Harn R/O Systems Blog

Membrane Water Treatment: A Simpler and More Cost- Effective Process Than You May Think

Posted by Julie Nemeth-Harn on Dec 21, 2020 11:44:00 AM


Membrane filtration can be explained as a method of allowing certain materials to permeate a surface while blocking others. For water, this means allowing clean water to flow through the membrane while eliminating sediments and other materials or pathogens. Membrane filtration is a multiple-step process which is considered to be one of the most cost-effective water treatments available.

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Topics: membrane filtration, membrane treatment system, reverse osmosis, membrane treatment, water treatment, membrane plants, save money, water treatment plant

How to Calculate Percent Recovery and What Affects it in a Membrane Treatment System?

Posted by Julie Nemeth-Harn on Oct 5, 2020 1:10:00 PM

Membrane systems operating at 82% recovery will convert 82% of the total raw water input into treated permeate, with the remaining 18% being sent to waste as concentrate (or reject). The recovery rate is monitored using flow meters installed in the permeate and concentrate piping.

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Topics: membrane filtration, membrane treatment system, membrane treatment, water treatment, membrane plants, water quality, ro calculations

Everything You Need to Know About Membrane Cleaning

Posted by Julie Nemeth-Harn on Aug 17, 2020 9:45:00 AM

During normal operation of an R/O water treatment system, the membrane elements will often suffer a reduction in performance due to the accumulation of small particles, colloids, microorganisms, or precipitated salts collecting on the membrane surface. 

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Topics: membrane filtration, membrane treatment system, membrane treatment, water treatment, save water, save money

How Much Water on Earth is Drinkable?

Posted by Julie Nemeth-Harn on Jun 23, 2020 8:30:00 AM

Water is one of the most important commodities that supports life on earth but very few understand how hard it is to get clean, potable freshwater. Water, in all its forms, covers three quarters of the Earth's surface. The water levels on Earth remain relatively the same each year. Every day, water goes through a cycle that sees it flow from land, to the seas and then evaporates into the atmosphere through the processes of evaporation and precipitation.

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Topics: membrane filtration, membrane treatment system, reverse osmosis, membrane treatment, water treatment, clean drinking water, membrane plants, water recycling, water quality, water purification process, save water

How Global Warming and Climate Change Presents Major Water Treatment Challenges

Posted by Julie Nemeth-Harn on Jan 31, 2020 10:48:00 AM

The effects of global warming and climate change are continuously being felt on the earth. In fact, we are expected to experience a 2-5 degrees Celsius increase in global temperatures within the next 30 years. An effect of climate change that often gets overlooked is its impact felt on water treatment processes.

Climate change poses major challenges to the effective treatment of water. Some of these challenges include inundated water supplies that lead to higher levels of contaminants in the water, pressure on the operation of current water infrastructure, and the effect of inclement weather on water systems.

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Topics: membrane treatment, water treatment, global warming, climate change

Use Variable Frequency Drives to Save Energy in Membrane Plants

Posted by Julie Nemeth-Harn on Jan 17, 2020 1:35:00 PM


Variable frequency drives (VFD) are becoming the popular choice for many industrial processes that need to make use of motors with changing speeds. In membrane plants, these motors are used to feed the pressure and flow of the water as it moves through the various areas of the treatment cycle.

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Topics: membrane filtration, membrane treatment system, membrane treatment, water treatment, membrane plants, vfd, water purification process, save money, water treatment plant