The first-pass feed pressure on the desalination membranes at the 139,000 gpd Cayman Brac salt water reverse osmosis (RO) plant in the Cayman Islands reached 1,024 psi. The high pressure was reducing the plant’s efficiency.
Looking for solutions, Water Authority-Cayman discussed options with NanoH2O, a manufacturer of RO membranes. Engineers suggested that the high feed pressure could be a result of scaling on the membranes. They proposed a trial of the company’s next-generation thin-film nanocomposite membranes at no cost to the authority. The parties would split any energy savings.
“Because Cayman Brac has a second-pass system and positive displacement (PD) high-pressure pump,
