REVERSE OSMOSIS
Methodology
A by which solvent passes through a porous membrane in the direction opposite
to that of natural osmosis when subjected to a hydrostatic pressure greater than osmotic
pressure.
When pressure is laid on the concentrated solution, the water molecules are pushed through
the semi-permeable membrane and the contaminants are not permitted through. Reverse
Osmosis operates by utilizing a high-pressure pump to increase the pressure on th e salt side of
the RO and push the water across the semi -permeable RO membrane, going almost all (around
95% to 99%) of dissolved salts back into the discard stream.
• The desalinated water that is demineralized or deionized, is called permeate (or product)
water.
The water stream that carries the concentrated contaminants that did not pass via the RO
membrane is called the discard (or concentrate) stream
• It is crucial to understand that an RO system utilizes cross filtration instead of standard
filtration where the contaminants are gathered within the filter media.
•With cross filtration, the solution departs through the filter, or crosses the filter, with two
outlets: The filtered water goes one way and the polluted water goes another way.
What contaminants will Reverse Osmosis remove from water?
Reverse Osmosis is adept at extracting up to 99%+ of the dissolved salts (ions), particles,
colloids, organics, bacteria, and pyrogens from the feed water
• An RO membrane rejects contaminants based on their size and charge.
• Any contaminant that has a molecular weight greater than 200 is probably retracted by
a properly running RO system
• Also, the greater the ionic charge of the pollutant, the more likely it will be incapable to
pass via the RO membrane, this is why an RO system does not release gases such as CO2 very
well because they are not highly ionized and have a very lower molecular weight.
• Reverse Osmosis is very efficacious in treating brackish, surface, and groundwater for
both big and small flow applications.
SEMI PERMEABLE MEMBRANE
It is a membrane that may or may not permit particles to pass
through it. permeable is defined as a membrane that can be
crossed by particles, ions, or water. semi-permeable means that
some particles, ions, or water can cross the membrane.
penetrate flow:1000 lit/hr
membrane type: spiral wound T
size: dia 4*40 long (inches)
no.of members:5
Ro structure
Ro requirements
• Ground water or raw water analysis
• Sand filters
• Raw water pump
• Dual media filters
• Catridged filters
• High pressure pump
• Pressure tubes
Design procedure of RO plant
1.Ground water or Raw water analysis: In this process the ground water is
analysed to find the Total Dissolved Solids(TDS).Membrane is selected based
upon the TDS value obtained in the raw water.
TDS value can be majorly calculated by using these two methods:
• Using an electrical conductivity meter
• Using filter paper and a scale
SAND FILTERS
• At first ground water is collected and passed through sand filters, the filter
media is supported on gravel bed that consists of multiple layers of graded
quartz sand, fine sand, super fine white sand and pebbles of progressively
large size.
• The filter will effectively remove up to 30-50 micron of the suspended solids
to less then 5 ppm.
Flow rate:1500 Lph
min.operating pressure: 1.5 kg/cm^2
media: support bed +carbon
RAW WATER PUMP
• After sand filters water passed to raw water pumps from which water is passed to dual media filter.
For 1000 litres capacity
Flow rate : 2000lit/hr
Discharge capacity: 2.5kg/cm^2(min)
Motor capacity :1.0hp
DUAL MEDIA FILTERS
• A sand-anthracite filter or dual media filter/multi-media filter is primarily used for the removal of turbidity and
suspended solids as low as 10-20 microns. Dual media filters provide very efficient particle removal under the
conditions of high filtration rate.
• Dual media filter contains two medias one is sand and other is activated carbon.
Operating pressure: 3.5 kg/cm^2
Flow rate :2000 lit/hr
Valve type: single multi port
Bed depth : 800mm
Activated carbon filter:
flow rate: 2000 lit/hr
media: activated cabon+sand
min.operating pressure: 1.5 kg/cm^2
• In dual media filters inlet pressure should be 3.5kg/cm^2 and outlet pressure should be 0.5kg/cm^2.
• Now the water is passed through 0.46 micron filter candle, the silt density index obtained should be less than 3
chemicals used:
1. HCI
2. Antiscalant(silica,calcium,magnesium)
3. These are added according to the following formulae. =(10000 ppm of HCl working hours)/1000
Anti-Scalant dosing:
for dosing pump: flow rate: 1.5 lit/hr disch pressure: 4kg/cm^2
make:E dose, hydra cell or equivalent
for dosing tank:capacity: 100 lit
make: sintex, wimphost or equivalent
Cost of Ro and annual maintanence charges: (1000 litres capacity)
Supply and installation cost: 5,80,000 rupees in india presence
Labour charges: 9,700 rupees in india presence
Consumables(annual in normal working conditions):
membranes: 5 nos 5*221701,10,850 rupees
micron filter: 2 nos in each servicing 260*6*2 = 3,120 rupees
anti scalant chemical: 2 packets = 2*6620 13,240 rupees
Suppose if we assume life of an Ro sysytem as 5 years:
cost of unit: Rs.5,80,000
annual cost of 1 unit: 1,16,000
Cost analysis for per litre of treated water(1000 It capacity Ro system):
electricity :4.25 kw 4.25*16-68 kw (16 hrs working daily) electrical charges Rs 8.36/kw for 365
days365*68*8.362,07,495
labour amc cost for year :9,700
consumables cost : 1,27,210
Total cost involved for year: Rs. 1,16,000+2,07,495+1,27,210
Rs.4,60,405.00 cost of per litre RO treated water: 4,60,405/(1000*16*365) Rs.0.08/litreAfter passing through
membranes the permeate water comes out from the permeate inlet with a certain pressure and reject water is drained
off.
advantages:
• RO systems remove dissolved minerals and other contaminants that may cause water to smell unpleasant, and
look odd.
• Reverse osmosis purification systems are best for home filtration systems because they are small in size.
• Water treated by RO water filters is ideal for people suffering from heart disease, because they eliminate
almost all salt and remove 99% of bacteria.
disadvantages:
• Generally pH value of permeate water is less i;e between below 6.5 which is acidic.
And the rejected water from RO is more and also useless and causes ground water pollution
