Seawater Desalting By Reverse Osmosis: The Basics

The paper considers basic aspects of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) process design, from source acquisition to post-treatment. Consideration is given to surface vs. beach wells/collector systems; pretreatment needs and possible pitfalls; membrane system process design, including pump selection, energy recovery, flux, and staging. The effect of temperature and recovery on system design is also discussed, and demonstrated graphically through the use of charts.