Why use a booster pump on your RO or RODI system?

...and 2% improvement in rejection CUTS your DI costs in HALF!
bruce

 

Wow. I learned something here. Thanks Bruce! 8)

 

Also, a dual cartridge DI system (Maxcap followed buy a final polish stage like the SilicaBuster or other high quality mixed bed) has a slightly higher initial purchase price than a single stage DI system, but the operating costs to produce water over time is significantly less (>half). So, that second stage of DI quickly pays for itself in lower operating costs. Plus, dual stages afford a higher quality of product water over the typical useful life of the DI stages, some consider having two stages a "fail-safe" back up of sorts.
bruce

 

Fwiw-
Our booster pumps are on sale along with DI refill kits (MaxCap and SIlkca Buster!)
bruce

 

Would it not improve the quality of the water passing through the R.O membrane to lower the pressure to say 60PSI and get the incoming water supply to the industry accepted standard of 77F and not the 80F that is posted here ? By running above 77f you are allowing or causing the membranes pores to dilate and allow more undesirable waste through the filter are you not ? All my technical data for any units I have installed says on lab grade quality units that 60 PSI and 77F max allow for the optimum function of any membrane.

At lower source water temperatures, RO production decreases and the opposite hold true for warmer source water temps . After about 45psi and cooler temps the out put will quickly drop off and a dairy or booster pump should be used , What I' consider doing to achieve max filtration would recommend a mixing valve to adjust the water temps entering the filter. then you will achieve max output and rejection ..

I have the formula somewhere for the out put drop and increase of different water temps of GPD filter ratings .

These membranes work as does human skin , The skin get cool pores close up skin gets warm pores open wider . Anyone who has ever worked with insulation will know this and thats why a cold shower is better then a warm one

Its not to obvious that I have lots of time on my hands is it ?

 

Here in Arizona, we routinely see tap water temperatures greater than 85degF all summer long with negligible effect on RO water quality. We consistently see > 98.5% rejection (and often over 99%) in our membranes that we bench-test. We also see rejection improving with pressure, well beyond 60psi.

Lower water temperatures lead to lower production rates due to the increase in the viscosity of the water (and vice-versa), not altered pore size.

I think the standard of 60psi and 77degF is more of a gentlemen's agreement amongst the manufacturers for comparative purposes, rather than an actual performance optimum. These numbers used to be all over the place, leading to confusion and "specsmanship" games.

Scott
SpectraPure, Inc.

 

Just a note-
All Spectrapure RO membranes are receive a a proprietary treatment to enhance production and rejection characteristics. Since we test these extensively (in the case of our Spectra Select 100%) post trreatment we really see a difference in performance, which results in the gaurantee of >98% on the SpectraSelect membranes. Our standard membranes also receive this same treatment, but are not 100% tested thus our standard warranty.
Thought I would chip this in as your discussions on how to improve perfromance and lower costs are always interesting to me ( I use to run engineering for a semiconductor fab, its an old habit ).

bruce

 

Anyone still monitoring this thread? I have a couple questions.

 

How can I help You?

Scott
SpectraPure, Inc.

 

Oh good, someone's here!

We definitely need a booster pump for our RO/DI as we have really low water pressure, and my boyfriend (being a man LOL) thinks we should get one rated for 60-120 gpd rather than one that is rated for up to 60 gpd (our RO/DI unit is 35 gpd). Would getting the higher gpd booster pump cause any problems?

And...well...I forgot what my other question was, but I'm sure I'll remember it at some point!