Experimental results on the application of a high-voltage capacitance-based technology to reduce biofouling in reverse osmosis systems

As the use of reverse osmosis (RO) machines becomes prevalent in our society, more attention is being paid to reducing their operational and maintenance costs. One method of improving efficiency is by adequate pretreatment of the feed water to the RO system. A proposed alternative to current chemical treatment methods is a novel high-voltage, capacitance-based system that utilizes electrostatic dispersion techniques. This alternative method of treatment was experimentally evaluated and was found to be effective in certain aspects of RO pretreatment. An experimental apparatus was designed based on two nominally identical household RO systems. The two systems were subject to identical, but variable, feed conditions. The technology proved effective in reducing the bacterial contamination levels in an RO system, although it did not completely eliminate the formation of biofilm.