Reverse osmosis (RO) is an efficient and increasingly common solution for providing safe drinking water from saline water sources. In particular, sea water desalination is fully mature and very common to make potable water by RO. Nowadays, two stages RO process has been adopted in many places worldwide for benefit of better product water quality and longer membrane life. With proper collection and utilization, the reject stream can also be beneficially utilized. 
Membrane is the key component of the desalination process. The thin film based composite polyamide membranes with high salt rejection for higher feed salinity like sea water and capable of removing more than 97% salinity from saline water with concentration up to 35000 ppm i. e. typical sea water salinity. The commercial size flat sheet membranes can also be made by using this process.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE TECHNOLOGY

• The TFC membranes in spiral module are capable of removing more than 97% salinity from saline water with concentration upto 35000 ppm.
• It is also capable of removing dissolved salts along with most of the dissolved contaminants with high level of reproducibility from highly saline water with upto 35000 ppm salinity like sea water.

APPLICATIONS

• The TFC membranes in spiral module can be applied for desalination of highly saline water and sea water (in two stages), water reuse (in pharma /biotech, waste water, electrocoating, food and beverage industries) and radioactive waste treatment.
• Membrane prepared in this process can be used to bigger industrial application.

Reverse osmosis (RO) is an efficient and increasingly common solution for providing safe drinking water from saline water sources. In particular, sea water desalination is fully mature and very common to make potable water by RO. Nowadays, two stage RO process has been adopted in many places worldwide for benefit of better product water quality and longer membrane life. With proper collection and utilization, the reject stream can also be beneficially utilized. 
Membrane is the key component of the desalination process. The thin film based composite polyamide membranes with high salt rejection for higher feed salinity like sea water and prototype 2512 spiral module are capable of removing more than 97% salinity from saline water with concentration up to 35000 ppm i. e. typical sea water salinity. The commercial size flat sheet membranes can also be made by using this process.

ADVANTAGES

• The TFC membranes in spiral module are capable of removing more than 97% salinity from saline water with concentration upto 35000 ppm.
• It is also capable of removing dissolved salts along with most of the dissolved contaminants like iron and microbiological contamination with high level of reproducibility from highly saline water with upto 35000 ppm salinity like sea water.

APPLICATIONS

• The TFC membranes in spiral module can be applied for desalination of highly saline water and sea water (in two stages), water reuse (in pharma /biotech, waste water, electrocoating, food and beverage industries) and radioactive waste treatment.
• Membrane prepared in this process can be used to bigger industrial application.
  

PROCESS

The technology for Preparation of High Salt Rejecting Composite Polyamide Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane for Desalination and Water reuse involves several steps:

• Preparation of casting solution using selected polymer.
• Preparation of support membrane using casting machine.
• Thin film coating of Polyamide over support membrane using prepared reagents.
• Assembling of TFC membranes in spiral module form 
  

Raw Materials requirement

• Most of the raw materials are simple commercial grade chemicals and are available in local market. Nonwoven fabric is an imported item & also available with local suppliers.
  

INFRASTRUCTURE

The preparation of support membrane part require dust free environment with proper humidity control. In addition, it requires a small laboratory with few common types of equipment like mechanical shaker, analytical balance, conductivity meter, pH meter, and common glasswares. All the three processes - support membrane preparation, thin film coating over support membrane and spiral module preparation requires automated machines

MANPOWER

The manpower requirements depend on the capacity and the extent of automation. However, for making of about 6250sq.m of membrane sheets [can be make ~165 numbers of 8040 spiral elements per month (including support membrane and composite polyamide membrane preparation)] the manpower required are: 3 supervisors, 10 Skilled lab-technicians and 10 semi-skilled workers.