Experiences of Dow in the field of seawater reverse osmosis

The intention of this paper is to to provide a general overview of the commercial and technical development of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) from the perspective of a manufacturer of spiral-wound reverse osmosis membranes. It illustrates the rapid rate of growth of the capacity of SWRO plants around the world and highlights some of the technical developments that have enabled such growth to occur, by reducing the cost of water produced by the SWRO Process. Whilst written from the experiences of one manufacturer the paper reflects, the similar progress made by other manufacturers and the industry as a whole in the development of SWRO to the point at which it is an economically viable process for the large-scale production of potable quality water.

Experience, or perhaps more correctly the ability to interpret and learn from such experience, gained from the application of products and feedback from the users of those products is an essential part of product development for a membrane manufacturer. The experience required should not be limited only to the chemistry of the membrane, but should be of the whole package of issues that surround the process of manufacturing a membrane, producing an element, delivering it and setting it to work in a customer’s plant.