BiTurboTM

Award-winning multi-stage RO

BiTurbo award combo
  • Reduce biofouling and scaling: up to 40% lower membrane beta and up 80% higher cross-flow
  • Achieve SWRO recovery from 40% to 70%
  • Validated by major membrane manufacturers including Hydranautics and LG Water Solutions

Find out more: download our latest white paper

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Membrane-traffic-light
Multi-stage RO extends membrane life up to 30% by improving flux balancing
Membrane-traffic-light (1)
Reduce biofouling and boost membrane performance with multi-stage RO
Membrane-traffic-light (2)
Using turbochargers for interstage boosting delivery energy-efficient, multi-stage SWRO
2021-08-17 09-33-58 (3)
FEDCO collaborates with major membrane suppliers to guarantee superior performance
OPTIMIZE FOR MEMBRANE PERFORMANCE
  • Up to 30% longer membrane life
  • Lower fouling with up to 40% lower membrane beta
  • Up to 33% lower permeate TDS
OPTIMIZE FOR PERMEATE PRODUCTION
  • Up to 33% more permeate, or up to 33% lower pretreatment & intake size
  • Lower chemical consumption
  • Reduced equipment size
Membrane Performance

Multi-stage RO reduces biofouling and chemical consumption in seawater desalination, which extends membrane life by up to 30% and minimizes CIP- and replacement-related downtime.

This works by balancing system flux, reducing concentration polarization (membrane beta) by up to 40%, and increasing cross flow velocity by up to 80%.

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The table below illustrates how multi-stage RO delivers more favourable membrane conditions in Gulf seawater, compared to single stage RO. 

Operating conditions: 42% recovery, Gulf seawater (45,000 ppm)
Properties validated by membrane manufacturer

Design attribute

Single stage RO

BiTurboTM

Biofouling risk

Severe

Moderate

First membrane replacement

2 years

3 years

2nd pass RO

Essential

Optional

Permeate TDS (mg/L)

707

440

Annual salt passage increase and flux decrease

7%

5%

Maximum membrane beta

1.15

1.09

Minimum cross flow (m3/hr)

5.1

7.7

Maximum flux (lmh)

31.3

21.6

Average flux (lmh)

12.7

11.9

Feed pump pressure (bar)

65

35

Maximum system pressure (bar)

65

66 

To find out more about the benefits of two-stage membrane systems for biofouling and membrane life, download the BiTurboTM White Paper, or contact our sales team. 
RO Hydraulics

FEDCO's patented BiTurbo design uses a multi-stage RO design with two turbochargers for feed and interstage boosting for optimal pressure distribution and membrane performance.

BiTurbo_P&ID_color NL

This design can either be used to extend membrane life by improving cross-flow velocity and reducing concentration polarization, or to maximize permeate production without increasing pretreatment or intake requirements.

For more information on the design, download the BiTurboTM White Paper, or contact our sales team.

Total Cost of Water

For the past 20 years, the desalination industry has focused on bringing down the energy consumption of low recovery, single stage RO systems. However, direct and indirect capital costs represent around 50% of the total cost of desalinated water.

By transitioning to a high recovery, two-stage SWRO design we can reduce capex by as much as 20%, while maintaining highly competitive energy consumption. Increasing recovery reduces both the cost and environmental impact of desalination by reducing plant footprint, intake & outfall size, and chemical consumption.

SWRO total cost of water chart

To find out more about how increasing recovery could impact the total cost of water in your upcoming project, download the BiTurboTM White Paper, or contact our sales team.

 

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