Capacity and System Design

Item	Typical Specification
UF product-water capacity	6m³/h
RO product-water capacity	4m³/h
Core process	UF pretreatment + single-pass RO
Water-supply mode	Integrated treatment or optional dual-grade output
UF operation	Automatic filtration and backwashing
RO operation	Automatic desalination and flushing
Control system	PLC with HMI touchscreen
Installation	Integrated skid-mounted or modular system

 

Important Flow-Balance Note

A 4m³/h RO system normally requires approximately 5.7–6.7m³/h of feedwater at a 60%–70% recovery rate. UF backwashing and cleaning also consume part of the UF output.

Therefore, continuous 4m³/h RO production must be confirmed through hydraulic and membrane calculations. Depending on the raw-water quality and selected recovery rate, the final design may require:

• • A larger UF capacity

• • A UF product-water buffer tank

• • Intermittent UF backwashing

• • Parallel UF membrane modules

• • Adjustment of the sustainable RO recovery rate

This calculation prevents insufficient RO feed flow during continuous operation.

Suitable Raw Water

The integrated UF and RO system can be designed for:

• • Municipal tap water

• • Clarified river, lake or reservoir water

• • Borehole and well water

• • Groundwater with fluctuating turbidity

• • Pretreated industrial process water

• • Low- to moderate-TDS groundwater

• • Water sources with seasonal changes in suspended solids

Groundwater containing excessive iron, manganese or hardness requires suitable pretreatment.

High-TDS groundwater requires a dedicated brackish-water RO design with appropriate membranes, pumps and operating pressure.

 

What Does Each Treatment Stage Remove?

Treatment Stage	Main Function	Does Not Normally Remove
Ultrafiltration	Suspended solids, turbidity, colloids, bacteria and fine particles	Dissolved salts, hardness and TDS
Reverse osmosis	Dissolved salts, hardness and many dissolved contaminants	Performance depends on membrane design and feedwater conditions

 

Typical UF Product-Water Targets

Under suitable feedwater and operating conditions:

• • Filtration precision: approximately 0.01 μm

  • Product-water turbidity: typically ≤0.1 NTU

  • SDI₁₅: typically ≤3 for RO pretreatment

  • Significant reduction of suspended solids and colloids

  • High reduction of bacteria and particulate microorganisms

 

Typical RO Product-Water Performance

Depending on feedwater quality and system design:

• Typical salt rejection: 97%–99%

• Significant reduction of TDS and hardness

• Stable low-conductivity water for industrial use

• Product-water quality customized according to the final application

Final performance must be confirmed through raw-water analysis and membrane calculations.

 

Typical Treatment Process

Integrated UF + RO Process

Raw Water → Raw-Water Tank → Feed Pump → Optional Multimedia/Activated-Carbon Pretreatment → UF Membrane System → UF Water Tank → Antiscalant Dosing → 5 μm Cartridge Filter → High-Pressure Pump → RO Membrane System → RO Product-Water Tank

 

Optional Dual-Grade Water Supply

Raw Water → Pretreatment → UF System → UF Water Tank

The UF water can then follow two routes:

• • Route 1: UF water supplied for general industrial use

  • Route 2: UF water sent to the RO system for further desalination

Separate tanks, pumps and distribution pipelines are required when both water grades are supplied simultaneously.

 

Main Equipment Configuration

• Raw-water feed pump

• Optional multimedia filter

• Optional activated-carbon filter

• Hollow-fiber UF membrane modules

• Automatic UF backwash system

• UF product-water tank

• Antiscalant dosing system

• 5 μm cartridge security filter

• RO high-pressure pump

• Industrial RO membrane system

• RO product-water tank

• Flow, pressure and conductivity instruments

• PLC and HMI control panel

• Skid-mounted frame and connecting pipelines

 

 

Technical Parameters

Parameter	Typical Specification
UF Section
Rated UF permeate	6m³/h
Membrane type	Hollow-fiber UF membrane
Nominal filtration precision	Approximately 0.01 μm
Typical UF recovery	85%–95%
UF operating pressure	0.1–0.3 MPa
UF cleaning	Automatic backwash; CEB/CIP optional
RO Section
Rated RO permeate	4m³/h
RO configuration	Single-pass industrial RO
Typical salt rejection	97%–99%
Typical RO recovery	60%–70%, subject to scaling analysis
RO operating pressure	Customized according to feedwater TDS
General Parameters
Operating temperature	5–40°C
Control system	Automatic PLC and HMI
Monitoring	Flow, pressure, tank level and conductivity
Protection	High/low-pressure shutdown and dry-run protection
Frame and piping	UPVC, SS304 or SS316L
Power supply	Customized to local voltage and frequency
Installation	Integrated skid-mounted or modular

All parameters are subject to final engineering design and water analysis.

 

Applications

The system is suitable for:

• Food and beverage process-water production

• Bottled-water plants

• Boiler makeup-water preparation

• Industrial parks requiring two water-quality grades

• Chemical blending and equipment cleaning

• Electronics manufacturing pretreatment

• Pharmaceutical and cosmetics utility-water pretreatment

• Hotels and commercial facilities

• Small centralized water-supply projects

• General industrial process-water treatment

Applications requiring pharmaceutical purified water or electronics-grade ultrapure water may need double-pass RO, EDI, UV and hygienic storage and distribution.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Why install UF before RO?

UF reduces turbidity, colloids and suspended solids before the RO stage. This can lower RO fouling risk and cleaning frequency, especially when treating surface water or water with unstable turbidity.

 

Can UF and RO produce water independently?

Yes. With separate tanks, pumps and distribution pipelines, UF water can be used directly while part of the flow receives further RO treatment.

 

Is a 6m³/h UF unit always sufficient for a 4m³/h RO system?

Not always. The answer depends on RO recovery, UF backwash consumption and daily operating requirements. The final flow balance must be verified before production.

 

Can UF reduce TDS and hardness?

No. UF mainly removes suspended and colloidal contaminants. Dissolved salts and hardness require RO or another desalination process.

 

Can the system operate continuously?

Yes, but UF backwashing temporarily interrupts filtration. A correctly sized UF water tank or parallel membrane arrangement is recommended to maintain a stable RO feed supply.

 

Can it treat high-TDS brackish water?

A dedicated BWRO configuration may be required. Membrane type, high-pressure pump, recovery rate and antiscalant dosage must be selected according to the complete water analysis.

 

Can EDI be added later?

Yes. EDI can be installed after a suitably designed RO system. The achievable resistivity depends on RO feed quality, carbon dioxide, silica and the selected EDI module.