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An RO system is rated based on product flow rate .An 800-gpm RO would yield 800 gpm of permeate.

Recovery
Recovery is calculated using the following equation: % Recovery = (permeate flow / feed flow) * 100

Higher recovery results in the need to dispose of less reject water. However, higher recovery also results in lower

Rejection

Rejection of a given species is calculated using the following equation: % Rejection = [(Cf- Cp)/ Cf]* 100 Cf = influent concentration of a specific component Cp = permeate concentration of a specific component

% Salt Passage = 100 - % Rejection Rejection is a property of the specific feed water component and the membrane of interest.

In addition to the ionic charge, rejection of a particular species is also based on the following characteristics.

Flux

The flux of water through an RO membrane is proportional to the net pressure driving force applied to the water

Osmotic pressure (typically represented by n (pi) is a function of the concentration of dissolved solids.It ranges from 0.6 to 1.1 psi ( 0.04 bar to 0.07 bar ) for every 100 ppm total dissolved solids (TDS). Dead-End Filtration Involves all of the feed water passing through the membrane,leaving the solids behind on the membrane. Dead end filtration is a batch process Cross-Flow Filtration In cross-flow filtration, feed water passes tangentially over the membrane surface rather than perpendicularly to it. Water and some dissolved solids pass through the membrane while the majority of dissolved solids and some water do not pass through the membrane Hence, cross-flow filtration has one influent stream but yields two effluent streams Cross-flow helps to minimize fouling or scaling of the RO membrane.In an effort to keep the membrane surface free of solids that may accumulate and foul or scale the membrane, tangential flow across the membrane surface aids in keeping the surface clean by scouring the surface ; minimum flow rates across the membrane surface are required to effectively scour the surface In theory, cross-flow is a continuous operation, as the scouring process keeps the membrane surface free of foulants. In practice,however, the scouring action of cross flow is not always enough to prevent all fouling and scaling. Periodically, the membranes will need to be taken off line and cleaned free of material that has accumulated at the surface. The flow control valve on the concentrate stream provides the back-pressure needed to cause reverse osmosis to occur. Closing the valve will result in an overall increase in pressure driving force, and a corresponding increase of influent water that passes through the membrane to become permeate. Basic terms An RO system is rated based on product flow rate .An 800-gpm RO would yield 800 gpm of permeate. In some cases, the actual design permeate flow rate of the RO system may differ from the name plate flow rating. In most of these situations, the RO system is de-rated by design due to a poor feed water source or as a natural result of low feed water temperature.

Recovery
Recovery (sometime referred to as conversion) is a term used to describe what volume percentage of influent water is recoveredas permeate Recovery is calculated using the following equation: % Recovery = (permeate flow / feed flow) * 100 At 75% recovery, the concentrate volume is one-fourth that of the influent volume. If it were assumed that the membrane retains all the dissolved solids, they would be contained in one-fourth of the volume of influent water. Hence, the concentration of retained dissolved solids would be four times that of the influent stream.(since not all dissolved solids are retained by the membrane, this becomes only an approximation). This Understanding the reject concentration is important as the concentrate side of the membrane is the area where fouling and scaling occur

Higher recovery results in the need to dispose of less reject water. However, higher recovery also results in lower-purity perm

Consider the example shown in Figure 3.1. At the influent end of the membrane, the influent concentration is 100 ppm, while the recovery is 0%, and the membrane passes 2% total dissolved solids (TDS) . The permeate right at this spot would be about 2 ppm. As the influent water passes across more and more membrane area,more water is recovered. At 50% recovery, the concentration factor is 2, so the influent water now has a concentration of about 200 ppm.The permeate water at this point would now have a concentration of 4 ppm. At 75% recovery, the concentration factor is 4, so the influent water now has a concentration of about 400 ppm. The permeate water at this point would have a The designer of the RO system selects the recovery for the system.It is not a property of the membrane. The designer must consider the trade off between higher recovery resulting in less concentrate water to dispose of The recovery of an RO system is fixed by the designer. Exceeding the design recovery can result in accelerated fouling and scaling of the membranes, because less water is available to scour the membrane on the concentrate side . Falling below the design recovery will not adversely impact membrane fouling or scaling, but will result in higher volumes of wastewater from the RO system.

Rejection
Rejection is a term used to describe what percentage of an influent species a membrane retains. For example, 98% rejection of silica means that the membrane will retain 98% of the influent silica. It also means that 2% of influent silica will pass through the membrane into the permeate (known as "salt passage") Rejection of a given species is calculated using the following equation: % Rejection = [(Cf- Cp)/ Cf]* 100 Cf = influent concentration of a specific component Cp = permeate concentration of a specific component Note that for exact calculation, the average feed concentration that takes in account both the feed and concentrate concentration rather than just the feed concentration at a single point in time should be used. % Salt Passage = 100 - % Rejection Rejection is a property of the specific feedof interest plays a role its rejection by an interest. Note that ionic charge component water component and the membrane of RO membrane; the rejection of multi-valent ions is generally greater than that for mono-valent ions In addition to the ionic charge, rejection of a particular species is also based on the following characteristics. Degree of dissociation: in general, the greater the dissociation, the greater the rejection, for example,weak acids are rejected better at higher pH. Molecular weight: In general, the greater the molecular weight, the greater the rejection, for example, the rejection of calcium is marginally better than the rejection of magnesium. Polarity: in general, the greater the polarity, the lower the rejection, for example, organics are rejected better Degree of hydration: in general, the greater the degree of hydration, the greater the rejection, for example, chloride is rejecter better than nitrate. Degree of molecular branching: in general, the more branching, the greater the rejection, for example, isopropanol is rejected better than normal propanol. Gases that are not rejected include free chlorine that may used to disinfect RO feed water through the pretreatment system (see Chapter 8.2) and carbon dioxide RO systems operating at near neutral pH will have

Since gases are not rejected by RO membranes,the permeate and concentrate streams will also contain carbon dioxide. If the permeate is sent to ion exchange demineralization or electrodeionization after the RO, the carbon dioxide will use sites on the anion resin so that other anions are not well removed. Caustic addition is recommended after sodium softening, which removes hardness (calcium, magnesium, barium, and strontium). Without softening, hardness in the feed water would saturate at the higher pH following caustic addition and scale the membranes.

Flux
Flux is defined as the volumetric flow rate of a fluid through a given area .In the case of RO, the fluid is water and the area is that of the membrane. The flux of water through an RO membrane is proportional to the net pressure driving force applied to the water

Note that the water transport coefficient is unique to a given membrane and is not a constant; it varies directly with temperature. The coefficient for some newer polyamide membranes also varies with pH.

Quick tips Divide the given TDS in ppm by 2000 to get appr. Osmotic pressure in bar

dicularly to it.

Generally, RO system recoveries range from about 50% to 85%, with the majority of systems designed for 75% recovery.

Divide 100 by the (100 - percent recovery ) to know conc. Factor

lts in lower-purity permeate.

In these cases, caustic soda (NaOH) is sometimes added to the RO feed water. This raises the pH and converts the carbon dioxide, which is not rejected by the RO membrane, to bicarbonate, which is rejected by the RO membrane. Caustic is also sometimes added between passes in a two-pass RO system (see Chapter 5.3; the first-pass RO removes the hardness while the effluent from the second pass is relatively free of carbon dioxide

In the language of RO, flux is expressed as gallons of water per square foot of membrane area per day, (gfd).

The designer of the RO system chooses the flux rate; it is not a property of the membrane. In general, the flux that an RO system is designed for should be a function of the influent water quality