Reverse that osmosis, a technology update with some kiwi experiences
Annual Conference
❄
Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology has been around for many years and has been developed to provide a sound option in separation processing for a variety of industries.
Traditional demineralisation for water treatment was through ion exchange, with some industry still favouring this route, however RO has made significant inroads in surpassing the adoption of ion exchange for many industrial separation processes. The reasons for this are presented.
In New Zealand, RO is seldom adopted for municipal drinking water treatment for a variety of reasons, with the membrane classes microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) being more appropriate. This is in stark contrast with Australia, with some very large membrane se awater desalination projects being constructed, albeit more out of necessity than choice.
This paper goes on to highlight the basic design concepts and terminology in respect of RO, including the membrane materials commonly used and the key design and operating parameters.
The paper further goes on to review two New Zealand industrial applications of RO technology, one for boron removal from a geothermal groundwater and one for residual nitrate removal. The concept designs are presented highlighting differences in the design approach, costs and risks.