Free white paper from Purite on RO management online now

Purite has produced a white paper that offers useful advice on how to get the most out of your RO plant throughout its lifespan. The white paper is free to download and will be welcomed by RO users who are looking for advice and guidance on how to maintain the best long-term performance and efficiency from their water purification equipment.

The paper begins by explaining that although there are many companies with the ability to supply, install and commission RO systems, there are far fewer with the resources and expertise to help end users maximise the return on their investment once the installation and commissioning engineers’ work is complete. It goes on to explain that without effective pre-treatment systems the efficiency and reliability of even the best RO plant will rapidly decline.

After outlining the options for pre-treatment, such as water softeners and carbon filters, the paper discusses preventative maintenance and offers advice on how often users should clean their systems, which is dictated by issues such as the condition of the feed stream. Regular quarterly cleaning of RO membranes is relatively straightforward and is typically carried out using specialised cleaning solutions such as Purite’s range of Roclean chemicals. Acid based cleaners are used to remove scale, and alkaline based solutions to remove organic matter; if required, special chemicals can also be used for disinfecting, but should only be added once all scale and organic matter has been removed. Solutions are simply circulated through the RO system and then flushed to drain. Regular maintenance will ultimately reduce operating costs by preventing unexpected downtime or component failures. Costs can be reduced still further by recovering the concentrate stream for use in low level duties such as plant wash-down, vehicle cleaning or toilet flushing.

The paper also includes some facts and figures on how fluctuations in the operating efficiency of RO systems can be caused by changes elsewhere in the process. For example, something as simple as a 1ºC change in the temperature of the feed stream can affect the operating efficiency of the membrane by up to 3%.

The paper concludes with the observation that the performance and successful operation of any RO system depends on the quality of the equipment and installation, and on the ability of the end user to monitor a number of simple, but nevertheless key, process parameters on a regular basis. This, combined with a sensible programme of maintenance, will ensure a long and reliable operating life, maximising uptime and productivity.

Purite is a leading UK manufacturer of water purification systems for use throughout the industrial, laboratory and healthcare sectors, with a reputation for continually enhancing and improving water purification technology.