Filtration Solutions, Inc. - Pre-Treatment for Reverse Osmosis

Pre-filtration for Reverse Osmosis

Filtration Solutions, Inc. has filtration systems to pre-treat seawater, brackish water, and water from other natural sources before the water enters the RO drinking water process. These systems are based on patented CCDB techniques and membrane separation technology. They remove colloids, micro-substances, and dirt from water and provide high quality water for the RO filters and they can be installed either on land or shipboard.

FSI offers a wide range of filtration systems designed for continuous operation with capacities from 100 gallons/day to 100,000 gallons/day per unit. These filtration systems are completely integrated units containing all the necessary components to allow any existing shipboard or land based RO system to be immediately upgraded by increasing performance and capacity, while reducing operation and maintenance costs. They are designed for harsh environments, tough applications, and variable water sources. Additionally, they can be constructed from a variety of materials including Inconel, Monel, Ni-Cu, thermal plastics suitable for either seawater or fresh water applications, and SS 316.

The Many Advantages of RO Pre-filtration Include:

Minimization of RO membrane scaling and fouling. Our pre-filtration systems use FSI's proprietary MF or UF membranes to separate all suspended particles from water. Depending on the requirements of specific RO processes, they can significantly reduce the silt density index of water from over 6 to less than 3.
Low maintenance and long filter life. The unique CCDB technology provides high hydraulic shear force on the surfaces of the pre-filtration membrane filters and periodic back-flush self-cleaning to prevent cake build up on the membrane surface.
Lower filter replacement costs. Our pre-filter cartridges are designed to be disposable and are easy to replace.
Compact and flexible. Our pre-filtration systems take advantage of a modular design containing multiple filter cartridges for variable process rates. They offer a wide range of membrane choices, such as mesh screen filters, micro filters, and ultra filters, depending on the application specifications.
Easy to retrofit. The unit design feature allows our pre-filtration systems to be incorporated easily into existing shipboard and land based RO drinking water filtration systems.

Description of the Membrane Filtration Process

The CCDB process that FSI's RO pre-treatment systems utilize is patented process technology that produces suspended solids-free water for RO drinking water processes. Raw water is pumped into the pre-filtration system with high fluid velocity. The specially designed curved fluid channels on the membrane surface create Dean vortices as the fluid passes over the channels. The Dean vortices act as a scrubbing force to clean the membrane surface, allowing the system to maintain a high, constant flux rate. Periodic automatic back-flush self-cleaning is applied in these systems by reversing the permeate flow into the membrane filters. The back-flush action can further clean the membrane surface and prevent filter scaling and fouling. The water is forced to pass through the membrane filters under pressure (20 psi-100 psi), and suspended particles are carried away from the membrane surface by the fluid and drained back to the ocean or river. The permeate flow can be directly pumped into a RO filter or stored in a process tank.

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