Why Business Owners Should Consider Reverse Osmosis

A reverse osmosis (RO) system is a wise investment in any area where a company's water supply is brackish, i.e. a mixture of salt and fresh water. When an R.O. system is used in conjunction with a water softening system, it helps ensure that the water is free from an unpleasant taste as well as a host of contaminants.

Health Benefits

Ground water in many areas contains hazardous contaminants such as arsenic, lead, and pesticides. Not surprisingly, facility owners report periodic problems. These waterborne pollutants can cause health problems in both employees and consumers over time. High-quality RO systems for commercial and industrial applications make a difference by filtering out undesirable components from water and rendering it safe for use or consumption.

Desalination

The reverse osmosis process was originally developed to desalinate drinking water, particularly in situations where water softening systems are in use. Although water softening mainly helps protect appliances and plumbing fixtures, it also makes a major difference in how the water tastes. The RO process removes the salt from the water, giving it the type of taste that you would expect from drinking water. Regardless of your water needs, you might want to consider the benefits of brackish water RO technology.

The World is Thirsty for RO-Treated Brackish Water

The greatest thing about reverse osmosis is that you can apply the technology to all types of water and get different results. Many use the technology to thoroughly filter impurities out of water, but if you feed a reverse osmosis system with cleaner water to begin with, your end product will end up being of higher quality. Adding an RO filter for brackish water in your system can increase quality and output.

Greenhouse and hydroponic farmers have caught on to reverse osmosis to purify their irrigation water for agricultural use. One particular farmer in Florida uses a 300 liter/day reverse osmosis system which produces water with less than 15mg/1l of sodium. Upon switching to a brackish water RO system, the farmer’s production of European cucumbers in a twenty two acre greenhouse went from 48,000 cucumbers/day to 84,000 cucumbers/day. This is virtually double the output, which was achieved by the relatively simple shift from contaminated surface water canal sources to low-salinity brackish groundwater.

The product of brackish water RO has lower levels of bacteria and nematodes, thus helping avoid plant diseases. Also, an RO membrane intended for brackish water typically has a cellulosic membrane, which is resistant to chlorine. Furthermore, a brackish water filter can also be added to a previously existing RO system, which helps take stress off the first system and resulting in a more efficient workflow with better results. 

The Uniqueness of Brackish Water

When seawater and fresh water combine, the result is water that has a salinity level lower than seawater but higher than fresh water. This is called brackish water or sometimes “briny water”.

As you would probably expect, brackish water usually occurs in areas where fresh water meets sea water. Thus, the most common brackish water spots are estuaries—areas of water between a river and sea. Another example is mangrove swamps, while there are also specific lakes, seas, and marshes that are brackish in nature.

Brackish Water: The Importance of Reverse Osmosis

California-based farms know the importance of optimizing brackish water systems using reverse osmosis. Brackish water poses many health concerns as it may contribute to the breeding of specific types of mosquitoes, such as the Anopheles sundaicus.

Brackish water is any water that has a level of salt saturation somewhere between what is naturally found in freshwater and ocean saltwater. Brackish water can appear naturally, but in California, it is often the result of environmental damage. Drinking water with a high level of salinity may cause health problems, not to mention unpleasant and hazardous for both humans and livestock.

Methods to Reduce TDS in Water

Understanding total dissolved solids (TDS) in water is crucial in maintaining your health. Drinking water with high levels of TDS may result in various adverse health conditions, such as gastrointestinal illnesses, reproductive problems, and neurological disorders. Reducing TDS to permissible levels is just as important in various industrial applications where contaminants may lead to ineffective products. Here are some methods for reducing TDS in water.

Reducing Desalination Cost with Brackish Water

Water is normally either freshwater or saltwater. Anything in between is brackish.

Brackish water is common in places where freshwater and saltwater meet such as estuaries, mangrove plantations, and deltas. Its salinity is less than that of seawater but more than that of freshwater. Brackish water doesn't host a diverse array of wildlife as rivers or oceans because the conditions are unideal for both freshwater and saltwater creatures.

Nonetheless, due to their reduced salinity compared to seawater, brackish water is a less costly source of potable water. The degree of water treatment required for brackish water isn't as extensive as seawater, helping desalination facilities save on costs. In fact, some desalination plants like the Thames Water Desalination Plant in London draw their water from estuaries.

Fresh Water for Everyone via Reverse Osmosis

Fresh water is an important resource that’s being used in increasing amounts as populations increase. As population grows, the usual fresh water sources like rivers and streams are not going to continue to meet that increasing demand. However, the largest source of water is still untapped: the ocean. The problem is the salt content of seawater or brackish water render them unusable for drinking and irrigation purposes. This is why a lot of countries needing fresh water resort to desalination.

The Dangers of Drinking Brackish Water

Most people know that drinking saltwater is dangerous because it can lead to dehydration. However, there shouldn’t be much harm in drinking brackish water, right? After all, it contains much less salt than saltwater.

Unfortunately, warm brackish water is quite dangerous, too. In many cases, it is home to a number of harmful bacteria like V. vulnificus, a “flesh-eating” bacterium that caused havoc in Florida in 2013. Other strains that may be found in brackish water include E. coli and Salmonella.

Why Bother with Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis?

Many people think that bodies of water can only be classified as either ‘fresh’ or ‘salt’, with the former existing in limited quantities at any given time. True enough, it is often said that only 0.5 percent of the Earth’s freshwater supply is readily accessible, while the remaining 99.5 percent is either held in glaciers and icebergs or in bodies of saltwater deemed unfit for human consumption.