: PVC scheduleB0 or N)'l<.,,rreinforced flex hose

Valves Stau.rlcssSteelpreferred
Pump. StarnlessStcel or Non metalLiccomposire pol;,esters
Pump should be a centrifugrl q?. able to attarn the florvs and pressures[sted rn
table lof the next section, CarrridgeFrltersshould be 5 tnicron rarrng srr.rngwound
modules. Valves should bc rnstaliedappropnately to control flow Tank should
have a removablc cover AII components should be able to rvithstand extremes in

RO

OESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

[
up i,,, ll]
; , , 1 1 ,t . . i l p e . a a u i c J
protected 211dr" cU grcltrrlrled

'

i+:, (,,. iii,] e[cilcrl

:,{/uLLa!,':ii'iiclrcs slrLrultibc

llttr,,
Lleutttttg i't'oL't
rvlule aikal-[re
Ger.reraLly,iow pH solu&ons arc used to clcan rnetaLhc scales
lrrgh florv
RelauvelV
foul-urg
and
orgamc
biologLcal
clean
to
solutioos are used
(Do not,
ts
tcconxnended
rvith
lorv
pressure
elemenr)
(gor.,erncdby the srze oI the
dr,ameter
8-Lnch
lror
elcments)
the
florv L-nlts lor
exceed marimum
h1*",,.r,
vessels the cleaning florv shoulcl be about 9 m3/h Per vesscl'
A gencral procedure flor clearung thc R(J membranc eletnents ts as follows'
i

Lr

nt

Ftush tlre Pressure rubcs by purnpirrg clcan, chlorrne free

product ivater froiii thc clcanmg rank (or eq'.l1..'alentsource)
through the pressure tutres to draut [or scvetal trrlnutes
Mor a fresh ltatch o[ t]re sclectcd cleanrlg
cleaning tat'rl<.-usrngclean prclduct rratcr

solution m the

C r r c u l a t t t h e c l c a r u n g s o l r r t i o n t l i r , r u g l r t h c p r e s s u r e f r - r b se t o r
approxinratel]'t"-ttlrourorthedesircclpcri<-rdoIt]trte'ata
f l 6 t ' r ; t t e o [ - ] 5 r , ! )- l { ) g p r r l ( 8 9 n r J i t r ) P c r l l r c s s t r r c t u b e f o r
{) to
I [) gPtll
B () anrl 8 5-rrlclr l]rcssLric nrlrcs ()l
( 2 - ? 3 r n 3 7 ' h ) l r - , r I [ ) r r r < - tpr r c s s r r r ct t r l ) L i s

iv

'.)f cleaning, draur and lltrsh tlte cleamng

tank; fhcn fill the cleaning tank rvith clean product rvater fot

After

compleuotr

nnsmS
v

vi
'

Rinse the Pressure tubes by pumPtng ciean, chlorine-frce

ptoductwaterfronrtlrecleaningtank(orequrvalentsoutce)
t_hrough the pressr-rrerubes to draLn for sevcral minutes
systern rs rrnsed, oPerate rt,with the product dump
valves open unnl tlre product *^1s1 florvs clean and is free oI any
foam or residues o[ cleanrng agents (ust-Lally15 to 30 mLnutes)
After the l(o

be obArned
Specr[c rnstrucdons for cleamng specrfic metnbtane elemenfs should
from the tnembrane manufacfurer or plant sLrPplicr

utg
RO

RQ

DESIGN

EHGINERIHG

It rs worthu'hile cmphaslzrng the follo',r.Lng

poLnrs
'
'
'

'
'
'
'
.

U s e o [ c h l o n n c c l r o t h c r s u o n g o x i d a n t s o n p o l y a m . r d er n e m b r a n e s c a n
cause ureversiblc darnageto the mernbrane
uflarm warcr, i.c J5t'c
40o c, grr.bs sgruflcantly better clcanurg than
lorver tcmperaturc soluDor-rs
If the pH oI an actd solutron roctease
s dunng recirculation,add rnore acid
to retuio the pH back to the target value. W'l-ratis occurdng is that acid is
berng consumed as it dissolr'esrnorgaruc scale
Do not use suJfuric acid for low pH soludons as tlus creates a risk o[
creating sulfate scalc.
Permeate water is prcferred for mixrng solutrons_
fjse of frltered t2p warer for fugh pH soludons can result in carbonate
fouling rf the water is hard.
Flush the rnembranes with peffneate r,vater Followrng cleamng to remove
the cleamng soluti<-rns
Under severe fouLng condiuons, it may be necessaryto soak ovcrrught

\-/

RO

DESIGN

&

EHGINEERING

for
General Stonage Proeede"Etre

fuIembranes
Short-TermStorage
S h o r t - t e n n s t o r a g e r s t o r p e n o d s w h c r e a r i R O p l a n t m u s t r e r r m r r io u t o I o p e r a d o n
[or more tlran five davs, but ferver than drLrq.'da],s, ,.','rlhthe RO clements tn place.
Pteparc cach RO train as f<rllo.t's
I

ljlush thc lL(l scction vtth {cccl \r'irtcr. s,hile srrrrLrlt:rncously

v.:otrflg anv gas ftorn the s\;stcnl

\\/herr the pressurc rubes ar-c fillcd, close the appropnete

\ i a l g e st o p r e l " e n t a i r f t o r n c n t c r u l g t h e s y s t e m

Reflush as described above at 5-day urten'als

I-"0rug
Term Starage
Long-tenn storageis for penods where an RO plant rnust relnaln out o[ operanon
for rnore dran thirq, days w-ttl.rdre RC)-elernents ir-rplace. Prepare each RO train
as [ol.lorvs.

a:'

C l e a nt h c R O m e m b r a n ee l e m e n t su r o l a c e ,

t'lush the RO sectroo rvith an approved biocide prcpared

from Dermeate

Whcn the RO secoon is flr]ledrvidr thrs solutjon (rnake surc

that it s cotnpletely frlled), closc the valves to retarn the
soluuon ur thc RO seccion

RO

OESTGN

&

ENGINEERTNG

R e p e a tS t c p s 2 a n d J r v i t h f r c s h s o l u u o n c s e n . r h r r n , d a v s i f
drc temperarurc is bclorv 80J t- (2711C), or evcry ftfrcen days
iI tJreremperarure ts ab<it'c80il F (271] C)
\Xihen the RC) si51611rs ready ro bc rcrurned to sen,icc, flusl-r
the 51'51srnlor approxLmatelyone hour usurg lorv-pressurc
feed water wrth rhe product,dump valve open ro dran; then
flush it at Lugh pressurc for 5 to 10 mrnutcs rvith the product
dump valve open to dtain. Before returmng the RO sysrem
to scrvice, check fot any residual biocide ur the product.

Pnor

-fo

Insta/lation

\Mren RC) elements are stored pnor to rnstallatroa or in transit ro

the plaot site,
thev should bc pr<-itected fronr direct sunllght and stored rn a cool, dry place rvirh
an arnlrient temperatuse range of 20oC to 35"C. New clements are rn heat sealed
bags widr storage solution

47a

l/

RO

OESIGN

&

ENGINEERING

lmplernentins a RG Froject
Hou' do tve bcgrll

Here arc a ie!r, ops [or eit.herpianmng or rmplementurg a ]tC)

s),steir I
Stt RO fltlqm p{L0/14dnl:tt?qlrlrcmen/t. I;rsL, decrde rIc RO stistcnr capecirv
rl]at ls permeate tlon, rate
Remenrbcr, capital cost o[ a IIO systern rs
d u ' e c d v p r o p o t u o n a l t o t h c 1 r c r m e a t ef l o u ' r a t e , s a y m 3 / h
If l;otr requrre a
certrrin pcnreate cluanuty pef da1,(m3/ci)
then decrclc ntrrrtbcr of
o l r e r a t r n g l - r o u r sp c r d a 1 ' e n c l c : r l c r r l ; r t ep c n r r e i r t e f l o r v r a t c - l t i s a c l r ' i s a b l e
t o o p c r a t e t h e R C ) , s \ . : j t c n )i o r l o n g c r h o u r s t c r r c d u c e c r p r t a l c o s t s
'l'[re
lJe
n d e c i i l e t J r c :p c r n r c a t c : r l r r e i r q , l { r g h c l r r a h t y w ' : 1 t c rh e s r t s p n c c
,.'.,ili
clcrnancl rrse of lugh salt rc,cctuig metnbrlnes
reaLstrc Fligh quaLq'
t l ' r a t a r e c x p e n s i v c a n d o ; : c r a t e a t l ' u g h e rp r e s s u r e s
Decrde how you are golng to disposc off the concentrate streanr
are dre applicable drsposal standards from the rcgulatrng authonty

What

Set inPutt. Fust, dre desrgn ra\r/u,ater sotrrce and analysis II therc is oue
soutce, the job is easier [[ thete are mulnple sources or a combination oI
s u r f a c e a n d g r o u n d u , a t e r d r e n u ' o r k o u t a w o t s t b u t r e a l i s d cb l e n d o f
t h e s e s o u r c es a n d d e c r d e d e s i g r r u , a t e r a n a l y s i s C o o s i d e r s e a s o n a l
variatrons A cornplete design analysrsreport rncluclcCa, N{g. Na, I( Fe,
alkalrrury,Cl- SO4, NO3, Srhca, pH, Conductrrnty, Turbidrry, TDS, ltee
chlonne and COD as minLmum For wasteurater applicatrons urclude
NH4, orl & grease,I)O4 and hearrymetalspresent rn the water
l n a u , a t e r a n a l y s i sr e p o r t n o t o o l y t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f r ' a f l o u s l o n s
tnlportant but drer irlteracdons too For exarnple, Ca, alkalrnity, TDS,
temper-ature aod pl-l valr.res rr'tll . decrde the tendencl' [ot Ca(.O3
precrpitauoo m the s1'56s111
Sirmlarly,Ca, SO4, TDS (roruc srength) and
temperarure rvLlldecide CaSO4 scaling tendency. Ignonag one or more

RO

OESIGH

&

ENGINERIHG

p a r ? m e t e r s s o u i d l c a d t o u r r p r e d t c t a b l ep c r [ o m r a n c e , , I t h c l { ( ) s \ s t c r l I t
g o e s , . r ' r t - t r o u st a )r n g d t a t u r u t s o f m e a s u r e r n e n t s o i e a c h p a r a n r c r c r : 1 r c
, l " . rl l r t e p ' ) r t e dm t l t c a n a l v s r \r e p o t r s
{ccuracl'oI

RO

Fced u,ater temperafure rS u]rportanr

Lactr degree
rcnrper:rfure change can c[range the penneatc flur (lerneate t]ow &r-rded
b_f nrembrane area) b]'
25 to 3 0 per ccnt
I n a n r _ r p c r a t r n eR ( )
"brrr..,t
sl,stem leed pressure has to be , reduced to conrpensatc [or lugher
-ffus
'l'here
temperature
could detcdorate pen-neate qLnliry
could be
seasooal vanatlons r.n the RO

feed watcr temperature, ur rvllch case dre

RO systern has to be destgned for maximum and rninirnurn temperatures
At maxrmum tempetature permeate qruhS'rrnl] bc worst and at rnifixnumtemperarurc RO feed pressure rvr]l be hrghest
Eua/uate RO Ertem sizrtng- RO s1'51snr slztng involves finaiizurg menrbrale
q,pe , qurntiT, and arrar'; reco'.'e.y' anC other parameters
Tl-.ts is pre serrt[y
donc
usrng RO prolecnon
software
provided
b1, the membrane
manufacrurer lnsist upon a copy oI the srzrng calculadons or projecoon,
as rt rs comrnonly called, from the '"'endot.
\ierifl
that al] the Lrpur
condltions are corrccdy uscd- Here are some trps
, { t ' c ' r a p c l - ) e s u z n[ - l u - r . T h r s r s t l r e t o u l D C r q r c a r c l l o r ' , c l r v r c l e . lb v
nrernbrane area zrnd is cxpressed as litcrs frer squarc
rnckrs per hc',ur G-NlH) or LJS gailons pcr sclLrirc fcet lrcr da1,
thc toul

Gf.i) t-jsurg l4ghet flux re dr-rccsnrernbranc quroLltl ancl hencc tlrc

caprtal cost, br-rt chanccs of f ouhng
arc high
N,lernbranc
manufacturers prorndc only a guldelinc fot desrgrr flux
In most
cascs rt is safe not to exceed desrgn flux of 10, 14 and 1Bgfd valrres
For wastc \','ater, surface and gtouad rvater feeds But the designcr
has to make a judgnent of the actual RO Feed u.'ater q.n[ry before
finzltztng

Feed water SDI r'a[ues, numbcr

of pre fteailnent steps,

coLild be used as guide

raw water q,rahty variations

Nlembrane

selecuon.

Check

the membrane

make and model

selected by the \rendor

shows

membrane

Srudy mernbrane technic^l d^t^ sheet that

ratrng, rnembrane arca, feed rvater tirnitrng

cond.rtions and opcrating

parameters

(wastcrvatct, surface water)

[rydrophrhc rnernbranes oI
trearmsnl rs provided

l.or

rt rs advisablc
neutral chargc.

Fugli foulng

vaters

to use lorv ioulng

II convendonal

d-ren it is adrnsable to use membranes

pre
o[

standard area sucl'r as 365 ft2 Lnstead of 400 or 440 [t2 because
chances of restoratron by cleamng are llgher if they are Fouled
u'idr suspeoded solids
Recovery. Recovery ts dre ratio oI permcate
is often reported as percentage
flou' ts B0% of dre fced floiv

49s

flog' to feed flow and

An B0%o recorrery means peffneate

Hrgh recovery

is desuable but it lras

fIO

OESIGN

ENGINEERING

\ . : : i c a c l ' c r - ) 'l n c i e a s e s , i I c c c n c c n i r : a o n i ; l c o i l c e a t i a t e
(
:
r
l
s
c ,c a U ed r e , c c t o r b r L n e ) L n c r e a s c s a n d t h s r n c r e a s e i s
sueanl
lr:r ilci

rl1r1l ,, luqltrc(,,\pilcs

F l g l r c r r c l c L l . ( r n . r r l u : 1 E o n sc a u s e i e e d

p r c s s u t e a r t d J r c r m e a t es a l r r u r l , t o i n c r c a s c
potenuals [,,r scalroq and foulrg

It could also lncrease

,.,.'rdr
Designs
recovenes o[ 80ozo

or fugher rcqurres carc[r-rlselcctlor],tf

sVsterl components and

de srgl
tcalirrg

I r c , r . n u , r l s 1 l r e p r r r l e ru ( l n p n n t ' ' r r t u L I l r c p o r t s c a i m g
potenrials ior CaCC)1, CaSO-i, BaSO4, SISO-1 and srlica It rs a
good ldea to check tlcse values rn companson to maxrmum
allou,able Lm-rts

Desrgn o[ the pre ueatunent to RO system rs

based bn thescvalues
Lastll', look

lor \r'arnrngsu) ttrc profectioo pru]tout

These wam

oI

p o s s r b l e p r o b l e r n s L nd r e s i z L n gt h a t c o u l d r e s u l t m o p e r a t r o n a l p r o b l e r n s
N[embranc

r n a n u f a c t r , r r e r sl r a v e

drerr u,a],oI

considen-ng and

not

considen-lrg different saferv factors rn tie computer pro,ectrons A desrgo

ru15[rt shorv reqrurement oF a rclailr'ely lrrghcr prcssure or a highe_r
penneatc t1r-rality[rrrr rt rmght be a sa[er opoon to go [or rI these
r e q u r r e l l - r e n t sa r c a r c s r - r l t, ' r f i n c r e a s e d b u l t ' i n s a [ e t 1 ' a n c l a n r o r e a c c u t a t e
c a l c r . r l ; r o o no f t l i e t 1 r r a h t lp' x r a n r et e r s I t r s a d ' ; - r s a L - ttl,c. r c o n s u l t m c r n b r a n e
c x p c r t s r v l r o c u . r tp r r i t ' i r l t c ( ) r r c a t a c l r r c e
4

l.yLtUU, l,19Ig4U4yrtl lllLt,/]. I)tc Lre:rtnrcnt ti) rr Ii( ) s\':;rcnr rs v'rtal to

r , [ r t a i , nc o n s i s t e n t ; r n d t r o u [ r l c F r c c ( ) l ) c r ^ u o n o I t h c p l a n t
1-he pre\
\
,
a
t
e
r
r
:
l
$
i
r
n
a
k
e
r
t
f
o
r
f t c a U n c r ' l t s l ' s t e n rt r . c : r t s
to
srritaLrlc
treaunent rn RO
S]'Stern Its desrgrr rs gLudecl b1, rnenrlrrane fced w]rter lullitrng condltlons
and scahng crlten:i See table l0 belou, fcrr fccd water lirninng cond]trons
for

corrunonly

used composlte

rnetnbranes

E.r'aluate tlrat tl-re pre

Lreatr-nent s)'stenl has Lreen designed to aclueve thc leed rvater ltrutrng
condttions as specrfied by the rrrcmbrane ruanufacrurer
The

scalure potcotrals of spamrgly soluble salts arc calculated uslrlg

urdexes ancl percent saturatlon r.aiues
For erarnple, [or

safuradon

btackrsh \r,ater, Langeher saRrratron tndcx (LSI) rs <-alculeted for CaCO3

In absence o[ any anuscalant dosurg, tire re;ect LSI should be negah,,.e
rvluch rs achie't'ed dosrng actd m'the feed rvater

But tlrrs cou]d reduce the

r e c o v e r y l . r e n c eS o d r L r r nF l c x a N { e t a P h o s p h a t e r s d o s e d d r a t e x t c n d s t h e
rc,ect LSI hmrt to +0 5 For e',.en hugher rccovertes. ()rgarul antlscalants
can bc used to extend the LSI ImrLt to +2 5 Ln thc reject stream These
organ.ic andscalants are gffectrve a{airst CaSO.l and sihca scales toc,r Per
cent saturanon for CaSO,l ca6 be extended to +230a,/o and sihca
concentration

to up to 215 mg/l Ln the reject strealn

50

RO

DESIGN

ENGINEERING

I - h e r e a r e s c ' c r a l s u p p h e r s o f o r g a r u c a n t L s c a l a n f sa n d d r c u s c r l s a d r . r s c d
refcrences and sen'rce support before accepung a parocu_lar
t ' n a k c I t i s u n p o r r a n t t o c a r r J Jo r - r ta t e c h r u c a l e r - a [ u a L i g l c r f d r c p r ( ) s p e c n l c
anhscalants to ensure they are compauble rtrih the t{O tced u,atcr ancl
to check

rvitlr thc rncrnbranes tiat *"r-ll be used

Products

u luch

pass the

cvaluatron

Consult for er,alr-'raDon

proccclrrre
cnteria .should bc chgrble [or

strbmrtrurg trnJer' dunng procuremcnt

. \ s k f o r a p r , ) l ( . c t r o np n n r u u t
from rlre aotrscalant mar,ufacrurer fcrr dosagc recommendatrons for s].stenr
undcr consrcleraUoo,

f a b l e 1 0 :R O F e e d W a t e r L t m r n n g C o n c h u o n s
Limrtrng

Panme(cr

Valuc

I - l0

PH
Temperarrrre

( 45 degreesCelsrus

Turbidrq

<1ONTU

Srltdensiq'urdex

<.40

Ori & grease

Nrl

Free clrlonne

<0lmg,/l,conunuous

lrr. lr ln

<0lrng,/l,total

(.onrhc/ ]>i/ol Planl ttu&et [t rs:r good pract]ce rc.rconcluct pilot pla.nt tnal:;
t o r l a r g c s ) ' s t e r l r s t o l c a r n t h c f c e d w a t e r r r a n . . r t r o n s ,p c r [ o n t r a n c e , i
I r t c t t r l r i : r t l e s ,r : o i l p a t t b r l i q , o f t , a n o u s c [ r c m r c a l s , o p e r a t i c ) r t : t lc o r r t r o l s a n c i
-[-lris
ct'icctivcrtcss ol rle nrbrlrtc t lcantng operatr()rrs
rn[,rrnrettorrshotrld
b c t r s c r . l t c ) s c a l c - u p r h c f u l - l - s c a l ep l - a u t ( . r - r n s u l t f r , r n r o r c a n c i s p c c r f r c
infclnnation
Prot,tde
S a . t z f i t a / , \ l c m b r a n e , I r r l r r g e R O p l r r r r s L r e x r u r g\ \ ' : r s { c\ r , a I c l s ,r t t s x
good pracuce to install a lead-end and a mil-end sacnficial membtane
element with necessarl, insLrurnents
Tlrcsc sacnficial rncmbranes lvarn
drc oprerators oI

possible

foullig

and scaling problerls

before

they

seriously afFect thc plant perfonn rnce

Eua/uctte OPeratnn and ll4aintcnancerequireruents. Operadon and lnarntcnance
of an1, systcrn is rmportanr and the mernbrane systems are-not different.
Evaluate opcrauonal requrrernents rvirh rcspect to numbcr oI ours of
opetatro{1, operatrng rrunpowef

a,.'arJabrhry',chorce

oI

manual

versus

2Utomatic operauoD etc

llvalu-ate aU niai,ntenance options that nuglrt be requued in tl.rc continuous
operaBon of the plant
These slrould rnclude preventive scheduled
malrltenance

rcqrtirsrDsnts and break clow.n rnamtenance requfernentS.

L-rst and provide all the tools and r-eck.lesand trainurg to the marntenance
personnel drat goes a long \\'ay ul rrouble-ftee operation of the RO plant

sl \

RO

DSIGN

&

ETIGINEERING

(
Ii rs a good idea to have a sngle element long RO systcm TIts system
can lre used for drffererrtpurposes Fust, r[ tl-re mcrnbranes get fouled
' , v i t h o r , rat n v c l u e t o d r c c a u s c s ,r t . i s p o s s i b l e t o c l e a n o n e m e m b r a n e
modulc rn this svstetn,try out drffereot ciearung chemlcal formulatrons
arrd clcaning proceduresarrd finaLrzeLhe most effectrr'e cleamng protocol
that can be applied rn'the marn plant. Second,tt can be used to carry out
compaubilrry and-dosageperfectron studies for various andscabots before
they are actually used in the main plant Thlrd, it can be used to srudy
differcnt mcrribraoes to compare petformance with membranes that are
used rn the plant.

,e

RO

OESIGH

ENGINERIHG

L s*saasnr
Ev FfrE
EA#rrG'

*FsFdE-E

Tlr

I\f /Cl'r'/ / t',1

i

r e c l - r r u c aS
l e n r c c B u l l et r n sb y F { i , , d r a n a u t r c:s1,01 o c c a n s r d e , c A 9 1 0 5 +
USA

S Chilekar, Prcssure Dnve n Mernbrane Processesfor Total \X/atcr

Treahnenr, Everytlmg About Warcr (l\[a1,-fune 2002) 21-31

S chrlekar, A Ncw Approacl.rTo L)esignrngSeco.dar-r.-freated (-iry

Seu'ageReclamarion Plants fjor lndustr-ralProcesst_lse,E.r.eryt1rrng
About Wate r (l\{a1,f urie 2003) 22 30

53*

\ j

RO

DESIGN

ENGINEERING

&

Appen#Ex ffi
iirtn I ndex CJ'I)
her5'atnrzt
Lttn,ge
The Langelier Sarurauon rnder (LSf proudes an rndrcator of the degtee of saturao.on
of \r,ater u,ith respect to calcrum c-arbonate. [t c-an be shou'n t]Lat tSI approximates the
basc t0 logan*rm of rhc caicite saturatron level- the Langelier sahrratron level
approaches the concept_ of sarruation usurg pH as a nra-ir varjable The LSI can be
rnterpreted as the pH clr'ange requued b.-g"tg

watet to equrJrbnum

Water rr,nth a l-angeher saruralion index o[ 10 is one pH urut above satufa0on

Reducrng the pH by' I uqrr n'rll bnng the u,ater rnto equhbnum. Thrs occurs because
the portron oI total alkairruty present as CC-),2decreasesas d'repH decreases, accorcirng
to che equilibnurns de scribrng the drssocnootr oI carboruc acid

H,CO3 a" HCO: I H*

HCO3 12CO.'-+ H"
(-a(-Ll,
lil.Sl s ncgxfl\-c No lrotcrrnii to sc;rlc,thc t';'atctr',rlldtssoh'c
rs positt"c: Sc:rlccart forn'r and C.a(-O, PrccrPltatlc)nrllz\i ()ccu-t

ItISI

'

lf LSI rs closcr,ro zero: Borderl-rne scale potenoal \X/ater quahtl or changes ul

temperature, or et'aPoratron could cl-range dre rndex

drivlng force
The ISI s an equrl1bnum index and deals onlv wrth dre thernodynanuc
o[ ho"t'
rndicauon
no
It
pror.rdes
and
growth.
for calcrun carbonate sc.ele fonnanon
equilibnum
water
to
rnuch scale or calcrurn carbonate u-rll actr-rally preciprtate to bnng
it sirrrply indicates the driung force for scalc formation and gou'dr in terms of pH as a
lr-Llster r.eriq$[s. [n order to ca]cuiate the LSI, it is necessan: to know the alkalLruty
foral dissolved sohds
(mg/l as CaCOr), the calcrurn Lr,erdr-ress
fngll Crt. as CaC-O,), dre
(rng/l TDS), the acnrd pl{, end d1e temPerature oI tlie rvater fQ

RO

DESIGN

&

ENGINEERIHG

i-SI s defrned
as,
LSI=pf{-pH.
\\'-hcre,
'

pH rs t-herneasured rvater pH and

'

PH" rs die pH at which the soluoorr of sarne composidon."vr,ll be saturated h

calcium carbonate and Lsdefined as

'

pH"=(9.3+A+B)-(C+D)

\Vhere,
'

,'\ - (I-og,u[TDSJ

'

B-

'

(- - I-.,g,,,
[ C . t ' : r sC a C O , l 0 1

[,) - l.e1',n[allvrlrmtyas C,a(-O,1

1) I 10

1l i2 x l.og,u f(-- + 213) + 3.t 5_5

555

-3

RO

MONITORING

&

TROUALESHOOTING

Membrane Element toading

Guide!ines
Eieruenl

-L,narl/ry
( 'rririeiines

Ttre follorvr4g provides general urfonnatron

provrde opnrnally reliable perfcrnnance

fot urstalhng tnernbrane

eicments

Flushiils
I I tire systcnl Ls nc\\'. ll is stri)ngl]' recolnlnctlrle cl to flush thc s)'stenr 6rst [refbte:
loadrng elcnrcnts Tl'ris allot's any clcbns, solvents, or ctr,lclnne to be cleare.l s,r t.ha(
drey do not cotrre ur contact.'vitl-r the metlbranes

Vesse/Prcparultott
Clean the rnside of the vesselsbefore loadrng, This u.rll temove any dust and debns
that could collect on the membrane surFace. Hosrng down the rnsides oI dre vessels
usually will not be sufEcient to clean the vessels Use o[ a sponge ball wrapped tn a
towel and soaked rn t 50o/osolution of glycedn and water s ttlghly recommended,
The sponge ball can be pLrlledtluough the vesselwidr a piece oI rope. Altemanvely,
rhe sponge ball can be pushed duough the lengdr of the nrbe wrth a piece o[2illch
P\rC prpe with a PVC flange attached to the end, Be sure to avoid scrapmg the ptpe
along the vesselsutface.

J r]ra{e
out of dlrect sudlght. Do
II elements c:rrutot be loac]edupon dekvery, store eler.-.ents
fteeze
not allow the eiements to

RO

A{ONITORING

TROUBLESHOOTING

ft

I tt0rzcnnts
.

\\'hen lcradmgelernent_s
into a sysrern.do NO-f use orJ.grease,or petroleum
cornpourds to lubncateo no-qsand bnne seals
1ell1'based

[,]sestLconebasedgel (sdiconegrease] ,,r a Llr-rnr-reo[ 50910

glicenn m $.ater
to lubucate [] unss and brure seals

J D/mn//n3
Due to inconsist-enctes ur vessel lengt[ it rs lughly reconrrnended to shirn elements to
'ftus
take Lrp ftee space ro the vessel
helps to prevent elements from mormg u'hen
the slstenr is sirut dou'n ard restarted The appearance oFlsrks betu'een elements s
also mrrumrzed n,hcn dre eletnents are shi-rnmed
To shim, stmply place P\rC "wa-shers" oIr,ar]nng *rickrress (1 /8"

to 3,/8") over the

feed side tnboard adapter. Add as many shims as oecessarl, until dre end plate fits
sntrgly aga]nst the shrrms [[ necessary a shirn ma1' lte removed
drfficrrlt to reinstall

rF the end _cap rs

A gap of 1,/4 tnch beftr.een dre end plate end the shrms ir.rll not

catrse prolrlerns in pertbnnance

/ 5'hintnttng
V'es.rr:
() Procer/urc
-l

o reduce the trsk oI h-evurqdiscomccts beru'eerreletncnts n'rtlrtr a pressLrre

vessel

it rs advuable to slum the vesselpropcrl1, Shurirnrngrs thc prrocess

oI placurgpieces
-to
of rnaterjil (shuns) bctween t\\'o parts to take up ft'ee space and hclp
preveat
tnolretnenl For membrane systeftrs,plasucor P\rC washers ate used as shims This
TSB out-lrnesrhe procedue to shim a vessel

Note:

Before begnmrrg dre shrm procedure, ensure that the spacer nrbe (calledalso

the thnrst nng) is in place on the reject or downstream end oI the r.'essel.
Remove dre end plate on the feed end o[ the pressure 'r'essel.
Push elements fimrly rnto the l'essel,and ensure that there ts no free
spacebetween elements,
Place an rnboard corurector on dre lead clemenc

RO

|rIONTTORING

TROUBLESHOOTING

obtain q,asherlike pieces o[ plasUc (or other approved materials)

l/8"

to Il4"

tn tluckness wrth an inner diameter larger than the

outer drametero[ the adapter. These are the shims5

Place the sfums b-vtrnl and ertor method over the adaptet and then
replace the endplate Stims should be added unol the endplate ""dl
not 6t enurely ur place Then remove a shim so that the total
thicknessoIthe shims rs ,ust enough to allorv the endplateto 6.tRepeat this procedure for all vessels.

RO

MONITORIHG

&

TROUALESHOOTING

Mernbrane Start-up, $hutdown

and Flushinq Guidelines
P rcseiv,t tiue F /us/tr,'g
To presen'e elernents from biologrcal gtowt]r

and to help rnaintaur perforrrance

over tirne, composite q,pe membraoes 2re storecl tn 1 2o.iosoc{ium bisulfite and 510% propylcne glycoI solutron.

It is thereforc aclr.tsed to flush mernbranes prior

to use to elfurrirate resrdua] prcsen.,luve s rn the ptocluct strcanr

C ) t r c e d r e e l e n r e n t s [ r z n ' el r a d t h e p r c s e r r ' : r t r v e sf l r r s h c d f r o r n t h c n r , t ] r e r u ' o u l d n c e d
to h:rve Presen':rtir.cs re appliccl fclr lonrl tenrr sf(itegc
C ) n c c e l e m e n t s h a i ' e b e e n l o a d e c l a n d v e s s e l s s c a l e c l ,i t i s r e c o r n t n e n d e d t o f l u s h
tl-le system to drarr u'rdr feed water at de srgn operxtrng prL-ssurc for a rntmmutn oI
4 hours. [f the elements are tO be used m s)'stenrs reqLLir-rngultrapure water, a
minirnum

to reducc
tirne o[ 24 houts is recornmended
to below 50 ppb (assutning zero TL)C rn the feed $'ater)

flushrng

concentration

For potab[e applicauons, dtscard the ptoduct

dflnkrng

or usrflg tn food applicauons

rrntauon

to the gastrointesnnal

the TOC

\',.ater for at least 24 lrours pflor to

lngesuon

of the preservatr\.e trlay cause

ract, colic, dtatrhea, or other sirni-lar symptoms,

RO ,!'stem Start-up
[t is trnportant to be sure that the elements are loaded and shimmed correcdl' t6
remove any excess slack drat may cause disconnects. A [ou' pressure flush to
purge atr ftom the tnenrbranes is alw'ays recommended befote a lugh ptessute
startup. This cari be accomplisheddrrough the use of a so[t start meclranisrn,or a
vaoable frequency' &ive. Failure to do thG can re-sultin a rr.'atetshock warie (water:
d-amageto dre RO membranes The permeate
hamrnet) that can cause pfr1,5i6al

RO

MORITORING

&

TROUBLESHOOTING

t<-,tire
salses sl-rouLdalu'a1'5 be open to ili:rrn dLr-nng tlrrs flush to pteveot demage
membranes
frt-ltn the s\rsletn the feed p r e s s u r e s h o u i d b e
Lncreasedgtadually up to the n.orkna Pressure of t.hc R(] uut
After

ttre ur

has been purged

n '\ '
t'
t(U .) J'tt(/// J ilt z l r / , , t 1 ' l t
Bra,.brhf LI;asrt ll,'attr 51tte,r,
q'tth the feed ['ater at lon'tecoverl'
Upon slrutdorvn for brackistr systerrls, a flush
oI
.r.,rlrr.
urde open) is usuallv sufficrent to remo\re the hrgh cooceota[on
(tn_n.
dunng
drain
to
,"1t, fro,rr the naembtanes The pemreete valves should be ooen
tlus flustr to Pre\'ent darr-rageto the tlembranes
SeautaterSystems
is recomrnended
shutdorr",n for sexw2ter systems, a flus[r r.,.rthRo Penneate
The permeate
to rernove tl-re tugh concerrtratton o[ salts ftom the metnbranes
to.
damage
to
ftr'rsl-L
tlus
dunng
dr-ain
to
open
valves- should be
Prevent
-q't"
be
should
tnenrllranes
the
r-rrrar,'aileble,
tempotadly
ts
rnerntrr:rnes It RC) penneate
Thc
open)
rvide
brine
(u'rtir
rccor-eq'
1'alr''e
Feed at lou,
flushecl rvrrh Ro
:rs tt is avaiL'rble
me n'rbranes slrouLcl the rl Lre fluslred \t'1th l1O Perrneate Ts soor]
cotrcerlLr:rflo1)
luglr
r\ath
a
The seag,ater Ro sl,sterrl slrclulti ttrlt be lc[( un fluslred
I r 1 1 1 1( c) ( l t h e u r c n r [ l r l n c s u r t i c c
upon

rvater used il both normal RO |1,sten stat-ap ancl RC) J-]'ttt,'

flre quantr0,of
i-s tetained rr-r the
Shutdiu,n flushurg should be eqr-rai ro or greater than tha.t ri'hicl-r
L) per
ten
gallons{37.85
assutne
elernents
sysrem fto. rald-"rd 8-r-nctr X +0-ur.h
1)
135
(1
three
gallons
assu-rne
For standard 4-lnch X 40 rnch elements
element
per element.

PermeateVa/ueOperation
the petmeate
At no tiin-rcdur-rng operadon of a membrane element system should
Flushing'
pte-shutdown
up
ftushing,
valve(s) be closed TLus ncludes Pre-start
cleamng(s)and standatd operation
a
Closrng t]re permeate valve dunng aoy pbase oF operatroo causes Pressure
rrteparable
in
tesult
l-tkely
ri.'ilI
and
system
drfterenual actoss the tarl end o[ the
q,ill
inmedrate
cause
damage
damage to the glue l-ine,.of the terl element(s) This
tncreasetn sait passaeeoI the svstenl

RO

MONITORING

TROUBLESHOOTIHG

Perrneate ralr-e(s) rlun' be closed durLng shutdou,o after t]re s\,stem has
b e e n f l u s h e ca
i n d , r o rn ' h e r ri n p u t o I t h e t e e d u ' a t e r r s s t o p p e d [ n r r u a n yc a s e sf h i s
LS necess:rrr t() preveot an aerobrc enrkonme nt Ln the pressLIrer.es-sels_The
permexte ralse as u'ell as the concenlrate) should be fllly re opened prior to re
Lntroductng[eed rt'ater

C-oncanrt'ate [,,'ttlt,,eOp erution

Duflng start uP of any' system, tl-ie concentrate vali,e should be tn the fuIiy ooen
posiuon llus valve shoutd be moved towards the closed posiuon ,ft.r strrt ,rp rr
order to obtaLnthe desued system recovery.

NE,\iER S-fARTA SYSTE,N,{

WITH THtr CL]N''EN]TF.ATL-]
\,'AI,\'E CLCSE,D
AND THEN OPENING IT UNTII- THE, SYSTtrI\,IRE(,O\TERY tS
ACHItr,\/EL)
System tecovery should be set to the desrgn value as recornrneoded rn the
oPera0trg procedures

Presencc
of Frze e h/onne
At

no

ture

should rhere be a Ftee C-hlome rcsi.lrral rn the fced q,ater oI

ttran (J05PPA'I
Even veq, lou' levels pf clrlorilt- rJr rhc Iced strealr
u ' r l l r e s u l t t n t n - e p a r a b l eo x i d a t i o n d a m a g c o I t h c m e n r b r : r r r c l ] l c a s e c o n t a c t
)rour sYstenr pror-ider for various medrods of renrovurg ljree (.lrlonltc prror to tlre
tnenrbrane svstem.
gteatet

f-lre

ox-rdative

effects of
Free Chlonne
are strongll,
cttalyzed. rn the
oItransition
metals
such
as
iron
and
manganese. [[transinon metals
Ptesence
are Present. lt ls tecotffnended
that there be NO Free Clrlonne ur dre feed n'ater.

Lubncalion of O nngs and Bnne J'ea/,r

At no trme should peftoleum based lubricants be used w-lren lubncatrng
inter-connector o-dngs, end adapter o-rings or the membrane element brine
seal Acceptable lubncants rnclude silicon-basedgels or hqurds andf or gl1'cenn

RO

&

MONTTORING

TROUSLESHOOTIHG

RO SY$TEM MONITCIRING
I mportant Parameters_forMonitonng
The srx important parameters th-atneed tegular morutoring are given below.
7

NorwalzsedPermeateF/ow. Tttts is the permeate flow that is normalized to

rernove effects of feed water salinifir, acnral tecot'ery, temPerature, applled
Feedpressure and pressure drop rn the system The oormalized permeate
flow value calculated based on the actr-ralplant perfonnance has to be
cornPared to the same after commGsiomng the plant to Frnd out
L)rop Ln tlrc values urdrcate scalrng or fouling or abnorm-al
vana[ons
compaction problems in the s1's1sm.

NormaluectSa/f Rtlection.Thrs rs ttre average.saltreiecUon rn dre RO system

that is normalized to remove eFfectsof feed water sali-trity,actual tecovery,
remperamfe, applied feed pressure and pressure &op in the systern.
Normal-rsedsalt reiecdon calculated based on the acrual plant petformance
has to be compared to the same after comrrrissiomng the plant to find out
variatrons. Drop ur the values rndicate membtane darnage ot scaling or
fouhng ptoblems ro the system-

-fbts
is the average pressufe gtop (or delta-P, as tt
NormalisedPresnre Drop:
is commonly called) in the Ro sysrem that is normaltzed to remove ettects
of feed u,ater fiow, actual recovery and temPefatuJe, Normalised pressute
&op calculatedbasedon the acrual plant performance has to be compared
to the same after comrnissiomng the plant to frrd out variations' [nctease
in the values indicates pluggmg of membraoe feed spacer u'ith susPended
solids or mrcroorganisms

Silt Den:tgt tnd.ex(SDI): SDI is an important Patameter to check the feed

u,ater qua[ty enteftfrg the RO s]rstem [t r.nchcates
Prcsence of colioidal

RO

AIONITORING

&

TROUBLESHOOTING

parocles in dre feed q'ater and drerefore a possrbrLitl o[ foulng of the

membrranes A i5-n'unute SDi vaiue rs commonil, used Lr the rndustrl,
lr'lost mernbrane manufactuers
RO

prescnbe a lrrmt oI ma:omum

feed v,'ater bet*,een 3 and 5

&ltradon

pre-treaffnent

oburned

\X/hen erther r'rcro

rs used, er.en lon'er SDI

Pleasc rcler tr.\ppcrrdrr

for.r

SDI Ln the

Eltratron or ultra

r.alued can be easil1,

tlerriled prt,cedurc [or

measunng SDI
il4ic,tortanismt..

Presence and [e'e[ oI bacrenrl

contar''[rarlon
of the feed
as r[ goes unchecked, the bactenl *dl evenrrrally gtou,
membranes and q,ill cause foulng and associated problems.

watet is irnportant
tn the RO
Theteforc

tn RO plants treahng \\'aste $'aters, ir rs necessary to reguJarly

bactenal contarninatron
to check the feed watet q"rfiry
-I1rc_i.
-lBC
e ntenng the RO sistern
are rleasutc,j as
(total bactcnal coult)
or TPC (total plate count). The values rndicate a possrbrJrq'eI f6r'ling of
morutor

the

the membranes-

Another

plant sites, Although

sLmple measllrement

is done usLng drp-shdes at

not as accurate as the TBC method, but the d-rp-shde

method provides an easlr way to monitor the contamination

and dta.v a
proEle that helps rn tror-rbleshooting. Akhough drere is no absolute value
or tange-drat is expected but a regular checkurg u.'ill warn of a possrble
increase

the cont2minauon

[er'e[ that

rnight

lead to the

membrane

fouhng larer
Pnrure

Vere /

Thls
involves
measurement
of
penneate
each pressrrrc r.essel q.'[-rrchis the cornbined average
-flus
conductir.ttl
from ali membrancs rn the pressure vcssel
data
indicates integnty oI dre pressLue vessel internals such as venous
conductivit)'

Prof/ing

from

coonectors, o-rings and nrenrbranes- Penleate conducnviues from same

stage vessels wtll be ur dre salne range although they nught not be exacdl,
same.
[o case o[ an o-rtng leakage in a vessel the conductir,rty will
increase suddeniy.
Carryrng out proEling of all vessels rvill identify d-re
vessel.

ReguJar profilrng

the internals

so that il

helps morutor

the health oI the membtanes

case of a problem

51

and

early actron can be caken

RO

&

MONITORING

TROUBLESHOOTING

RCI $Y$TEM
TR.OUBLE$HOOTI NG
t r

,'

I 1.

tlt l'tr) urcn/l

I t'ou0/eshoo//
r"hich G not
A suciden or gradual change rn the perforurauce o[ a t{O plant,
cortective atrd
expected to occtLr, re.1'-,ir":stlt"t tl-re charlge rs strrdiec-l and
a s)/steuratlc srucll'
pfeverltl\.e steps are taken RO pl.rnt troubleshootllrg rcqulres
to rcstore tile
;1Ltl(]lls
ct)rtcLtivc
;rlld
ciat:r
oI the Platlt perFrnnancc, a'rtrl1'l1t^of
grotrPed
ul thtec
be
c-arr
clranges
[l(-) Plent Pcr[bnnat]cc
plant pertonlrar)cc.
categones
1

rn fced
Dmp tn PerzneateF/our. Pcnneate flou, cao reduce dtre to lrlcfe2Lsc
,t1t.ity, teducdo' r' Feed water temPerafute, mimbraue tompacti'on
*"L,
and aiso because o[ mernbrans [6rrling and scaling.
se
to tnct
Dnp in sa/t l\ejectton- Ivlembrane salt reiecuon catt teduce due
tnembtanc
rn feed watet saliniry & feed wztet temPerature;
also because of membrane Foulng, scaLng and o-ring leakage
tn
Increasein PressureDrop: The pfessure drop can increase due to increase
and
feed water flsq,, leduced recovery; teduced feed watet temperature
scaling'
and
fouhng
by
fouling of membrane feed sPacers

srmultaneously'
[n most sinlafions mote tharr one Petfoffnance change can occur
sLmultaneously
For example, drop rn permeate [iow and tn salt reiection can occur
rn such
Ttoubleslrootrng
causesi"s,-rli of one cause of muluple
This can L"
". "
and other cases requ.ires three steps as belou'.

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frIONITORING

TROUBLESHOOTTNG

I/L'C,

t t'0an/(sn00rz//gJ rpt
Tbe uoubleshooung acuvlues can be gtouped io tluee steps
1

[dent6, the Caur. Ttre lrst step ls to rdefinlr. the cause o[ drc problern
-flu-s
requrres that the plant perfonnance dirta rs snrdred based on rlre log
sheets A treod rn the behavior o[ the performance parameters can be.
found ouL fmportant aspectsate v,'hether the prolrlem occurred suddeoll,
or gtadually Acrual measuremeotsoI the plant perfonnance, SDI, r.essel
proELrng is also requued, In case of permeate qualiq,- problems, r[ the
vessel proELng d-ata shows one or more vessels wrth abnormally [r4;h
penneate cooductrEues, and deen rhe cause of hlgh conductrr'rry rs
idenufred by vesselprobing
Ptobrng involves rnserting a small plastrc tubrng tnstde the permeate rubes
o[ the dembraaes aod measururg the pernleate cooducttrnry cirange ftorn
the fust to the last tnembrane rn the vessel. Refer to Appendl-x B for a
detaried procedure for probrng oI vessels
Dependrng upon whether pertneate is clrarvn ftom the Feedor the reject
stde of the vessel a pro6ie of the perfireate conduccir.iq' G obteined tr a
nonnal vessel u'ith no appatent problems In case bf o-nng leak a sudden
lrlcreaseln the Permeateconductr\,'1tyat that p()rnt ts obserr.ed In case oI
tnenrbrane darlage dre condr-rcrtrnti'will rcfiraur lrrgl-rovcr a longer length
o f t h c t ' e s s e li n s t e a do I a s u r g l ep o [ ] t , B c r c 2 u s e
t h e u r c a s u r c dv a l u e so f t h e
conducuvlty
are
a
mcmbranes in a vessel
that
of
ble
nd
of
sevetal
Pcmreate
(except the fust rcadrng), one has to consider the rndn'rduai penrreate
conductivities and penneate flows while rrakrng conclusions &om the
probing observatrons
Study of normalised performance of the plant plal's ao irrrportant role rfl
idennfyurg problems. Normaltsauon calculations are mosdy rn-burlt rn the
large systems and provide fot gtaphing the results that make it easier to
draq, conclusions
ln some tare cases,if the problem cause can not be identrfied then a
nlembtane autopsy is performed Ln whrch one membrane elenrent is cut
open aod the foulant present ts analysed. Observadons oI the membtane
feed spacer, membrane shect and the nature o[ deposits ^re also
tmDortant
Take CornctiuefuIeailrer Once the problenr cause rs idennfied then the next
step ts to take correcdve steps to restore the plant perforrnance These
tneaslrres rnav rnclude correctiflg the pre tfeatment replacrng o-nngs.

RO

MOHTTORING

&

TROUALESHOOTIHG

impro.,-emeot., obtamed
'luke

and operate the plaot at that peiform^nce

level

(or restonng the

l)rcyenltuet\Tcuturer. \\'hrlc correcuvc lneasufes are
to Pfevent
necessary
ate
plant petformance, the Prerreotrve measures
These measures might
recuffence of tl're same problem in t]re futute
investmeots hence they are to be taken wrth
involve smal-l to *od.."|"
and odrer
extreme care and with the tnvolvemeot oI the system supplier
the pre
r.n
chaoges
maiot
Lnvolve
rmght
rrlelsufes
paf ues r-nvolqed. Tlrese
the
feed
changlng
cases
sotrre
ro
and
treatrneot equrpment, RO system
plavs
outcome
thel-r
and
\r,ater sources. A record of dre cofrecEve actions
a very important rolc in correct 2pplicatrons oI the preveotll'e measufes.

RO

MOHITORING

&

TROUBLESI{OOTITIG

&ppemdFN&
Ikferences
1

Techrucal Sen.rceBulleuls by Hl'dranauncs. 40 1 (Jceanside,CA 92054

USA

S Chdekar, PressureDnven lvlembrane Processesfor Total Water

Treatment, Everl.thrngAbout Water Q{ay June 2002) ?1 3I

-fo

Desgmng Secondarl'T'reatedCtw
S Chrlekar. A Nerv Approach
SewageReclanrationPlants For Industrral Process356, p1'6rything
About Water (.trJay'june2043) 22-30

RO

MONITORING

TROUALESHOOTING

Appeffidix ffi
(

/, I\,,,'^,t-, |..t.^.tCDll
1)
t
,
\t
I ' / ' n ( t ' , l l / t il' r l t ' , \ I ( , t . t / t l l l / . 1 . \ 1 / iI t ( l / s l n ' I t 7 0 i - \ '( J , '

-fhe

SDt s a popular method for deterrrumlg feed n'ater c1u:liryrn RO apPhcaaoos

It rs basedoo the urne required to hlter a r.oltrme of leed w'ater tlrrougi-ra l) 45 pm
of 30 psg
absolutefilter paper at a feed ptessLLre
-f
i

Ipt

o c / .F, i l in, Lt frt i/ ht t n ' t p nt 'lL

(Ji

t
2

u."

I' 'Il n

Assemble the test equrPtllcnt per frgtue 14

f.<tcate a sernple tri) oo thc feed u,etet plping and rnstall the test
equrPmeot

Adlirst the pressur-e tegularor ro -10 PSI \vrth a Elter pad mstalled
Llse a fresl'r 6-lter for L[re actrral test
For be-strestrlts.

.
.

[Jsc clu]l ftr,cczer5^ q.heo posltl()tlu-Ig thc f:rlter to Pfct-eot PLructul-urg

thc 6ltcr
Ensure drat tfie o-rurg rs clcarr :tlcl Ur go,td c()ldttrort, ancl is
propcrll, posiuoned

Avoid touclring

lrlush the appata-tus to tetuo\.e anl' contalilnants

utthn

dre [ltet

u'Lth furgers
that rnay be held

tt

TestPr'ocedure
1

Take the temperatufe oF the feed water The temPefatute should not
\raryrnore tlLan * 1 "C betu'een the stert and end o[dre tesc

Bleed any entrarned au rn the Eltet lrolder Dependng on dre rnodel

o[ the filter [rolder, either open the bleed valve, ot loosen the Elter
holder whrle crackrng the ball val.'e Ttren close the bleed valve or
6ltet holdet.

Place a 500 ml gtaduated cyllnder under the 6lter to mezsure the

amount of q'atet that passesthrougl"rthe Elter-

o56

RO

MONITORING

TROUALESHOOf

ING

Open dre ba-[ r.alve [illl;-, and oreasuret]re ume requred to collecr
100 ml aad 500 ml' from the ume the ball valve rs opeoed, Record
these trmes, leavrng the valve open and letung the flow cooolue

Aftet 5 mi-outes,repeat the Brne measurement requrred to coliect 100

ml and 500 ml samples Repeat agarn afier 10 and 15 mroutes o[
elapsed nnre

If the ume requued to obtatn a 100 ml sample is greater tlLan about

60 seconds, plugrrlg unll be about 9004, aod it is not necessaqr1e
confrnue the test.

Measwe the n'ater temperatufe agarrrto enstrre that it drd not vary bt
more thao 1 oC from the iruual temperahre,

AFter completrng the test and disconnecungthe apparahrs,tle 6lter

paper inay be saved tn a plasuc bag for Fururereference

e a/cu/attons
P,u
SDI -

=
T,

(l t,/ rtr "'

100*
T,

rJ'

n'hcre SDI - Silt Density Index

l',,, -, 'l b pluggrng at 30 psg feed pressure
-[, - -fotal
test flmc m rrrffiutes(usually15 nilntrtcs.bLLtnral,trc lcss r[ i5']u
pluggrr occlus m less dran 15 rninutcs)
t, =- irutial time in seconds required to obtain sample
tr I
urne requrted to obLrrn sample after 15 minutes (or less)
NOTES
* Tune to collect 500 ml should be apptorimately 5 urnes gteater dran the dn-re to
collect 100 ml. tf 500 rnl collection time is much greater drao 5{ SDI should be
calculated using 100 ml collecdon dmes.

RO

MONITORIHG

&

TROUBLESHOOTING

BallValve
or 1st Stage
Regulator

Pressure
Regulator
30 psi

P r e s s u r eG a u g e

Bleed
nng

Figure 14 Appatatusfor SDI Test

58

RO

MONITORIHG

&

TROUBLESHOOTING

AppeetdExC
Proredtrre
Prubinp
/ot' Ptvssurcf.,'eise/
lt-rs appendu prorndes genetal instructloos [or probrrrg a pressure sessel conLainng
revetse osmosls-membtane elements- Probrng a pressure vessel allorvs you to
determrnet'here there ts a problem rn a partrcularvessel. The problem may be eidrer
a pborly petfonnrng tnembrane element, an O-nng leak at an inter-conoector or end
adaptet. or possibll' even a cracked adapter- Ptotrrng coosists oI rnserung semr-ogrd
tuburg rnto the pefineate ctramel o[ the ptessure vessel and measunqg the tr.ater
q""liq' at drfferent areasalong the length oI the presswe vessel
, t-

('

, f r,

"
I esl L:qatpme//r
Jer up

-1

Comect

a 1 l/4"

du'eaded

-fee

to drc pemreate port Tliread ur a 1 I /4" by

tlrreaded reducer bushrng rnto the strarght opposite end o[ thc T'ee
Drau,pernreate from drc side end o[the Tee Ttread n t 1/1" nipplc ancl
1,/4" ball vah'e Fine lly, du-ead n a 1 /1" Patkcr Fast & Tite male c()nnector
1/4"

llenrove the rnetal collrr and O ung frotn the Fast & Tite Etttlg
z

C)btrur 2 plcce of

l/4"

outsrde diameter natutal colored poll'e6itt'1.'," o,

nylon trrbu-rg 1he ruburg should be several feet looger dran d-re lcngdr of dre
r'essel
Usurg a perrnaneot nrarkeq m'rk the total lengdr of rubrng necded to
place the end of the tubing at the pont where the farthest element corurects
to the adapter. Therq mark the t rbufg in 20" increments ftom this pornr

\
.,

RO

MONITORING

TROUBLESHOOTING

Feed

+".

Figure 15 Apparatus for Probing of vessels

Test Proccdurc
1

Close thc lrall t'elvc ou the pr,rbing Eto.ng:; Surrt t]re.Il-( ) svstenr

AFtcr rhc s\'-stclrthas t'rut for 15 tninutes, ttlseft thc ttrbmg tnkr thc [r:rst &
.l-ite
frttrng.r'lrrlc: openirlg u[] thc ball r-alvc P'-r-shtlrc ti.rbing tu rrrtdl dre
"totrrl lcrrqtlr" trutrlt t.srcached

After 1 rutnute, melrsurethe conductir-r$'o[ t]re n'ater cotrutlg out 'rF t]re
tubrng Recheck several tillcs to rnake sute tl-Lcvalue is t-onstant- Record
the conducdvi$' arld note dre locatlon-

Pull the tubrng out 20" usrng ]rour black nrarks as a gurde' walt 1 tnore
rninrrte, and repeat the measutement procedute. You may sltghtly close the
ball r,alve to Lrold the tubrng r-n place. This is espeoally requred if there is a
0-.-g leak urside the vessel. \X&en the end of the t"btog comes out of the
-\resselrclose the ball valve, and continue to the next vessel

Ctrart the value o[ the peuneate conducdr.ity over the lerylh o[ the vessel. A
steadl. trend should be obsen'ed as a functioo of posiu-on'

Interpreting Ptobing Data

E,valuabtoo o[ the d;rta c:.n be done by rer.iewrng the conduchr'.rty values aloog the
length oI t]re pemteate cl-ulnel [or rndrrrdLralpressure vessels,and by comparittg t]re

l1
RO

MONITORIHG

&

TROUSLESHOOTIN.G

trcrndsoIparallel sesselsaganst one anodrer.Srncerndrvrdlrl situanonsand s-r'stetns

are umque, tt ls best to consult for analysrrgdata
In manl' cases,a sudden iocrease Lo the pemreate conductrr.rtyat a ju.nctron betn,een
elemenls tndicates an O-ring problem or a gap between elemenLs and inferconoectors Replace taultY O nngs ard eflsure that elements are properly shirnmed
to elirnilate one possibLe soLucc,o[ a problenr I[ the problem shou,ld persrst
tnForrnaflon on
loLlowrlg these cdrrechve actrons, coosult for speoic
troubleshooflng a paracuJzr system