What is the typical salt rejection of OSPURA SWRO elements?

Stabilized salt rejection for OSPURA SW elements is typically 99.6–99.8% under standard test conditions (32,000 ppm NaCl feed, 800 psi); HR variants are optimized for the upper end of that band.

How is boron rejection achieved on OSPURA SW elements?

SW-HR variants use a high-rejection membrane chemistry tuned for boron removal at standard SWRO pH. For drinking-water projects targeting the WHO 2.4 mg/L boron guideline, a single pass of SW-HR is often sufficient; otherwise a second-pass BW or pH-elevated polishing pass is added.

What pretreatment is required ahead of SWRO?

Standard SWRO pretreatment is coagulation, multi-media or DAF clarification, and ultrafiltration to deliver SDI < 3 to the membranes. Biocide and antiscalant dosing are sized to feed temperature, organic loading, and target recovery.

How does recovery rate affect SW element selection?

Higher recovery concentrates the brine and raises the osmotic pressure at the tail element, which increases the required feed pressure and the salt-passage load on the last position. HR variants are typically placed at the tail to hold rejection up at high-recovery operating points.

What is the operating pressure range for SW-8040 elements?

OSPURA SW-8040 elements are rated for operation up to 1,200 psi. Practical feed pressure is set by feed TDS, temperature, recovery, and required permeate quality — typical SWRO operation is 800–1,000 psi.

What is the typical service life of SWRO membranes?

Well-operated SWRO elements with proper pretreatment typically deliver 5–7 years of service before normalized permeability, salt passage, or differential pressure forces replacement.

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Application

Seawater Desalination

Q: How does recovery rate affect SW element selection?

Higher recovery concentrates the brine and raises the osmotic pressure at the tail element, which increases the required feed pressure and the salt-passage load on the last position. HR variants are typically placed at the tail to hold rejection up at high-recovery operating points.

Q: What is the operating pressure range for SW-8040 elements?

OSPURA SW-8040 elements are rated for operation up to 1,200 psi. Practical feed pressure is set by feed TDS, temperature, recovery, and required permeate quality — typical SWRO operation is 800–1,000 psi.

Q: What is the typical service life of SWRO membranes?

Well-operated SWRO elements with proper pretreatment typically deliver 5–7 years of service before normalized permeability, salt passage, or differential pressure forces replacement.

SWRO membrane elements purpose-built for high-salinity seawater feeds at coastal and island desalination facilities.

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Overview

Seawater Desalination membranes.

The OSPURA SW series serves desalination projects globally, including the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.

We expanded strategic focus to seawater desalination from 2020 and now ship SWRO elements to customers across 30+ countries. SW elements are rated to 1,200 psi operating pressure and include high-rejection (HR) variants engineered specifically to meet the WHO 2.4 mg/L boron guideline.

OSPURA offers global project references, dedicated boron-rejection chemistry, and NSF/Halal certifications.

Key considerations

What drives element selection.

01Feed TDS typically 32,000–45,000 ppm — element rejection rating is the dominant specification axis.
02Boron rejection critical for the WHO 2.4 mg/L drinking-water guideline; SW-HR variants are purpose-built for this duty.
03High operating pressures up to 1,200 psi require vessel and high-pressure pump matching to element rating.
04Single-pass recovery 35–50%; two-pass architecture is standard where boron or chloride targets demand it.
05Energy recovery devices (ERDs) are essential for economic SWRO operation; pretreatment must control biofouling on warm coastal intakes.

When to choose what.

12 elements

Where maximum salt and boron rejection is the design driver, specify SW-8040-HR or SW-4040-HR. When productivity per element matters more than incremental rejection — and downstream boron polishing is in place — SW-8040-HF delivers 8,200 GPD per element and reduces system element count. Larger trains generally favor SW-8040-440 for active-area density. On biologically loaded warm-water intakes, an SW element with a 34-mil feed spacer extends CIP intervals.

Seawater RO · 8040

OSPURA-SW-8040-400

Flow: 7,500 GPD
Rejection: 99.8%

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Seawater RO · 8040

OSPURA-SW-8040-400-34

Flow: 7,500 GPD
Rejection: 99.8%

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Seawater RO · 8040

OSPURA-SW-8040-440

Flow: 8,000 GPD
Rejection: 99.8%

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Seawater RO · 8040

OSPURA-SW-8040-440-HF

Flow: 8,800 GPD
Rejection: 99.7%

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Seawater RO · 8040

OSPURA-SW-8040-440-HR

Flow: 6,700 GPD
Rejection: 99.8%

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Seawater RO · 8040

OSPURA-SW-8040-HF

Flow: 8,200 GPD
Rejection: 99.7%

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Seawater RO · 8040

OSPURA-SW-8040-HF-34

Flow: 8,200 GPD
Rejection: 99.7%

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Seawater RO · 8040

OSPURA-SW-8040-HR

Flow: 6,200 GPD
Rejection: 99.8%

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Seawater RO · 8040

OSPURA-SW-8040-HR-34

Flow: 6,200 GPD
Rejection: 99.8%

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Seawater RO · 4040

OSPURA-SW-4040

Flow: 1,700 GPD
Rejection: 99.8%

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Seawater RO · 4040

OSPURA-SW-4040-HF

Flow: 1,900 GPD
Rejection: 99.7%

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Seawater RO · 4040

OSPURA-SW-4040-HR

Flow: 1,400 GPD
Rejection: 99.8%

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FAQ

Questions procurement engineers ask.

Project consult

Talk to an expert about your seawater desalination project.

An OSPURA applications engineer will review your feed-water analysis, target recovery, and project schedule and recommend the right element specification within one US business day.

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