Let's choose the antiscalant program together
You made a serious investment for your business and decided to improve water quality. In this direction, you have switched to reverse osmosis system. Congratulations…
The longevity of this system depends entirely on your choices and your business… Let’s dig a little deeper and understand the details of the R/O system
Do we know the working mechanism of a reverse osmosis system?
Reverse osmosis systems are based on the removal of dissolved minerals in the raw water you feed at a certain rate* from the water. In other words, Ca2+, Mg2+, which creates hardness, or the iron content Fe2+, Fe3+ or SiO2 from your well or water source are just some of them. We made a note above because each brand and each model membrane has certain performances tested on certain minerals. In terminology, we can refer to this as “salt rejection rate”, that is, the percentage of separation of minerals from water. The dissolved matter removal performance of membrane elements varies according to the material, technology and of course the operational conditions (flow rate, pressure, etc.) of the operating system. Other factors affecting performance are water temperature, bacterial content, suspended solids and filterable material content.
On the right the osmotic pressure in nature and the reverse osmosis process that occurs when we force this mechanism to work in reverse. In the first figure we have a less dense water source on the left and a very dense and mineralized water source on the right. Let’s assume that in the middle of these there is a semi-permeable membrane, just like in our body or in the cells of plants. In other words, let this membrane be a membrane that selects minerals according to their size. In nature there is always a flow from a less dense to a more dense environment. We call this osmotic pressure. In figure 2 you can see this. If a pressure is applied from the opposite direction of the osmotic pressure, then we forcibly reverse the process. We call this reverse osmosis. In this case, by applying pressure to a very dense environment, we create a water source of less dense quality.
This is exactly how the reverse osmosis application, which produces quality water for us in industry and in our daily lives, and the mechanism of de-mineralization of water works.
Semipermeable Membrane: “Membrane”
“Osmotic Pressure” in Nature
“Reverse Osmosis”, which we force to work in reverse.
Why is the operation of reverse osmosis systems so important?
This process, which operates at high pressures, faces the risk of some deposits precipitating over time due to a decrease in the saturation of dissolved minerals in the water on the concentrated side. If this precipitation is not removed from the membrane surface, it hardens over time and starts to clog the membrane pores.
The risk of clogging of membrane surfaces is not limited to dissolved minerals. Suspended solids and especially bacterial content in the water also accelerate this clogging phenomenon. In the process, the back pressure (resistance) of the membrane against the flow increases and the amount of water produced starts to decrease in flow rate.
These developments are the beginning of an undesirable end. If a treatment method that will disperse suspended solids, postpone the precipitation threshold of minerals exceeding saturation limits and prevent bacterial contamination is not applied, membranes will be disposed of in a short time.
In the light of our experience in industrial plants, we can say that a new reverse osmosis system should provide a healthy service for at least 5 years. This period will be much longer if a correct antiscalant selection, a correct application program calculation, effective routine washing procedures and detailed system values monitoring (temperature, pressure flow rate, etc.) are performed. Otherwise, it will lead to the replacement of membrane elements in a short time.
Choosing the right program and the right program components
Then the right program must be designed. This program should include the selection of an antiscalant based on sediment risks, an effective control agent against bacterial growth and a routine maintenance CIP (clean in place) procedure. How do we do this? Let’s shape our program by following the procedure below:
Recommended Procedure
Of course, we are not done with the right application. Routine follow-up and follow-up of service and trends are very important. Pressure, flow rate, temperature, amount of permeate produced, recovery rate, active substances and saturations in the waste need to be closely monitored after the start-up. Bimaks Kimya, your solution partner who can monitor all these parameters and interpret them professionally on site, is just a message away…
You can always contact us via the message form below.
