PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE REVERSE OSMOSIS PILOT PLANT: USING SODIUM CHLORIDE AND MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE

The conversion of saltwater and brackish water into fresh water through desalination has gained significant importance as a solution to the worldwide scarcity of fresh water resources.  The Reverse Osmosis (RO) method has been effectively utilized to generate fresh water from sources of brackish water. This research aims to examine the variables that affect the performance of the reverse osmosis process. The effectiveness of the membrane was assessed through experiments that explored the impact of varying operating conditions, such as feed pressure, temperature, and concentration, on the reverse osmosis pilot plant and salt solution system (consisting of NaCl and MgCl2). The selected membrane used a polymeric membrane constructed as FilmTec TW30-1812-50 spiral-wound module. The results showed that as the feed temperature and salt concentration increased, the salt rejection decreased. On the other hand, as the transmembrane pressure was raised, the membrane's salt rejection improved. The experiments revealed that the feed temperature and salt concentration have a significant impact on the membrane's performance. Among the various variables studied, operating pressure had the largest effect on the product rate. As operating pressure increased, the permeation flux and salt rejection also increased, with a salt rejection rate of 96% achieved at 5 bars. In addition to other factors, the concentration of the feed greatly influences the solute content in the final product.