If you work with an RO, you understand that the feed water must be preconditioned to protect the membranes from fouling and premature failure. An RO membrane functions much like a cross flow filter. The membrane is constructed of a porous material that allows water to pass through the membrane, but rejects up to 99% of the dissolved solids at the membrane surface. The dissolved salts are concentrated in the Reverse Osmosis reject water, or brine stream, where they are discharge to waste.

As the RO System continues to operate, the dissolved and suspended solids in the feed water tend to accumulate along the membrane surface. If these solids are allowed to build up, they eventually restrict the passage of water through the membranes, resulting in a loss of throughput. (The throughput capacity of the membranes is commonly referred to as the flux rate, and is measured in gallons per square foot of membranes surface area per day.)

Early in the development of membranes systems, little was known about which impurities in the Reverse Osmosis feed water are likely to cause fouling and a corresponding reduction in flux. Today, many of these troublesome impurity treatments have been identified, and preventive treatments have been devised that greatly reduce membranes fouling, thus prolonging the life of the RO plant.

Reverse Osmosis is an ideal water treatment solution in most types of water. Generally speaking, all major water sources from a treatment standpoint can be broken down into three major categories: tap water, also known as municipal sources, groundwater, which includes brackish water, and saltwater. The biggest distinction between these three types is the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) content of each type. As a rule of thumb, the American Health Association requires that drinking water is under 1,000 PPM TDS.
Tap water typically comes through a pre-existing infrastructure like city pipes or a damming system. Reverse osmosis is often used in a tap water environment to reduce hardness, or the debris deposited in water from traveling in metal pipes. Total dissolved solids is often a target of water purification in tap water systems. This type of Reverse Osmosis Systems are ideal in places like power plants, pharmaceuticals, laboratories, and hospitals, where an extreme purity of water is crucial to the industry. Tap water typically has a TDS of under 1,000 PPM.
Underground reservoirs of water are often brackish or highly brackish, meaning they contain large volumes of salt, but not enough to be considered salt water. Groundwater reverse osmosis is very common, and one of the best uses of a Reverse Osmosis System to date. Groundwater is most often purified for the agriculture industry, the mining industry, and for residential use. Groundwater is also a prized target of the bottling industry, because the unique mineral combinations often have an appealing taste. Brackish water usually has a TDS of 5,000 PPM or less, but can come in concentrations of up to 12,000 PPM.
Salt water reverse osmosis (sometimes referred to simply as desalination) is the turning of saltwater into drinking water. Ocean water has up to 45,000 PPM TDS. Typically, for environmental reasons, a bore hole is dug in the ocean for this kind of reverse osmosis, but an open intake is more cost effective. The biggest uses of desalination come in providing water in areas that lack a regular supply of fresh water.

Reverse Osmosis is an ideal water treatment solution in most types of water. Generally speaking, all major water sources from a treatment standpoint can be broken down into three major categories: tap water, also known as municipal sources, groundwater, which includes brackish water, and saltwater. The biggest distinction between these three types is the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) content of each type. As a rule of thumb, the American Health Association requires that drinking water is under 1,000 PPM TDS.
Tap water typically comes through a pre-existing infrastructure like city pipes or a damming system. Reverse osmosis is often used in a tap water environment to reduce hardness, or the debris deposited in water from traveling in metal pipes. Total dissolved solids is often a target of water purification in tap water systems. This type of Reverse Osmosis Systems are ideal in places like power plants, pharmaceuticals, laboratories, and hospitals, where an extreme purity of water is crucial to the industry. Tap water typically has a TDS of under 1,000 PPM.
Underground reservoirs of water are often brackish or highly brackish, meaning they contain large volumes of salt, but not enough to be considered salt water. Groundwater reverse osmosis is very common, and one of the best uses of a Reverse Osmosis System to date. Groundwater is most often purified for the agriculture industry, the mining industry, and for residential use. Groundwater is also a prized target of the bottling industry, because the unique mineral combinations often have an appealing taste. Brackish water usually has a TDS of 5,000 PPM or less, but can come in concentrations of up to 12,000 PPM.
Salt water reverse osmosis (sometimes referred to simply as desalination) is the turning of saltwater into drinking water. Ocean water has up to 45,000 PPM TDS. Typically, for environmental reasons, a bore hole is dug in the ocean for this kind of reverse osmosis, but an open intake is more cost effective. The biggest uses of desalination come in providing water in areas that lack a regular supply of fresh water.