RO Plant Maintenance Checklist Key Steps for Smooth Operation

Maintenance of the RO plant will be done to make sure that the RO plant runs smoothly and efficiently while giving us periodic water continuously operating our whole system if your water is used in a mixed bed exchanger for further usage in the Boiler. Several types of maintenance will be done like cleaning the membrane to increase salt passage. Also, general maintenance will be done. General maintenance will check the tube inspection, piping, and leakage.

Maintenance for RO Unit

All relevant data of the RO system is strongly recommended to be recorded properly.

They are not only necessary for following the performance of the system, but also valuable tools for troubleshooting and also needed in the cases of warranty claims.

The RO system performance depends for the most part on the proper operation of the pretreatment and thus the operating characteristics of the pretreatment equipment for the following items should be recorded and maintained.

Pretreatment System

• The discharge pressure of any well or booster pumps and pressure drop of all filters including activated carbon filter.

The data of the pressure drop may indicate when a backwash for the AC filter is needed. (Design DP is a bar)

• Inlet and Outlet pressure of DM Microfilter. An increase in the differential pressure between inlet and outlet pressure may indicate the time for the replacement of cartridge filters.
• Measure SDI and turbidity before and after all the filters.
• Consumption of acid and scale inhibitor, sodium meta-bisulfate solutions. Scale inhibition can also be accomplished by pH control (usually pH 6~7), depending on the amount of hardness in the feed water.

RO Operating Data

The following data must be recorded frequently, preferably once per shift.

• Complete water analysis of the feed, permeate and concentrate water and the raw water before pretreatment once at start-up and every week thereafter.
• Feed PH, permeate PH, andPH of concentrate water. Temperature of the feed water.
• After high-pressure pump feed flow pressure
• The pressure of the flow of feed, permeate, and concentrate in each array.
• Flow of Permeate and Concentrate in each array. Calculate the recovery ratio to ensure that it does not go beyond the design limit.
• Conductivity / TDS of the feed, permeate, and concentrate streams for each array. The TES of the RO concentrate can be used along with the feed water TDS to calculate an average membrane concentration which can be used to calculate an average membrane salt rejection as shown in the following equations.
• Calculation of all gauges and meters based on manufacturer’s recommendations at least once every three months.

Important gauges include pH meters, flow meters, pressure gauges, and conductivity meters. It is recommended that the water pH is verified weekly and on a weekly schedule, the pH probe to those values. If the values are drifting every time the pH meter is checked, the reference probe needs to be replaced or have KCL solution replenished.

Reverse Osmosis Unit Operating Log sheet