Abstract
Reverse osmosis (RO) has developed into one of the most commonly applied technologies for the reduction of the salt content of a feed stream. While it is a widely applied purification process, the market is continuously challenging suppliers for innovation to increase the economics and sustainability. This paper will review and analyse the field performance of Dow FILMTEC™ new high-flow/low-energy seawater reverse osmosis elements—SEAMAXX™. This new seawater RO membrane, which has the highest permeability currently available, is based on innovation related to membrane chemistry. SEAMAXX can be used to increase the recovery of an existing system or to decrease the energy consumption. In either case, the final cost of water is estimated to be between 10 and 15% lower compared to previously available state of the art RO elements. This paper will focus on three different cases studies where the expected performance of SEAMAXX has been validated. Two of these cases correspond to small-size and medium-size pilot trials completed at the Water Technology Center of Dow Water and Process Solutions in Tarragona, Spain. The third experience is a commercial installation which has been in operation with SEAMAXX elements since May 2013. In this particular facility, a retrofit of the RO system was undertaken such that existing 11-year-old FILMTEC membranes were replaced with next generation SWRO membranes. This commercial installation, located in the Canary Islands (Spain) treats the seawater (Atlantic Ocean) well to produce drinking water. In this third case, the performance of the desalination plant will be compared with the performance of the previous elements as well as with the predicted or expected performance of SEAMAXX according to ROSA™ (reverse osmosis system analysis) simulation software and DOW™ FT-NORM normalization tool. Rejection of dissolved salts and in particular, rejection of Boron has been carefully monitored by regular analysis in Dow’s R&D Lab and in external certified laboratories. After almost one year in operation, the performance of SEAMAXX has been validated through different seasons and different sets of operating conditions, confirming the expected savings in energy consumption.
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