In previous posts of our blog we were talking about reverse osmosis and what it consists of. For today’s post we are going to focus on this industry-focused process and the different applications you can have within this field.
When we talk about reverse Osmosis (RO) we have to talk about how they distribute the objectives that we have when implementing a RO plant:
- 50% of the process goes to the desalination of both seawater and brackish water.
- For the electronics, pharmaceutical and energy industries they spend 40% on ultra pure water production.
- And finally, 10% will go to urban and industrial water decontamination systems.
General applications
Reverse osmosis can be directed at a large number of industrial applications that have become indispensable today. Some of them are more used than others, let’s see what they are:
The desalination of seawater
In some territories the amount of seawater salinity is high, around 30000 mg/L, for this reason it is necessary to transform this water into drinking water. How? Through polyamide membranes with hollow fiber. These membranes obtain rejection coefficients above 99.3% with pressure between 50-70 bar.
Obtaining ultra pure water
This type of water is characteristic of the electronics industry. How do you get it? From the performance of the RO in the daily water consumption you get the desired result, ultra pure water. In addition, UV radiation sterilization systems need to be installed to prevent biofouling of actuator membranes.
The desalination of brackish waters
The goal of this process is to obtain water with a saline concentration of less than 500 mg/L, recommended amount to have drinking water condition. How? By applying pressures between 14-21 bar, it is intended to achieve rejection coefficients greater than 90%. Brackish water treatment plants have high costs, so they are not currently considered as competitive as other systems.
Waste water treatment:
In industrial wastewater, reverse osmosis acts in those where the economics of the process can be improved through the recovery of valuable and recyclable components during the production process. Paint industries and metal structures, electroplating industries or textile industry.
Industrial applications of reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis can be directed at a large number of industrial applications that have become indispensable today. Some of them are more used than others, let’s see what they are:
In food and pharmaceutical industry
Osmotized water is recurrent and vital in the food, medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetic, etc. This type of industry needs quality water and in many cases ultra pure water, and to get to it the first step is the reverse osmosis process.
In the water production industry for human consumption
Good quality fresh water is not present in all parts of the world and is sometimes not available to supply all humans. There may be two types of problems: that there is not enough water for human consumption, or that there is enough but not of the optimum quality it should be. In both cases the best option is reverse osmosis.
Waste water reuse
The effluents of waste water treatment processes must be processed until the water quality is suitable for reuse. These situations are common in processes that consume a high water flow or in cases where water must be poured into the natural environment to fill an aquifer or something similar. Finally, it is also a characteristic process of cases where the objective is not to pour any liquid in order to recover, treat and reuse them.