Reverse osmosis feed water analysis

Once the pretreatment study had been completed, it will be possible to decide on the type of elements to be used in the reverse osmosis unit. If the SDI of the pretreated feed is 3.0 or less, then either the spiral wound or hollow fine fiber elements can be used. The choice will depend on economics (element price) and desalination characteristics (flux and rejection). If the pretreated feed SDI is more than 3.0, then the spiral wound element should be used. When the decision as to element type is made, then it is appropriate to forward a copy of the pretreated feed water analysis to reverse osmosis element manufacturers to obtain a prediction of product water quality, recommended type of element, total number of elements required, possible problems with sparingly soluble compounds in the feedwater, allowable recovery, and price and delivery. 

Reverse-Osmosis Experiments. All reverse-osmosis experiments were performed with continuous-flow cells. Each membrane was subjected to an initial pure water pressure of 2068 kPag (300 psig) for 2 h pure water was used as feed to minimize the compaction effect. The specifications of all the membranes in terms of the solute transport parameter [(Dam/ 6)Naci]> the pure water permeability constant (A), the separation, and the product rate (PR) are given in Table I. These were determined by Kimura-Sourirajan analysis (7) of experimental reverse-osmosis data with sodium chloride solution at a feed concentration of 0.06 m unless otherwise stated. All other reverse-osmosis experiments were carried out at laboratory temperature (23-25 °C), an operating pressure of 1724 kPag (250 psig), a feed concentration of 100 ppm, and a feed flow rate >400 cmVmin. The fraction solute separation (/) is defined as follows ... 

Once the feed water source has been determined, analysis of the feed water composition is necessary before a treatment system can be designed. Feed water constituents that must be analysed prior to designing a RO/NF membrane system as per ASTM Designation D4195-88 Standard Guide for Water Analysis for Reverse-Osmosis Applications are discussed in Chapter 6. Typical water treatment methods are summarised in Table 2.2. 

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