What are the conventional membrane area sizes for industrial reverse osmosis membranes?
14 Apr 2025
1. Common Membrane Area Specifications
1.1 4040 Membrane Area
The 4040 reverse osmosis membrane is one of the common specifications in industrial reverse osmosis membranes, with an effective membrane area typically around 20 square meters. This membrane element has a diameter of 4 inches and a length of 40 inches, making it suitable for small water treatment systems.
In terms of application scope, the 4040 membrane element is widely used in the preparation of pure water for homes, small commercial premises, and some small industrial production processes. For example, in the preparation of cleaning water for a small electronics factory, the 4040 membrane element can meet its basic requirements for pure water quality. Moreover, the system occupies a small area and has relatively low investment costs.
In terms of performance, the desalination rate of the 4040 membrane element generally can reach above 98%, effectively removing soluble salts, organic matter, microorganisms, and other impurities from water. For instance, when treating ordinary municipal tap water, under normal operating conditions, the conductivity of the produced water quality can be stably maintained below 10μS/cm, meeting the general industrial water quality requirements.
1.2 8040 Membrane Area
The effective membrane area of the 8040 reverse osmosis membrane is generally between 37 and 40 square meters. With a diameter of 8 inches and a length of 40 inches, this membrane element specification is widely applied in industrial reverse osmosis systems.
In large-scale water treatment projects, the 8040 membrane element, with its larger membrane area, can achieve a high water production rate. For example, in large seawater desalination plants, by reasonably configuring a membrane system composed of multiple 8040 membrane elements, thousands of cubic meters of fresh water per hour can be produced, effectively addressing the shortage of fresh water resources in coastal areas.
This membrane element specification has good operating stability. When facing high-concentration influent water quality, it can still maintain high desalination performance. Its desalination rate can usually be stabilized above 99%. For treating high-salinity brackish water or seawater sources, it can effectively remove the salt content, enabling the produced water quality to meet the standards for drinking water or industrial water.
1.3 Other Common Membrane Areas
In addition to the 4040 and 8040 membrane element specifications, there are other reverse osmosis membrane specifications that are applied in specific fields.
For example, the 2040 membrane element has a relatively smaller effective membrane area, generally around 10 square meters. It is suitable for special application scenarios with lower water production requirements, such as small laboratory pure water preparation or specific medical water equipment. Its system design is more compact, facilitating installation and maintenance.
There are also non-standard size membrane elements, such as the 4060 membrane element. Its effective membrane area is between that of the 4040 and 8040, usually around 30 square meters. This membrane element may be adopted in some medium-sized industrial water treatment systems. It can be selected according to specific process requirements and site conditions to achieve system optimization.
2. Factors for Membrane Area Selection
2.1 Water Production Requirement
Water production is one of the key factors in selecting the membrane area for industrial reverse osmosis membranes. Different application scenarios have different water production requirements, which directly affect the choice of membrane area.
In small domestic or commercial water use scenarios, such as small coffee shops or small laboratories, the water production requirement is usually low, with only a few cubic meters of pure water needed per day. In this case, the 4040 membrane element is sufficient to meet the demand. Its effective membrane area of about 20 square meters can stably provide the required water production. For example, a small coffee shop that needs 2 cubic meters of pure water per day for coffee making can easily be satisfied by a reverse osmosis system with a 4040 membrane element. Moreover, the system occupies a small area and has low investment costs.
For medium-scale industrial water use scenarios, such as medium-sized electronics factories or medium-sized food processing plants, which require dozens of cubic meters of pure water per day, the 8040 membrane element is a more appropriate choice. With an effective membrane area between 37 and 40 square meters, it can achieve a higher water production rate. For example, a medium-sized electronics factory that needs 50 cubic meters of pure water per day for cleaning processes can have its water demand efficiently met by a reverse osmosis system composed of 8040 membrane elements, while ensuring stable water quality.
In large-scale industrial water use scenarios, such as large seawater desalination plants or large chemical plants, the water production requirement is extremely high, with thousands of cubic meters of pure water needed per hour. In such cases, multiple 8040 membrane elements or larger specification membrane elements need to be combined to meet the large-scale water demand. For example, a large seawater desalination plant that needs to produce 5000 cubic meters of fresh water per hour can achieve efficient seawater desalination through a properly configured membrane system composed of multiple 8040 membrane elements, meeting the fresh water resource needs of coastal areas.
2.2 Raw Water Quality
Raw water quality also has an important impact on the selection of membrane area. Different water sources contain different concentrations and types of impurities, which affect the operating efficiency and lifespan of membrane elements, thereby influencing the choice of membrane area.
For water sources with better quality, such as municipal tap water, which has low salinity and fewer impurities, the operating pressure on membrane elements is relatively lower. In this case, smaller membrane area elements, such as the 4040 membrane element, can be selected to achieve high desalination rates and water production quality. For example, when treating municipal tap water, the desalination rate of the 4040 membrane element can reach above 98%, and the conductivity of the produced water quality can be stably maintained below 10μS/cm, meeting the general industrial water requirements.
For water sources with high salinity, such as brackish water or seawater, which have high impurity concentrations, higher desalination performance and operating stability are required for membrane elements. In this case, larger membrane area elements, such as the 8040 membrane element, need to be selected. Its desalination rate can usually be stabilized above 99%, effectively removing the salt content from water and enabling the produced water quality to meet the standards for drinking water or industrial water. For example, when treating high-salinity brackish water, the 8040 membrane element can better cope with the high concentration of salts and maintain stable desalination performance, ensuring that the produced water quality meets the requirements.
For some water sources with special water quality, such as industrial wastewater containing high concentrations of organic matter, microorganisms, or heavy metals, appropriate membrane elements need to be selected based on the specific water quality conditions. In this case, special pre-treatment processes and membrane elements may be required to improve the operating efficiency and stability of the membrane system. For example, when treating industrial wastewater containing high concentrations of organic matter, pre-treatment to remove most of the organic matter is needed before selecting suitable membrane elements for reverse osmosis treatment to ensure the performance and lifespan of the membrane elements.
2.3 System Design Requirements
System design requirements are also an important factor in selecting the membrane area. Different system designs have different requirements for the size, installation method, and operating parameters of membrane elements, which affect the choice of membrane area.
In scenarios with limited space, such as small laboratories or small commercial premises, smaller-sized and more compactly designed membrane elements, such as the 4040 membrane element, need to be selected. These membrane elements not only occupy a small area but are also easy to install and maintain, adapting well to limited space conditions. For example, in a small laboratory with limited space, a reverse osmosis system with a 4040 membrane element can be conveniently installed under the laboratory bench, without occupying too much space, while meeting the laboratory's pure water needs.
In scenarios with high requirements for system operating efficiency, such as large-scale industrial production processes, larger membrane area elements, such as the 8040 membrane element, need to be selected to achieve an efficient water treatment process. These membrane elements can provide higher water production and desalination rates, meeting the large-scale production water demand. For example, in a large chemical plant, to ensure the continuity and efficiency of the production process, a reverse osmosis system composed of 8040 membrane elements can stably provide a large amount of pure water, ensuring the smooth progress of the production process.
In some scenarios with extremely high requirements for water quality stability, such as the preparation of ultrapure water in the electronics industry, larger membrane area and more stable performance membrane elements need to be selected, combined with multi-stage reverse osmosis systems or mixed ion exchange and other post-treatment processes, to ensure the stability and high purity of the produced water quality. For example,
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