CH-2034 Nalco Waters PermaCare Application Improved Productivity of A Reverse Osmosis System

Nalco Water’s PermaCare® application
improved productivity of a Reverse

Osmosis system and saved on
membrane replacement costs for
a leading chemical plant in India
CASE STUDY – CHEMICALS

CH-2034
SITUATION
The customer’s chemical plant has an Ultrafiltration Reverse Osmosis-
based water treatment facility in which incoming river water is treated for
demineralized water generation and subsequent usage in boilers and process
applications. While the incoming water quality (Total Dissolved Solid of 200
– 250 ppm and Total Suspended Solid of ~ 10 ppm during most parts of the
year with ~ 50% variation during monsoon) is well within acceptable limits,
the Reverse Osmosis system was struggling with severe performance-related
concerns for the last several months and system throughput was reduced
to almost 50% of design. In addition, due to prolonged operation with high
feed pressure and differential pressure, almost 30% of the membrane had
premature failure (within 9 – 12 months of installation).
SOLUTION
The Nalco Water team conducted a detailed survey of the pre-treatment
and the Ultrafiltration Reverse Osmosis plant; it was evident the system was
struggling with severe bio-fouling issues based on the available data trends.
While the microbial load in the incoming water was quite high, standard
bio-management best practices were also not in place. Limitations with the
cleaning pump existed as well (it was undersized to ensure sufficient scouring
velocity during cleaning).
e ROI
SM
ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS ECONOMIC RESULTS
Specific energy consumption Annual savings of $1500 in terms

reduced by 25% of HP pump operating cost
ENERGY
Preventing pre-mature membrane Membrane replacement cost

failure optimized asset health reduced by $5000 per year
ASSETS
50% less cleaning reduced Chemical handling and other

handling of waste and other associated cost by $3800 per
aggressive chemicals year
SAFETY
eROI is our exponential value: the combined outcomes of improved performance, operational efficiency and sustainable impact
delivered through our services and programs.
The Nalco Water team proposed a two-step solution to the
customer:
1. Recovery cleaning to restore the lost performance to

maximum capacity
2. Implement industry standard best practices to sustain

the performance
The proposed recovery cleaning helped to restore the

critical system performance almost to design, and
net-driving pressure (directly proportional to energy
consumption) was also significantly reduced.
PARAMETER PRE-CIP POST-CIP

UOM
NAME VALUE VALUE
Feed
kg/cm2 10.6 7.4
Pressure
1st Stage DP kg/cm2 4.2 1.9
2nd Stage
kg/cm2 1.3 1.2
DP
3rd Stage DP kg/cm2 1.2 0.8
ENVIRONMENTAL/ECONOMIC RESULTS
With this significant reduction in feed pressure, energy
consumption declined from 21.8 kWh to 16.5 kWh, which in
full scale operation is equivalent to 14 MWh of power.
By operating the system at relatively lower feed pressure

and normal differential pressure (as projected by the
design files), Nalco Water successfully optimized the
membrane life. As this system had history of premature
membrane failure, increasing the membrane life led to a
cost savings of more than $5000 per year.
CONCLUSION
With the implementation of bio-management best A detailed best-practice gap analysis audit in combination
practices and other protective measures, it was possible with the Nalco Water PermaCare® range of membrane
to reduce the cleaning requirement by 50% - this led to chemistry helped the customer restore the WTP plant
reduced chemical handling and other associated costs by efficiency and saved more than $10,000 per year in
$3800 per year.. operational costs.
Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company

North America: 1601 West Diehl Road • Naperville, Illinois 60563 • USA
Europe: Richtistrasse 7 • 8304 Wallisellen • Switzerland
Asia Pacific: 2 International Business Park • #02-20 The Strategy Tower 2 • Singapore 609930
Greater China: 18G • Lane 168 • Da Du He Road • Shanghai China • 200062
Latin America: Av. Francisco Matarazzo • nº 1350 • Sao Paulo – SP Brazil • CEP: 05001-100
ecolab.com/nalco-water
PermaCare, Ecolab, Nalco Water and the logos are Trademarks of Ecolab USA Inc.
©2017 Ecolab USA Inc. All Rights Reserved 11/17 CH-2034

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Nalco Water’s PermaCare® application

improved productivity of a Reverse

CASE STUDY – CHEMICALS

ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS ECONOMIC RESULTS

Specific energy consumption Annual savings of $1500 in terms

Preventing pre-mature membrane Membrane replacement cost

50% less cleaning reduced Chemical handling and other

1. Recovery cleaning to restore the lost performance to

2. Implement industry standard best practices to sustain

The proposed recovery cleaning helped to restore the

PARAMETER PRE-CIP POST-CIP

By operating the system at relatively lower feed pressure

Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company

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