AWC's PROTON Software Now Includes Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis (CCRO)

American Water Chemicals (AWC) has announced a major addition to its PROTON Membrane Aqueous Chemistry Calculator software. PROTON is now capable of modeling Desalitech’s Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis (CCRO) technology, giving application engineers the ability to design systems using CCRO and operators the ability to optimize and troubleshoot their existing CCRO systems.

PROTON is the first antiscalant software that can design reverse osmosis and nanofiltration systems while accounting for membrane properties at the various stages of the systems. The software allows users to design a membrane array, then compare the performance of any of the major manufacturer’s membrane elements under identical conditions. Users can see the impact of various designs on scaling potential, permeate quality and pressure in real time as user-defined inputs (recovery, flux, crossflow velocity, pH, temperature) are adjusted. In addition, PROTON is the only combined antiscalant and membrane projection software that accounts for concentration polarization (Beta) and kinetics, key factors in scaling potential.

In the words of Mo Malki, Chief Executive Officer & Technical Director at American Water Chemicals , “The addition of CCRO to PROTON will allow engineers and OEM’s to design using membranes from any manufacturer while accurately predicting scaling limitations. It is actively being used now on the Orange County Water District’s pilot CCRO system, to maximize overall RO recovery rates while optimizing membrane performance.”

Traditional Multi-Stage Reverse Osmosis vs. Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis
The first commercial reverse osmosis system was installed in California in 1965. Since that time, there have been major advancements in all the individual components that make up a reverse osmosis system (membranes, VFD’s, pumps, instrumentation, etc.). System designs, however, have remained largely the same. Traditionally, reverse osmosis systems operate as a steady-state process with recovery, flux and crossflow being coupled — changes to one parameter will affect the others. This design presents several challenges, including low recovery rates, fouling of lead elements, scaling of tail elements, the inability to adapt to changing feedwater conditions, and excessive energy use.

Desalitech’s CCRO process combines the best aspects of simple or dead-end filtration with the best aspects of crossflow filtration by uncoupling recovery, flux and crossflow. Using standard components and an elegant single stage design, CCRO eliminates the challenges that plague traditional multi-stage RO systems. Noteworthy features of the CCRO design include:

• Recovery is a function of time, so recovery is not limited by the hydraulics of multi-stage arrays, but limited only by the scaling potential of the feedwater. Recovery rates up to 98% can be achieved at the touch of a button.
• Fouling is reduced thanks to reduced lead element flux (shorter membrane arrays), optimized flux distribution and cross flow, salinity cycling and periodic purging.
• Scaling is reduced due to independent control of crossflow (reduces beta values) and the fact that recovery is achieved in time, allowing for the manipulation of induction times and crystallization.
• Flexibility in response to changing feedwater is possible through independent control of recovery, flux and crossflow along with the ability to purge based on various triggers.
• Energy consumption is reduced by using short membrane arrays and only exerting the absolute minimum pressure required to overcome osmotic pressure over the course of the sequence.

These features provide owners and operators with the most reliable performance, lowest cost of ownership, smallest water footprint and maximum system uptime of any reverse osmosis platform.

“At Desalitech, we’re dedicated to helping organizations take control of their water future,” adds Nadav Efraty, Chief Executive Officer at Desalitech. “We’re very excited about working with AWC to provide water users the most sophisticated software tools to reduce their water consumption and operating costs.”

Setup your PROTON account now on the cloud based software here.

About AWC
For over 20 years, AWC has applied our unique understanding of water chemistry to help resolve complex operational issues, and improve membrane pretreatment processes. AWC has become renowned as one of the most trusted suppliers of membrane chemicals for Reverse Osmosis/Nanofiltration (NF/UF) and Microfiltration/Ultrafiltration (MF/UF) systems.

About Desalitech
Desalitech is helping dozens of Fortune 500 companies such as Coca Cola, Procter & Gamble, Southern California Edison and Kimberly Clark boost their financial, environmental and operational competitiveness. Together with our loyal customers and partners, we are creating a paradigm shift in Reverse Osmosis water efficiency and reliability.