Reverse Osmosis (RO) — the world’s dominant desalination technology — uses pressurized, semi-permeable membranes to remove dissolved salts from water. RO should be considered in all industrial wastewater and desalination applications where total dissolved solids (TDS) is less than 80,000 mg/L.
Nanofiltration (NF) uses a slightly more porous membrane and can separate divalent and monovalent dissolved ions. NF has specialty applications such as softening or concentrating sulfate-rich solutions while passing sodium chloride into the filtered permeate water.
Recent technological improvements allow RO and NF to achieve higher freshwater recoveries, reduce brine volumes, and treat more challenging waters such as those with scalants and organics. New ultra-high pressure RO (UHP-RO) membranes can reach brine concentrations of up to 130,000 mg/L total dissolved solids (TDS). When partnered with scale-removing technology, UHP-RO can reduce brine reject by up to 50% compared to conventional RO.
Saltworks is experienced with complex chemistries and membrane fundamentals—having built the world’s first full-scale UHP-RO system. XtremeRO systems have the latest industry advancements and Saltworks’ proprietary innovations to deliver high recovery and exceptional reliability in demanding industrial applications.
XtremeRO systems are a total system solution — fully packaged, automated, scalable, and ready-to-operate. These are not typical commoditized skids — we incorporate intelligent automation and self-diagnostics that maintain membrane health, maximize up-time, and minimize operating costs and design systems with the best RO or NF membranes for your project.
We offer tight integration with our full suite of advanced technologies to maximize recovery, minimize fouling risk, and enhance membrane longevity and overall reliability and uptime:
XtremeRO systems are available in three pressure classes:
We provide a full suite of XtremeRO™ services to help you achieve the optimal solution for your project, including industrial desalination, brine treatment, volume reduction, lithium refining, and chemical recovery applications.
All systems are thoroughly factory-tested and delivered with comprehensive on-site commissioning, training, and support. We provide custom process design and engineering, including post-treatment options for specialized applications.
Take advantage of our comprehensive pilot testing program including mobile units ready for rapid dispatch. We can also set you up with remote operation capability, remote support for your operators, and spares management.
Contact us to get started on your project.
Saltworks is excited to announce the shipment of two ”competing” membrane-based industrial wastewater treatment plants. Although electrodialysis reversal (EDR) and reverse osmosis (RO) may be viewed as competing desalination technologies, Saltworks offers both and helps clients navigate the fit case for each.
Reverse osmosis-based brine concentrators are reaching new performance levels not seen before. Saltworks is pleased to report that a substantial pilot plant is currently demonstrating 99% freshwater recovery on cooling tower blowdown (CTB).
Heavy industry, manufacturing, and natural resource-based industries often use large volumes of water and generate wastewaters requiring treatment. Saltworks designs, builds, and operates industrial wastewater treatment plants with modern membrane, chemical, and thermal technologies that economically and reliably treat tough industrial wastewaters.
Treating RO brine should be approached from two directions. First, maximize the recovery of lower cost membrane systems to minimize the volume for later steps. Second, weigh brine disposal options against thermal treatment technology to determine whether you need to concentrate your brine or treat it down to solids.