XtremeRO—Advanced & High Recovery Brine Concentrator

Advanced reverse osmosis & nanofiltration systems for demanding industrial applications

Our next-generation reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) systems provide industry-leading recovery and reliability. Concentrate brine and reduce discharge volumes, recover freshwater, separate divalent and monovalent salts, and reduce the size and cost of downstream thermal brine management systems.

Next-Generation RO & NF

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.

Photo of reverse osmosis vessels in a Saltworks XtremeRO plant
Photo of a Saltworks advanced membrane desalination pilot treating cooling tower blowdown at a customer site
An XtremeRO on-site pilot that achieved 99% recovery on cooling tower blowdown

Our XtremeRO Advantages

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:

  • Scaling ion removal with BrineRefine, our automated precision chemical softening system
  • Tough XtremeUF ceramic ultrafiltration for organics and particulate removal
  • Dynamic recovery control with our industry-first ScaleSense sensors that provide real-time scaling ion measurements in challenging wastewater streams

XtremeRO™ Services

XtremeRO systems are available in three pressure classes:

  • XtremeRO 600 operates at 600 psi (41 bar), concentrates brine to ~40,000 mg/L TDS
  • XtremeRO 1200 operates at 1,200 psi (80 bar), concentrates to 80,000 mg/L TDS
  • XtremeRO 1800 (UHP-RO) operates at 1,800 psi (120 bar), concentrates brine up to 130,000 mg/L TDS

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.

  • Initial consulting and technical advice to understand treatment options, residuals management, and balancing capital and operating costs.
  • Process design for maximum recovery and optimal integration with your other treatment process.
  • Engineering and design services to build and quality assure your full-scale plant.
  • Bench and pilot testing services, including mobile systems for rapid on-site deployment.
  • Comprehensive support including testing and remote monitoring.
  • R&D capability for unique applications.
Render of the vessel of a Saltworks XtremeRO reverse osmosis brine concentrator
Photo of XtremeRO and ultrafiltration skids with Saltworks' engineers

Start Your RO or NF Project

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.

Related Resources

Photo of RO vessels in an XtremeRO plant
News

Ultra-High Recovery at Full-Scale: RO & EDR Plants Shipped

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.

Photo of a Saltworks engineer testing and inspecting water in an industrial wastewater treatment process
Application

Industrial Wastewater Treatment

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.

A photo of a bank of reverse osmosis units at a public water utility plant.
Article

RO Brine Treatment: Why Maximizing Reverse Osmosis Recovery Matters

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.