Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membranes

Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membranes Commercial
Reverse Osmosis is one of the most common and effective water treatment systems. The primary filtering media in these systems is an RO membrane. Depending on your application, we offer different reverse osmosis membranes suited for sea water desalination, brackish water, and high flow commercial applications. If you need help finding your reverse osmosis membrane let us know.

How Does an RO Membrane Work

Reverse osmosis water filtration systems work by using high pressure to force water through a semipermeable reverse osmosis membrane element. RO membranes are made of a thick polyamide film that contains tiny pores through which water can flow. RO Membrane element pore sizes can vary from 0.1 to 5,000 nanometers (nm) depending on application. The pores in the RO membrane are small enough to restrict organic compounds such as minerals and salt, but allow water molecules to pass through. Reverse osmosis membranes are also porous and restrictive enough to filter out disease causing pathogens and bacteria from water.

About RO Membrane Fouling and RO Membrane Life Expectancy

Typically RO Membranes have an estimated life expectancy of about 2 years. There are many variables that come in to play in determining a RO membranes life expectancy such as feed water quality and amount of use. There are methods for cleaning a reverse osmosis membrane but often are not cost effective for residential RO systems.

All reverse osmosis membranes lose their performance and will foul over time. One of the primary reasons for RO membrane foulingis because of substances that deposit on the reverse osmosis membrane surface. The RO membrane elements can become fouled by suspended solids, microorganisms, and build up from mineral scale. Examples of suspended solids often found in feed water can include oil, silica, clay, iron, sulfur and acids. To increase the life of your RO membrane, it would be possible to reduce most suspended solids that cause a membrane to foul. Use a 5 micron carbon prefilter cartridge before the reverse osmosis membrane, this will help but may not completely remove all suspended solids that cause a RO membrane to foul.

Suitable For

• Sea water
• Brackish water
• Tap water