What is Reverse Osmosis Pretreatment?
Posted by Steven Kyle on May 8th, 2017
Water is a fundamental human need, and one cannot imagine life without water. It is essential for hydration, food production and most importantly for sanitation as well as other complementary uses. Different uses of water require it to be treated differently. Out of all the treatments of water, drinking water requires the most advanced technology for it to become safe for consumption. The water that we drink goes inside our body and aids in bodily functions and keeps us hydrated. If this water is not clean and full of bacteria, germs and dirt, it can cause havoc on our body and make the gateway for many diseases.
There are many ways with which water is treated with the help of chemicals. The most common forms of filtration is the reverse osmosis technology that is used extensively to clean the water. Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification technology that uses a semipermeable membrane to remove ions, molecules, and larger particles from drinking water. Reverse osmosis can remove many types of dissolved and suspended species from water, including bacteria, and is used in both industrial processes and the production of potable water. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. Reverse osmosis is most commonly known for its use in drinking water purification from seawater, removing the salt and other effluent materials from the water molecules.
Pretreatment is important when working with reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes due to the nature of their spiral-wound design. The material is engineered in such a fashion as to allow only one-way flow through the system. Since accumulated material cannot be removed from the membrane surface systems, they are highly susceptible to fouling. Therefore, pretreatment is a necessity for any reverse osmosis or nanofiltration system.
In Reverse osmosis pretreatment, various physical and chemical water treatment processes take place upstream of the reverse osmosis plant. Pre-treatment usually includes the use of sand filters and fine pre-filters. It may also include chemical treatment if scaling, corrosion or biological fouling of the RO membranes is anticipated.
Ultrafiltration can be used for the removal of particulates and macromolecules from raw water to produce potable water. When treating water with high suspended solids, Ultrafiltration is often integrated into the process, utilizing primary and some secondary treatments as pre-treatment stages. In many cases, it is used for prefiltration in reverse osmosis plants to protect the RO membranes.
Author’s Bio- Author is an avid writer and this article is about reverse osmosis pretreatment
