Reverse Osmosis is often viewed only in the context of desalination. While desalination is a common application for commercial reverse osmosis solutions, there are many others. In fact, there are a multitude of diverse applications and manufacturing processes that require industrial process water purification solutions.

Essentially any industrial process that requires a precisely controlled supply of contaminant-free water is a candidate for an RO-based water purification system. Some examples include food and beverage manufacturing and processing, metallurgical processing, hydroponic agriculture, pharmaceutical manufacturing, bottling, biotech, and many others.    

At FCI Watermakers, we design and build reverse osmosis water purification systems for a number of commercial and industrial applications. This case study will discuss a typical industrial water purification application. We’ll highlight the unique business challenges faced by our client, the solution, the benefits to our client, and the future of industrial process water purification.  

The Challenge

Industrial manufacturing processes often require large, consistent volumes of purified, contaminant-free water in precise quantities. The systems that supply that water need to be operational 24×7, consistently accurate, cost-effective, and optimized for the specific industrial process.

Reverse osmosis water purification systems utilize pressure and filtration to remove solids from the water source, like salt and other contaminants. The basic RO process uses a semi-permeable membrane to capture these contaminants as system pressure forces the contaminated water through the membrane. 

A prefilter system protects the actual membrane. Science Direct provides an excellent description of how the membranes work. Our team can also help you answer your questions about prefiltration, membrane selection, and system design.

The bottom line is that water temperature, chemical particulates, and mechanical water pressure can damage the prefilters and ultimately the membranes if the water purification solution isn’t properly designed and implemented.

In this case, the existing RO water purification system was outdated and inefficient. The legacy prefiltration system was antiquated and had not been custom-designed for the client’s specific application. The hard water chemicals in the source water were literally shredding the prefilters and causing excessive damage to the membranes. 

Our client was spending several thousand dollars a month on membranes and experiencing additional maintenance downtimes for cleaning and changing the prefilters. This also meant questionable water quality and excessive water usage and cost.   

The Solution

Industrial process and manufacturing companies don’t have time, resources, and capital to waste on water purification systems that don’t work. In the post-modern landscape of industrial process control, these environments are typically operational 24x7x365, and downtimes are unacceptable.  

In the world of precise water purification control, RO Solutions must be designed specifically for the commercial application. In this case, our engineering team selected the M4 Series. The M4 Series is capable of producing from 2,100 to 14,400 gallons of water per day. Our team worked hand-in-glove with the client’s team in a rigorous feedwater analysis and system selection process. 

The FCI engineering team was able to design the prefiltration system and membranes in alignment with the client’s exact process water requirements. The M4’s innovative product engineering and customizable industrial design also allowed for convenient installation. The base unit weighs less than 300 pounds, which was a huge benefit during the installation process.

The M4 series was the perfect solution for the customer’s stringent industrial process requirements. FCI’s team was able to provide a solution that not only met the client’s technical specifications but also reduced operational and maintenance expenses significantly. The result was increasingly streamlined, optimized process operations.

The M4 series is designed for easy handling and installation with our skid-mounted, pre-plumbed, pre-wired system design and construction. There’s also an automation controller app available. The app helps ensure optimal performance and monitoring of the M4 industrial process water purification system.

What Does The Future Hold For Commercial Water Purification Systems?

With industrial water purification, the past doesn’t have to equal the future. The world of commercial reverse osmosis and water purification solutions has changed. And the future of RO is here with the FCI Watermakers M4 series.

Where Can You Go For More Information?

That’s the easy part.

Do you have an industrial manufacturing process that requires precise water quality?

We’re here to help. Our team has over 30 years of experience designing and building RO water purification systems. In a world that’s constantly changing, you need a partner with the experience and knowledge to keep pace. That partner is FCI Watermakers.

Innovation, engineering excellence, and unsurpassed product quality are at the core of everything we do. Want to talk about the right solution for your industrial process? Or maybe you just have some questions? 

Call us at 800.850.0123 or get in touch with our team online today.