IMPROVED PROCESS FOR TREATING AN AQUEOUS MEDIUM USING REVERSE OSMOSIS AND REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM THEREFOR

摘要

Process for treating a feed stream of an aqueous medium of a given composition, which comprises dissolved potentially scale-forming components, in a reverse osmosis (RO) system under given process conditions, providing a permeate stream and a stream of a retentate (concentrate) which comprises potentially scale-forming components at a concentration sufficiently high to cause scale formation in those parts of the RO system being in contact with said retentate in the absence of a scale inhibitor, in which process (a) the retentate is continuously monitored to detect the presence of particles of potentially scale-forming components in said retentate and a reading of one or more physical parameters of the retentate related to the presence of such particles is continuously recorded; (b) said recorded reading is continuously compared to measurement values for said one or more parameters of a retentate obtained from an aqueous medium of the same composition under the same process conditions which values have empirically been predetermined; and (c) an amount of scale inhibitor is added to the RO system upstream of the membrane once the recorded reading for the one or more parameters differs from said predetermined measurement values, said amount of scale inhibitor having been empirically predetermined to prevent scale formation under said conditions.