Optimal RO Pressure and Flow Rates in Reverse Osmosis Systems

Control system for water purifiers that regularly cleans the high concentration water on both sides of the reverse osmosis membrane to improve efficiency. The system has a control module connected to the water purifier. When the pure water outlet stops, it opens valves to communicate the clean water, reverse osmosis filter, and waste water flow paths. If the pure water outlet is closed for a time, it opens valves to communicate clean water, reverse osmosis filter, waste water, and stale water flow paths. When pure water is flowing, it closes the stale water valve. This regularly drains and rinses the high concentration water environments on both sides of the membrane.

Washing and removing scale from reverse osmosis membranes without stopping operation or discharging permeate. The method alternates between two water treatments: (a) removing scale using concentrated water from a separate reverse osmosis device, and (b) treating with normal feed water. By switching between devices, scale buildup on one membrane is cleaned using concentrated water from another device without interrupting operation.

An apparatus and method for cross-flow membrane filtration that allows high-performance filtration of liquids with low transmembrane pressure (TMP) and high cross-flow rates. The apparatus has multiple membrane modules stacked vertically and serially connected on the feed side. This configuration avoids dead legs and static pressure issues. It also allows parallel connections between segments. The method involves pumping feed through the stacked modules. This provides controlled TMP and cross-flow rates for applications like dairy processing.

Portable or installed reverse osmosis (RO) water purification system with reliable city feed water supply. The system has a split feed setup where the city water is directly split into two paths. One path goes to a storage tank and the other directly feeds the RO system. A controller monitors tank pressure and city feed pressure. If tank pressure drops, it switches to city feed. If city feed drops, it switches to tank. This maintains constant supply. The controller also increases pump rate if city pressure drops.

A membrane filtration system that can achieve high water recovery with constant permeate flow and variable permeate delivery based on demand. It uses a reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration (NF) unit with a concentrate accumulator and two operating modes. In mode 1, concentrate from the RO/NF is pumped back in while feedwater and recycled permeate are sent through. In mode 2, concentrate is drained while still feeding and recycling. This allows constant permeate flow with variable feed rate.

Flushing a reverse osmosis filter using permeate, the filtered water, instead of untreated feed water. This involves routing permeate through the filter in the same direction as normal filtration, stopping the feed flow, immersing the filter in permeate for 5 minutes to resorb solids, then flushing with permeate to remove the resorbed solids. This improves filter cleaning compared to using feed water for flushing.

A method and system for cleaning or desalinating feed water of variable quality using reverse osmosis or nanofiltration in an open circuit. The method involves selectively delivering feed water to one of multiple feed chambers, allowing recycling of concentrated brine to reduce feed pressure, and mixing recycled brine with fresh feed in each chamber. This allows processing feed water of different qualities and recovery rates without needing multiple separate RO/NF systems.

Cleaning or desalinating feed water with variable quality using reverse osmosis or nanofiltration in an open circuit to process feed water of different qualities and deal with different recovery rates. The method involves recycling the concentrated brine back to the feed chamber after pressure reduction in an open loop system. This allows handling feed water of varying qualities by adjusting the recycled brine ratio. It reduces the need for external water sources and allows higher recovery rates compared to closed loop systems.

A control method for extracorporeal blood treatment machines like dialysis machines that quickly and accurately sets the transmembrane pressure (TMP) for efficient solute removal. The method involves non-uniform pressure increases during the TMP setting sequence. It calculates pressure increments based on previous values and reference parameters. This allows faster convergence compared to uniform increments. It also has stages to verify and adjust the TMP. The method uses sensors, pumps, and user inputs to calculate and regulate the TMP.

Reducing the generation of waste water in reverse osmosis (RO) residential/commercial drinking water systems by adding a proportioning valve that adjusts the waste water flow in proportion to the product water flow. The valve has a housing with separate product and reject water inlets, a sliding mechanism responsive to product water pressure, and a reverse pressure mechanism. The sliding mechanism has a channel to direct reject water into the housing. A seal prevents reject water from reaching the reverse pressure mechanism. The valve stops flow when product pressure reaches a limit.

A novel desalination system for brackish water that reduces fouling and scaling, improves cleanability, and lowers energy consumption compared to traditional multi-stage reverse osmosis (RO) systems. The system uses a bypass valve to control the flow through each stage. Bypassing a portion of the feed allows lower flux in the trailing stages to prevent over-fluxing and fouling, while maintaining higher flux in the leading stage for better cleaning. This prevents excessive fouling in the first stage and abrasion damage in the last stage. The bypass also allows higher flow rates for better cleaning in the first stage without affecting the later stages. This improves cleanability and reduces fouling potential.

High precision pinch valve for regulating back pressures in crossflow filtration systems using disposable tubing. The pinch valve has a unique design that allows accurate and stable back pressure control without contacting the fluid. It uses a feedback loop with pressure sensors to precisely regulate the back pressure. This eliminates the need for complicated valves and allows reliable and scalable crossflow filtration with disposable tubing.

Liquid purification system with stable operation and reliability for applications like industrial water treatment, household filtration, and drinking water supply. The system has a membrane element, pump, recirculation line with pressure regulator, and purified water line. The recirculation line has a spring-loaded valve regulator to maintain pressure for filtration. The system ensures a constant ratio between raw water flow rate and total withdrawn flow rate by using a flow regulator on the recirculation line or sizing the recirculation line diameter smaller than the purified water line diameter. This prevents fluctuations in flow velocity and pressure during operation compared to conventional systems.

Intelligent fluid filtration management system for optimizing cleaning and maintenance of membrane filtration processes. The system monitors parameters like flowrate and pressure during filtration to determine fouling mechanisms. It then selects appropriate cleaning protocols based on the fouling type. This adaptive cleaning approach mitigates fouling without excessive cleaning frequency or damage.

Membrane separation device and method that reduces energy consumption in membrane filtration by optimizing aeration flow rate based on organic substance concentration in feed water. The device measures organic substance concentration in feed water and compares it to the transmembrane pressure (TMP) increase speed. If the measured organic substance concentration is higher than the calculated TMP increase speed, the aeration flow rate is decreased. This reduces aeration and energy consumption as lower aeration is sufficient to prevent fouling at higher organic substance levels. If the organic substance concentration is lower, the aeration flow rate is increased to prevent fouling.

A parallel water filtration system increases reverse osmosis water filtration's flow rate and capacity by connecting multiple RO systems in parallel. This allows customization of RO capacity for commercial applications like restaurants. A water leakage sensing shutoff valve protects against flooding. The parallel connection also allows adding remineralization and pH adjustment filters to optimize output water quality, ensuring optimal RO pressure and flow rates.