Reverse Osmosis Membrane for Industrial Desalination and High‑Purity Water Production
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a pressure‑driven membrane separation technology capable of intercepting dissolved salts, heavy metal ions, silica, soluble organics and microorganisms at molecular scale. Unlike microfiltration and ultrafiltration that mainly remove suspended particles and macromolecules, thin‑film composite RO membranes achieve high rejection of low‑molecular dissolved contaminants. It has become the dominant technology for seawater and brackish water desalination, boiler feed water preparation, ultrapure water production for electronics and pharmaceuticals, as well as advanced treatment and reuse of industrial wastewater. This paper introduces the fundamental separation mechanism of reverse osmosis, presents a complete pretreatment plus RO process train, discusses core operating parameters, four major categories of membrane fouling and matched CIP strategies, compares RO with traditional ion exchange and evaporation processes, and summarizes the latest development direction o
Tubular Membrane for Filtration of High‑Solids and Oily Industrial Streams
Tubular membranes stand out among all membrane configurations owing to their large internal flow channels, strong cross‑flow shear resistance and outstanding tolerance to heavily fouling feed. Unlike spiral‑wound and hollow‑fiber membranes which are vulnerable to blockage by particles, oil droplets and viscous colloids, tubular membranes are purpose‑built for challenging feeds with high suspended solids, emulsified oil and concentrated slurries. This paper introduces the structural characteristics and separation mechanism of polymeric tubular membranes, outlines the standard process layout for oily wastewater and high‑solid slurry treatment, discusses key operating parameters, fouling control and CIP cleaning protocols. It further compares tubular membranes with other mainstream membrane formats and summarizes typical industrial application cases, together with the development trend of anti‑fouling modified tubular membrane materials.
