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Reverse Osmosis
Well-known fields of application, within metal finishing Closed loop nickel plating Desalination of raw water Desalination of treated wastewater (recirculation)

Institute for Product Development

AHJ RO RSA - 2000

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Chemical resistance of various membrane materials

3<pH<8 pH<3 or pH>8 Temp.>35oC Humic acid Mineral oil Proteins Polysaccharides Textile waste Oxidizers Composite Yes Yes Yes (Yes) No Yes (Yes) Yes No CA Yes No No Yes No (Yes) No No (Yes) PSO Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes PVDF Yes Yes Yes No (Yes) (Yes) No (Yes) Yes PAN Yes Yes Yes (Yes) Yes (Yes) (Yes) Yes (Yes) SiO2 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Cellulose Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No (Yes)

Composite = PSO membrane with extra layer (secret), or two extra layers (also secret) CA = Cellulose Acetate PSO = Poly-ether-sulphone or Poly-aryl-ether-sulphone PVDF = Poly-vinylidene-di-fluoride PAN = Poly-acrylo-nitril SiO2 = Silicium-di-oxide

Institute for Product Development

AHJ RO RSA - 2000

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Other Technical Limitations Filtration of the feed is always necessary to remove any particular matter. If the feed is Wastewater, a micro filtration is suitable, but other filters can be used. Raw water desalination: The feed must be soft or softened, iron and ochre can be very difficult to remove from the membrane if precipitated Calcium Carbonate scaling (pH adjustment can be an alternative (sulphuric acid, citric acid or hydrochloric acid) Calcium Sulphate scaling (prevention by adding a few ppm antiscaling agent) Silicate precipitation (prevented by heating the solution)
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AHJ RO RSA - 2000

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Some other more seldom precipitates like Calcium Fluoride and Barium Sulphate - will create irreversible fouling. Reverse Osmosis is not suitable in media with high salt contents (and high osmotic pressure)

Institute for Product Development

AHJ RO RSA - 2000

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Nickel plating with reverse osmosis recovery

Ni

1st rinse

2nd rinse

Concentrate Carbon filter Filter Reverse Osmosis Filter

Permeate

Institute for Product Development

AHJ RO RSA - 2000

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Example of a practical solution

Institute for Product Development

AHJ RO RSA - 2000

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Desalination of waste water Osmotic pressure can be very high because of high salt contents Up to 70 bar pressure is normally not a problem, but higher pressure becomes expensive and very power consuming The price for regeneration of 1 m3 waste water (Danish price) is from 9 17 Rand. 9 Rand normal, thin wastewater 17 Rand More difficult wastewater, but a lot can be done If very pure water is needed, several RO-steps are necessary as the first permeate can hold from 100 to 300 ppm (mg/litre) salts

Institute for Product Development

AHJ RO RSA - 2000