Increasing Water Recovery to 90% and Achieved ROI in Less Than 10 Months with Advanced CCRO Technology
A leading bottled drinking water manufacturer in the UAE wanted to upgrade its existing reverse osmosis (RO) plant for better sustainability, lower operational costs and higher production capacity. The current multi-pass RO system has the problems of low water recovery, high energy consumption and large amount of reject water, which has adverse effect on operational efficiency and environmental performance. Alantech designed and supplied an advanced 60 m3/hr RO + 60 m3/hr Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis (CCRO) solution that improved the plant’s performance while reducing energy consumption, water waste and operating costs.
The Challenge
The customer’s existing four pass RO system was facing multiple operational issues:
- Total water recovery as low as 35.6%
- High reject water generation of 896 m3/day
- Energy consumption: 304,5 kWh
- Energy consumption of 10.15 kWh/m3 product water
- Large system footprint with high maintenance burden
- High water and energy use, leading to high operating costs
- Need to increase capacity without increasing plant space
The client also wanted to meet their sustainability targets by reducing carbon emissions and minimizing water usage, while installing a fully automated, digitally controlled water treatment system.
Alantech's Solution
Alantech has re-engineered the existing process, substituting the complex four-pass RO system with a compact and highly efficient Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis (CCRO) system along with Reverse Osmosis.
The solution included:
- Advanced Closed-Circuit RO (CCRO)
- High Performance Reverse Osmosis System
- Smart automation and cloud connectivity
- Online monitoring of critical parameters of water quality
- Process reporting and digital analytics
- Two-step compact process design
- Hygienic system design stainless steel
Critical process parameters like pH, TDS, Sodium and Bromate are continuously monitored providing the operators with real time operational data and consistent product water quality.
Results Achieved
Water Recovery Increased
The upgraded system increased overall water recovery from 35.6% to 90%, significantly reducing raw water consumption. Improvement: 52.4% increase in overall recovery
Water Savings
The upgraded plant now saves approximately:
800 m3 of water per day
256,000 m3 of raw water annually
Reject water was reduced from:
896 m3/day → 95.2 m3/day
representing nearly a 90% reduction in reject water generation.
Energy Efficiency
The advanced CCRO system reduced installed power from:
304.5 kWh → 161 kWh
while lowering energy consumption from:
10.15 kWh/m3 → 3.22 kWh/m3
This represents an energy saving of:
6.93 kWh per m3 of product water
1,552,320 kWh annually
Conclusion
The project shows how the right engineering method can greatly improve water recovery, cut energy use, lower operating costs, and support company sustainability goals. It also increases production capacity and ensures consistent product water quality.Want to know how much your plant could save? Contact Alantech to talk about a tailored RO or CCRO solution for your facility.
