RO Pilot Plant

In January 2006, the City completed construction of its Reverse Osmosis (RO) Pilot Plant. The pilot plant skid pre-treats Floridan aquifer raw water from Well F-1 using a 5 micron cartridge filter with acid and scale inhibitor injection prior to RO membrane treatment via a two-stage RO process. The pilot plant is configured for seven 4-inch membrane elements producing 17 gpm of permeate and 6 gpm of concentrate at 75-percent recovery.




Following completion, Operational staff performed a 9-month Pilot Plant Program. The Program simulated potential operating conditions and helped accomplish the following goals:

• Characterise raw, permeate and concentrate water quality and potential membrane foulants present in raw water
• Evaluate raw water pretreatment requirements and establish basis for anticipated RO membrane chemical cleaning frequency
• Identify constraints and conceputal design criteria for full-scale design
• Evaluate different RO membrane elements and potential recovery rates
• Evaluate blending ratios and finished water quality
• Familiarize WTP staff with RO treament process technology