How is the lifespan of a reverse osmosis membrane estimated?
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Our company is installing a new desalination system that uses reverse osmosis membranes. How can the lifespan of these membranes be estimated? Are there any manufacturers of this film in China? Which is better, Hydranautics’ membranes from abroad or Dow’s membranes? As a property owner, how can one determine whether the membranes are imported originally or produced through domestic joint ventures?
Regarding membranes, I wonder what your company’s requirements are for equipment – does it prioritize price or performance? Among the imported membranes, in addition to DOW and Hydranautics, there are also KOCH, OSMONICS, DuPont, Seahan, and Toray; among these last two, one is of Korean origin and the other is of Japanese origin. There are now too many manufacturers producing goods domestically or through joint ventures, and the quality varies widely. But the price is also much cheaper; it’s up to you to decide
The warranty period for standard RO membrane manufacturers is 3 years. Practical experience shows that no matter how much cleaning or scale-inhibiting agents are used, the quality of the water produced will decline significantly; however, the water production volume may not necessarily decrease (especially when cleaning is done too frequently). Any cleaning agent has some degree of corrosiveness, and this leads to a noticeable drop in the quality of the water produced by the membrane after cleaning. The price of reverse osmosis membranes is now very low, and from the perspective of lifespan, it is recommended to use DOW membranes, as they have stronger corrosion resistance
The lifespan of reverse osmosis membranes is guaranteed by the manufacturers for 3 years; however, the actual service life depends on various factors such as the system design and operation management, and it is generally estimated to be around 3-5 years. There are already manufacturers in the domestic market; it’s the membranes produced by Huitong Yuanquan. Hydron’s membranes are basically similar to those of DOW ； As for whether to use domestic or imported products, a decision can be made after conducting an economic and technical analysis.