Reverse Osmosis (RO) Chemicals

Enhancing Membrane System Efficiency and Ensuring Water Purity

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a highly efficient membrane separation technology widely used in water purification, seawater desalination, and wastewater reuse. Its core function relies on the selective separation capability of semipermeable membranes to differentiate between solutes and water. However, during prolonged operation, RO systems often encounter challenges such as membrane fouling, scaling, and biofouling, which can significantly reduce system efficiency and shorten membrane lifespan. To address these issues, specially formulated RO chemicals have been developed. By adjusting water quality, minimizing contamination, and optimizing operational conditions, these chemicals serve as essential safeguards for the stable and efficient performance of RO systems.

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What Types of RO Chemicals Do We Offer?

Antiscalants

Cleaning Agents

Coagulants & Flocculants

Reducing Agents

Biocides

Antiscalants

Effectively inhibit the crystallization and deposition of inorganic salts such as calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, and silicates. Suitable for feedwater with high hardness and high concentration factors, providing protection for membrane elements against scaling.

Cleaning Agents

Acidic Cleaners: Dissolve inorganic scale, rust, and metal oxides
Alkaline Cleaners: Remove organic matter, biofouling, and oily deposits
Regular cleaning helps restore membrane flux and prolong membrane service life.

Coagulants & Flocculants

Optimize the pretreatment system by promoting the aggregation and settling of fine particles, significantly reducing the risk of membrane fouling and lowering the frequency of cleaning.

Flocculating Agent for RO Membranes

Reducing Agents

Such as sodium bisulfite, used to neutralize residual free chlorine in the feedwater, preventing oxidative damage to membrane materials—especially polyamide membranes.

Reducing Agent for RO Membranes

Biocides

Effectively control microbial growth and inhibit biofilm formation. Suitable for both continuous system operation and long-term system preservation during shutdowns.

Product Advantages and Key Features

High-Purity Raw Materials, Stable Performance

All products are formulated with high-quality raw materials to ensure excellent performance and broad compatibility during use.

Compatible with Various Membrane Materials

Suitable for mainstream membrane types such as polyamide and aromatic polyamide membranes, without causing corrosion or irreversible damage.

High Efficiency at Low Dosage

With a high concentration of active ingredients, these products deliver outstanding results with minimal dosage, helping customers reduce operational costs.

Customizable Formulations

Formulations can be tailored based on feed water quality and specific system requirements to achieve optimal matching and enhanced performance.

Excellent Storage Stability

Products remain stable under various climate conditions, allowing for long-term storage and offering convenience and high safety during transportation.

What Are the Application Areas of RO Chemicals

Industrial Pure Water Production Systems (Electronics, Pharmaceuticals, Food, etc.)

RO technology is extensively applied in the production of purified water across industries such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, and food processing. For instance, in the electronics industry, RO systems are used to produce ultrapure water required for rinsing electronic components like integrated circuits, silicon wafers, and display tubes. In the pharmaceutical sector, RO equipment is used to prepare water for large-volume injections, injectables, tablets, biochemical products, and equipment cleaning, ensuring the purity and safety of pharmaceutical products. In the food industry, RO technology is used to produce purified drinking water, beverages, beer, liquor, and health supplements.

Municipal Drinking Water Purification

RO technology is employed in municipal water supply systems for drinking water purification. It effectively removes impurities, heavy metals, viruses, bacteria, organic and inorganic substances from water, ensuring its safety and potability. Additionally, RO systems can be integrated into urban water supply networks to provide high-quality drinking water.

Seawater Desalination Systems

In coastal areas or islands where freshwater resources are scarce, RO seawater desalination systems serve as a vital solution to water shortages. This technology efficiently removes salts and impurities from seawater, converting it into suitable drinking and industrial water. RO is also used for brackish water desalination, providing potable water in saline-alkaline regions.

Wastewater Reuse and Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Systems

In the field of wastewater treatment and reuse, RO technology is widely applied for volume reduction of high-pollution wastewater and in zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems. For example, innovative technologies developed by Dow Chemical are used to concentrate high-salinity, high-pollution wastewater through multi-stage RO membrane systems, ultimately achieving resource recovery and safe disposal. RO applications in wastewater treatment also include municipal sewage reuse and industrial wastewater treatment, where it removes heavy metal ions, organics, and colorants to meet reuse or discharge standards.

Professional Service Support

With its extensive expertise in the field of water treatment, Alfa Chemistry offers customized solutions and application guidance to fully support the efficient and stable operation of reverse osmosis systems.

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Why Choose Us

Extensive Industry Experience

Years of dedicated research and supply of water treatment chemicals, serving numerous industry-leading clients across sectors.

Comprehensive Quality Assurance

Products meet international quality standards for water treatment chemicals, with batch-by-batch testing to ensure stability and reliability.

Ample Inventory & Flexible Supply

Warehouses in multiple locations support fast delivery and bulk custom packaging to meet diverse needs.

One-on-One Expert Support

Our professional team offers tailored solutions to help ensure more stable RO system performance and better cost control.

What Success Stories Can We Share?

Discover how our products are applied in real-world scenarios through our case studies.

Case 1: Acidic Anti-scaling Agent for RO Membranes

Project Background

An electronics manufacturing enterprise located in East China uses a mixed water source of tap water and groundwater, characterized by high hardness and elevated levels of scaling ions such as calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate. Due to long-term operation, the RO system frequently experienced issues like increased pressure drop across membrane elements and decreased permeate flow. The frequent membrane replacements significantly raised operating costs.

Solution

We recommended an acidic anti-scaling agent specifically designed for RO membranes. The product was continuously dosed at 5 ppm at the feed water inlet. This anti-scaling agent has excellent dispersion and chelating abilities for multivalent ions, effectively preventing the deposition of calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, and iron scales.

Application Results

After three months of operation, the pressure drop across membranes remained within the normal range (0.2–0.3 bar).
Membrane cleaning frequency decreased from once a month to once every three months.
Annual membrane replacement rate dropped by approximately 50%, reducing overall operating costs by about 23%.
Permeate quality remained stable and met the high-purity water requirements of the production line.

Customer Feedback

"Since introducing your anti-scaling agent, our RO system runs more stably, with significantly reduced maintenance frequency, saving substantial operational costs and greatly enhancing our plant’s water supply security."

Case 2: Non-oxidative Biocidal Agent for RO Membranes

Project Background

A large beverage plant experienced frequent biofouling issues due to unstable pretreatment, which allowed some organic matter to enter the RO system. Biofilm formation caused a drop in membrane flux and even led to foul odor and partial membrane decay. Since the system used polyamide membranes, chlorine-based biocides were not suitable.

Solution

We recommended a non-oxidative biocidal agent, applied weekly in a shock dosing method (100 ppm concentration for 30 minutes). This agent has broad-spectrum efficacy against bacteria, algae, and fungi, while being non-corrosive to membrane materials.

Application Results

Biofilm formation was significantly reduced, and membrane cleaning frequency was extended from every 15 days to every 2 months.
Permeate flow increased steadily by approximately 18%, and system pressure drop decreased by nearly 0.4 bar.
Total microbial count decreased from 10⁵ CFU/mL to <10² CFU/mL, meeting microbial control standards for beverage water.

Customer Feedback

"This biocide resolved our long-standing microbial contamination issue. It’s especially suitable for systems like ours that cannot use oxidizing agents. We’re very satisfied with its safety and effectiveness."

Case 3: Acidic Cleaning Agent for RO Membranes

Project Background

In a wastewater reuse project at a chemical industrial park, the RO feed water contained high iron levels and residual metal oxides. These gradually formed brown deposits on the membrane surface, leading to increased pressure drop and abnormal permeate conductivity. Conventional cleaning agents failed to effectively remove the deposits.

Solution

We recommended a low-foam, high-penetration acidic cleaning agent for RO membranes, applied periodically at a 2% concentration. The cleaning process was performed at 30–35°C for 45 minutes in circulation mode.

Application Results

After a single cleaning cycle, system pressure drop decreased from 1.5 bar to 0.6 bar.
Permeate conductivity returned to normal levels (decreasing from 45 μS/cm to 15 μS/cm).
Membrane surface inspection showed no residual rust or metal fouling, and the membrane elements regained their original performance.
Cleaning frequency was reduced to once every two months, resulting in a noticeable improvement in overall system efficiency.

Customer Feedback

"This acidic cleaning agent is highly targeted and effectively addressed the challenge of metallic fouling. It’s easy to use, and membrane performance significantly improved after cleaning. It’s now our most relied-upon cleaning product."

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Where should antiscalants be dosed in a multi-stage RO system to ensure maximum effectiveness?

Antiscalants should be dosed before the first-stage high-pressure pump to ensure thorough mixing with all feed water. In multi-stage systems, it is recommended to evaluate each stage individually—considering recovery rate, concentrate concentration, and saturation index—to determine whether intermediate dosing is needed to prevent localized supersaturation and scaling.

Q2: Is there a compatibility risk between non-oxidizing biocides and RO antiscalants?

Some non-oxidizing biocides, such as those based on isothiazolinones, may react with phosphate-based antiscalants under high-concentration conditions, potentially compromising performance. It is advisable to perform compatibility testing during the initial system operation or apply these chemicals with controlled dosing and staggered injection.

Q3: When should acidic cleaners be used instead of alkaline cleaners?

Acidic cleaners are preferred when membrane fouling is primarily due to inorganic deposits such as calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, rust, or aluminum hydroxide. Alkaline cleaners are mainly used for removing organic contaminants or biofilms. Accurately identifying the type of fouling is essential for effective cleaning; it is recommended to analyze pressure drop trends, cleaning solution color, and specific membrane segment conditions.

Q4: How can system operating parameters be used to evaluate the effectiveness of antiscalants?

Key indicators include:

Stability of transmembrane pressure (TMP)
Whether scaling indices (LSI/S&DSI) at the concentrate end are within safe limits
Extension of cleaning intervals

If these parameters improve significantly after antiscalant dosing, it indicates good performance. If not, the formulation, dosage, and mixing efficiency should be reviewed.

Q5: Do acidic biocides or cleaners pose a long-term risk to polyamide membranes?

Properly formulated acidic biocides and cleaners are typically maintained at pH levels above 3, and short-term contact does not damage polyamide membranes. However, prolonged exposure at pH below 3 or under elevated temperatures may cause membrane hydrolysis or structural degradation. It is recommended to strictly control pH, temperature, and contact time during cleaning/disinfection, following the manufacturer's technical guidelines.

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Chemicals Used in Reverse Osmosis Systems

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