Every machine requires maintenance, care, and cleaning. While cleaning and replacement of membranes is vital in maintaining an RO System, using an Antiscalant helps us care for the system and delay replacement of membranes.
What is the scaling of membranes?
Reverse Osmosis Systems desalinate water using RO membranes. Continued use of the system clogs the membrane with deposits of the impurities filtered. This is called scaling of the membrane.
Some of the commonly seen deposits causing the scaling of membranes include calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate, barium sulphate, strontium sulphate, calcium fluoride, iron, colloidal material, silica, and other organic contaminants.
Scaling of the RO membranes may cause:
- Clogging of the membranes
- Higher energy consumption
- Need to replace the membrane
- Reduction in quality of product water
How does an antiscalant work?
An antiscalant is used as an additive to the feed water before it passes through the membrane system. The antiscalant reacts with the deposits and breaks up sulphate precipitates, calcium carbonate, and other mineral fouling. Use of an antiscalant prolongs the life of the RO membrane and increase efficacy of the system.
Are all antiscalants the same?
Antiscalants can be used effectively for different kinds of feed water like brackish water, sea water and wastewater. While all antiscalants are added to the feed water to control scaling of the RO membrane, they could be designed for generic purposes, or to target and control a specific type of scaling.
For example, Disperso 212 by Advanced Watertek (which manufactures water treatment plants in UAE) is a highly effective RO antiscalant specifically designed to target and control calcium sulphate scale, while Disperso 520 targets silica scaling, and Disperso 370 by Advanced Watertek is a broad-spectrum antiscalant suitable for most commercial reverse osmosis applications. It is also non-toxic and complies with ANSI/NSF 60.
Correct use of the right antiscalant can reduce particulate fouling within membrane-based systems, increasing uptime and prolonging the life of your membranes. Talk to Advanced Watertek to order antiscalants, membrane cleaning chemicals or for any other enquiry related to RO system maintenance.