REVERSE OSMOSIS

Presentation

REVERSE OSMOSIS
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a membranetechnology filtration method that removes many types of large molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. When two water or other solvent volumes are separated by a semi permeable membrane, water will flow from the side of low solute concentration to side of high solute concentration. The flow may be stopped or even reversed, by applying external pressure on the side of higher concentration. In such a case the phenomenon is called reverse osmosis. RO is a-physical process.

Reverse osmosis is a membrane process that act as a molecular filter to remove 99% of all dissolved minerals, up to 97% of most dissolved organic matter, more than 98% of biological and colloidal matter can be removed from water having concentration from 50 ppm to 60,000 ppm.

STAGES OF FILTRATION

The modern RO system is a unit consisting of a sediment pre-filter to remove particulates, turbidity, sand and rust; an activated carbon pre-filter to remove the chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, disinfectants, and VOCs which might otherwise damage the reverse osmosis membrane; the reverse-osmosis membrane which removes virtually everything such as heavy metals, lead, salt, chromium and dissolved solids; a storage tank, and an activated-carbon post filter.

Sediment Stage: removes rough particles, sand and rust. Carbon stage: removes chlorine and chemicals which would otherwise damage the TFC reverse osmosis membrane. Multiple carbon stages my be necessary at this point depending on the carbon quality and contact time. Reverse osmosis stage: removes dissolved solids nd virtually everything larger than the water molecule itself. This is where the bulk of the purification is accomplished. Remineralization Stage: water purified by reverse osmosis is highly pure and slightly acidic. The Tap Master Artesian Full Contact remineralizes with calcium and magnesium to balance the pH, improve the taste and introduce healthy minerals. Storage tank Optional or application specific water treatment stage(s): UV filter to destroy microorganisms, nitrate/arsenic/fluoride/deionization selective filters to remove whatever small amount remains of these contaminants. Final Carbon stage: also known as a "polishing" filter this carbon filter removes any tastes or odors the acidic RO water has "picked up" from the storage tank. In other words the acidic water produced from systems without the Artesian Full Contact technology will dissolve some of the rubber in the storage tank which the final carbon filter then removes.

HOW REVERSE OSMOSIS WORKS

A semi permeable membrane, like the membrane of a cell wall or a bladder, is selective about what it allows to pass through, and what it prevents from passing. These membranes in general pass water very easily because of its small molecular size; but also prevent many other contaminants from passing by trapping them. Reverse osmosis filters have a pore size around 0.0001 micron. After water passes through a reverse osmosis filter, it is essentially pure water. In addition to removing all organic molecule sand viruses, reverse osmosis also removes most minerals that are present in the water. Reverse osmosis removes monovalent ions, which means that it desalinates the water. To understand how reverse osmosis works, it is helpful to understand osmosis.

Two fluids containing different concentrations of dissolved solids that come in contact with each other will mix until the concentration is uniform. When these two fluids are separated by a semi permeable membrane (which lets the fluid flow through, while dissolved solids stay behind), a fluid containing a lower concentration will move through the membrane into the fluids containing a higher concentration of dissolved solids.
After a while the water level will be higher on one side of the membrane. The difference in height is called the osmotic pressure. By pursuing pressure upon the fluid column, which exceeds the osmotic pressure, one will get a reversed effect. Fluids are pressed back through the membrane, while dissolved solids stay behind in the column. Using this technique, a larger part the salt content of the water can be removed.

1. Water flows from a column with a low dissolved solids content to a column with a high dissolved solids content 2. Osmotic pressure is the pressure that is used to stop the water from flowing through the membrane, in order to create balance 3. By pursuing pressure that exceeds the osmotic pressure, the water flow will be reversed; water flows from the column with a high dissolved solids content to the column with a low dissolved solids content

RO MEMBRANES:

Four common types of membranes:

Nanofiltration Ultrafiltration

Microfiltration

Common membrane materials include polyamide thin film composites (TFC), cellulose acetate (CA) and cellulose triacetate (CTA) with the membrane material being spiral wound around a tube, or hollow fibres bundled together. Hollow fibre membranes have a greater surface area and hence capacity but are more easily blocked than spiral wound membranes.

ULTRAFILTRATION An ultrafiltration filter has a pore size around 0.01 micron. A microfiltration filter has a pore size around 0.1 micron, so when water undergoes microfiltration, many microorganisms are removed, but viruses remain in the water. Ultrafiltration would remove these larger particles, and may remove some viruses. Neither microfiltration nor ultrafiltration can remove dissolved substances unless they are first adsorbed (with activated carbon) or coagulated (with alum or iron salts).

NANOFILTRATION A nanofiltration filter has a pore size around 0.001 micron. Nanofiltration removes most organic molecules, nearly all viruses, most of the natural organic matter and a range of salts. Nanofiltration removes divalent ions, which make water hard, so nanofiltration is often used to soften hard water.

MICROFILTRATION

Microfiltration is a low-pressure cross-flow membrane process for separating colloidal and suspended particles in the range of 0.05-10 microns. Microfiltration is used for fermentation, broth clarification and biomass clarification and recovery.

PH ADJUSTMENT

The desalinated water is very corrosive and is "stabilized" to protect downstream pipelines and storages, usually by adding lime or caustic to prevent corrosion of concrete lined surfaces. Liming material is used to adjust pH between 6.8 and 8.1 to meet the potable water specifications, primarily for effective disinfection and for corrosion control

LOW PRESSURE (RESIDENTIAL) SYSTEMS

Low pressure RO systems generally refer to those systems with a water feed pressure of less than 100 psig. These are the typical countertop or under sink residential systems that rely primarily on the natural water pressure to make the reverse osmosis process function; a typical system is shown schematically below.

FACTORS:

There are two factors that are most relevant to determine how effective a membrane filtration process is. these two factors are selectivity and productivity. Selectivity is expressed as a parameter called retention or separation factor (expressed by the unit l/m2/h). Productivity is expressed as a parameter called flux (expressed by the unit l/m2/h). Both these factors i.e. Selectivity and productivity are dependent upon the memberane. Membrane filtration can be divided into a few ranges. It is divided between micro and ultra filtration on the one hand and nano filtration and reverse Osmosis (also called hyper filtration) on the other hand.

APPLICATIONS
Drinking

Water Purification:

Such systems typically include a number of steps: a sediment filter to trap particles, including rust and calcium carbonate optionally, a second sediment filter with smaller pores an activated carbon filter to trap organic chemicals and chlorine, which will attack and degrade TFC reverse osmosis membranes a reverse osmosis (RO) filter, which is a thin film composite membrane (TFM or TFC) optionally, a second carbon filter to capture those chemicals not removed by the RO membrane optionally an ultra-violet lamp for disinfecting any microbes that may escape filtering by the reverse osmosis membrane

Membrane pore sizes can vary from 0.1 nanometres (3.9109 in) to 5,000 nanometres (0.00020 in) depending on filter type. "Particle filtration" removes particles of 1 micrometre (3.9105 in) or larger. Microfiltration removes particles of 50 nm or larger. "Ultrafiltration" removes particles of roughly 3 nm or larger. "Nanofiltration" removes particles of 1 nm or larger. Reverse osmosis is in the final category of membrane filtration, "hyperfiltration", and removes particles larger than 0.1 nm.

FOOD INDUSTRY

Reverse osmosis is extensively used in the dairy industry for the production of whey protein powders and for the concentration of milk to reduce shipping costs. In whey applications, the whey (liquid remaining after cheese manufacture) is concentrated with RO from 6% total solids to 1020% total solids before UF (ultrafiltration) processing. The UF retentate can then be used to make various whey powders, including whey protein isolate used in bodybuilding formulations. Additionally, the UF permeate, which contains lactose, is concentrated by RO from 5% total solids to 1822% total solids to reduce crystallization and drying costs of the lactose powder.

CAR WASHING

Because of its lower mineral content, reverse osmosis water is often used in car washes during the final vehicle rinse to prevent water spotting on the vehicle. Reverse osmosis is often used to conserve and recycle water within the wash/prerinse cycles, especially in drought stricken areas where water conservation is important. Reverse osmosis water also enables the car wash operator to reduce the demands on the vehicle drying equipment, such as air blowers.

REEF AQUARIUMS

Many reef aquarium keepers use reverse osmosis systems for their artificial mixture of seawater. Ordinary tap water can often contain excessive chlorine, chloramines, copper, nitrogen, phosphates, silicates, or many other chemicals detrimental to the sensitive organisms in a reef environment. Contaminants such as nitrogen compounds and phosphates can lead to excessive, and unwanted, algae growth. An effective combination of both reverse osmosis and deionization (RO/DI) is the most popular among reef aquarium keepers, and is preferred above other water purification processes due to the low cost of ownership and minimal operating costs. Where chlorine and chloramines are found in the water, carbon filtration is needed before the membrane, as the common residential membrane used by reef keepers does not cope with these compounds.

EFFECTIVENESS:
RO can treat water TDS concentrations up to 40,000 45,000 mg/L RO treatment produces lower water recovery rates (approximately 40%-65%) or a higher brine stream relative to thermal treatment processes with high TDS concentrations. RO is typically more cost effective since the technology requires less energy to operate relative to thermal treatment processes

Reverse Osmosis has proved to be the most reliable and cost effective method of desalinating water, and hence its use has become more and more widespread. Energy consumption is usually some 70% less than for comparable evaporation technologies. Advancements have been made in membrane technology, resulting in stable, long lived membrane elements.

IN PAKISTAN ,INDUSTRIES USING RO: