Many companies are successfully boosting their return on investment or ROI with the use of reverse osmosis systems (RO systems). That’s because most of today’s manufacturing companies spend a great deal of money on water resources, and industrial RO helps to minimize those expenses.
The Process of Industrial RO
Simply stated, reverse osmosis for manufacturing is a high-tech method for purifying or filtering water. Osmosis occurs when solutions or liquids that contain dissolved mineral concentrations move through a semi-permeable membrane. Water travels from the side where the water is cleaner, over to the dirtier or more mineral-contaminated side of the membrane wall.
Water purification engineers have figured out ways to perform an opposite action, through a method appropriately referred to as industrial reverse osmosis or industrial RO. During the industrial RO process, the water flows out of the high mineral concentration side and back across to the clean side. Dissolved minerals cannot pass through the membrane and are left behind, while the water that moves to the other side through industrial RO emerges clean and essentially mineral-free.
Practical Application of Industrial Reverse Osmosis
Because reverse osmosis systems rely on only a few moving parts, reverse osmosis filters offer one of the most reliable and affordable ways to filter water. Oftentimes the main component is a pump. The real work is performed by ultrafine filtering membranes that have been specially designed to filter dissolved contaminants from industrial water.
Modern reverse osmosis systems (RO systems) are not only cost-effective – they are also incredibly powerful and reliable. Industrial reverse osmosis can remove salt from seawater, for example, at astonishing rates of millions of gallons per day. RO filters are used in boiler feedwater treatment, to minimize mineral scaling and allow the boiler to operate at higher efficiencies by reducing the volume of hot water “blowdown” to waste. Industrial RO is frequently utilized to recover wastewater for recycle in industrial processes.
Benefits of Reverse Osmosis for Manufacturing Facilities
Many companies find that water purification is complicated and costly, and for them reverse osmosis for manufacturing purposes makes more sense when it is outsourced. Water experts can deliver a trailer-mounted RO system to the manufacturing site to help meet temporary, emergency or long-term water treatment needs. Turnkey operation eliminates any involvement in operation or maintenance by manufacturing personnel.
Skilled water treatment engineers are trained in the science of filtration and utilize the latest technologies. They are also well-versed in current industry rules and regulations and can help manufacturing businesses avoid prohibitive penalties, facility shutdowns, and other potentially catastrophic outcomes.
Reverse osmosis filtration is in great demand because of the increasing expense and relative scarcity of water. But technological advances regarding reverse osmosis for manufacturing ensure that it is both conveniently accessible and easily manageable.