BW30HR LE-400/34i Low Energy High Rejection Brackish Water RO Membrane

BW30HR LE-400/34i Low Energy High Rejection Brackish Water RO Membrane

BW30HR LE-400/34i is a new generation low energy brackish water RO membrane, interchangeable with standard BW30-400/34i and BW30XFR-400/34imembrane elements. Built with advanced polyamide thin-film composite and 34mil wide feed spacer, this 8-inch industrial reverse osmosis membrane balances ultra-high salt rejection and low operating pressure. It cuts system power consumption while maintaining steady daily water output, featuring excellent anti-fouling property and wide pH tolerance. Ideal for municipal water purification, boiler feed water, industrial reclaimed water and underground brackish water treatment. Global water treatment system integrators pick this membrane to lower long-term operation and maintenance costs without sacrificing water quality standards.

Product Description

The BW30HR LE-400/34i belongs to the premium 8-inch industrial brackish water reverse osmosis membrane series, specially upgraded for energy-saving transformation of medium and large water treatment systems. Its effective membrane area reaches 400 square feet, matched with iLEC interlocking end caps to realize seamless assembly in standard 8-inch membrane housings. Compared with conventional high-pressure low-pressure RO membrane elements, this model optimizes the surface pore structure of polyamide composite film, solving the two major pain points of high pump power consumption and frequent membrane surface blockage in traditional brackish water desalination equipment. The rated salt rejection rate stabilizes at 99.5% under standard test conditions, and the nominal daily permeate flow meets the design demand of 40 cubic meters. As a universal replacement model compatible with mainstream BW30 series membrane elements, it can be directly installed in original equipment without modifying pipelines, pressure vessels and automatic control systems. It can fully intercept dissolved salts, silica, colloids, organic pollutants and microbial bacteria in raw water, and stably produce qualified pure water for industrial production and municipal water supply. The product complies with international water treatment material safety standards, and its structural rigidity can support continuous 24-hour uninterrupted operation of large-scale water stations all year round.

Working Principle

The core operating logic of BW30HR LE-400/34i relies on thin-film composite polyamide reverse osmosis separation technology, which differs fundamentally from microfiltration and ultrafiltration relying on physical pore interception. When low hydraulic pressure higher than raw water osmotic pressure acts on the feed side of the membrane element, water molecules pass through the dense polyamide active layer under the driving force, while inorganic salt ions, heavy metal particles, macromolecular organics and suspended contaminants are trapped on the raw water side to form concentrated brine for discharge. The built-in 34mil wide flow channel spacer adjusts the flow velocity of brackish water to form strong turbulent flow, eliminate dead water areas where dirt accumulates, and avoid concentration polarization on the membrane surface. The optimized molecular structure of the active layer reduces the permeation resistance of water molecules, so the system can achieve the same water production efficiency under lower operating pressure than ordinary RO membranes. The separated purified water converges through the central product water tube and flows out for subsequent use, realizing continuous physical separation of salt and water without adding chemical flocculants in the main filtration process.

Technical Features

Optimized low-energy high-flux membrane formula: 

The surface hydrophilic modification of polyamide film greatly reduces water penetration resistance. The required operating pressure is 15% lower than standard high-rejection BW30 membranes, significantly cutting high-pressure pump power consumption during long-term operation.

Stable ultra-high salt rejection performance: 

The compact active layer structure achieves a comprehensive salt rejection rate of 99.5% for conventional sodium chloride, with excellent interception efficiency for boron, silicon, nitrate and TOC, satisfying high-standard industrial pure water production requirements.

34mil thickened wide feed spacer anti-fouling design: 

Wider water flow space strengthens fluid scouring capacity, reduces the adhesion probability of organic sludge and inorganic scale on the membrane surface, effectively extending the cleaning cycle of the entire water treatment system.

Wide acid-base chemical tolerance range: 

Continuous stable operation pH range 2–11; short-term chemical cleaning pH range 1–13. It supports acid pickling for inorganic scale and alkaline washing for organic pollution, adapting to complex raw water quality in different regions.

Standardized iLEC interlocking end cap structure: 

The interlocking design eliminates internal leakage between connected membrane elements, improves overall system water production efficiency, and maintains universal compatibility with all 8-inch BW series membrane housings on the market.

Product Advantages

Outstanding Low-Power Energy Saving: 

As a high-performance brackish water RO membrane, this element reduces overall system energy consumption by 15%-20% compared with conventional high-pressure RO membranes. It effectively cuts long-term high-pressure pump power consumption, greatly lowering annual operation costs for large-scale water treatment plants with continuous running demands.

Extended Service Lifespan: 

Adopting modified polyamide composite material, the membrane features excellent oxidation resistance and chemical corrosion resistance. It effectively resists microbial erosion, scale deposition and daily reagent cleaning impact, delivering a longer service cycle than ordinary BW30 series membranes and reducing frequent replacement costs.

Strong Multi-Quality Water Adaptability: 

It maintains stable water yield and 99.5% high salt rejection for medium and low salinity brackish water, groundwater, municipal tap water and industrial reclaimed water. It can adapt to slight fluctuations of raw water SDI and salinity, ensuring consistent effluent water quality.

Low Operation and Maintenance Cost: 

The optimized 34mil wide flow channel structure enhances water turbulence and anti-blocking capacity, reducing membrane fouling speed and extending cleaning cycles. It supports conventional acid-base chemical cleaning and physical flushing, with simple maintenance procedures and short equipment downtime.

Zero-Modification Universal Compatibility: 

It can be directly used to replace BW30-400/34i, BW30XFR-400/34i and BW30PRO-400/34i mainstream membrane elements. No need to modify original pressure vessels, pipelines and control systems, realizing low-cost and fast equipment upgrading.

Application Fields

Industrial Production Water Treatment: 

Suitable for boiler feed water treatment in power, steel, petrochemical and thermal power industries, removing scaling salts and protecting boiler and pipeline equipment from scaling damage. It also serves as core filtration equipment for ultra-pure water pretreatment in electronics, pharmaceutical, beverage and food manufacturing industries, meeting high-standard process water requirements.

Municipal Environmental Protection Water Project: 

Applied for urban tap water advanced purification, inland brackish water desalination and rural saline water treatment. It effectively removes excess salt, colloids and harmful impurities in raw water, improving domestic water safety and realizing centralized standard water supply for cities and towns.

Industrial Reclaimed Water Reuse: 

Ideal for secondary treatment and reuse of factory production wastewater and domestic sewage. It reduces water conductivity and organic content, enabling treated water to be reused for factory cooling circulation, site flushing and greening irrigation, realizing water resource recycling.

Commercial & Centralized Water Supply: 

Matched with large-scale commercial water treatment equipment and centralized water supply systems for industrial parks, schools and commercial parks, providing stable and high-purity water for daily production and living water demand.

Mine & Special Water Treatment: 

Used for underground mine water treatment and mining area water purification, effectively solving the problems of high salinity and high suspension of mine water, reaching enterprise reuse and discharge standards.

FAQs

Q1: What core advantage makes BW30HR LE-400/34i different from ordinary BW30 brackish water RO membranes?

A1: Its core competitive point is the low-energy optimized membrane formula. While maintaining a 99.5% high salt rejection rate, it reduces the system operating pressure required, cutting pump energy consumption. Ordinary BW30 standard membranes rely on high pressure to guarantee water yield, leading to higher long-term power costs. Meanwhile, it upgrades the 34mil wide anti-fouling spacer and iLEC interlocking end cap, delivering more stable performance and longer service life.

Q2: Can BW30HR LE-400/34i directly replace BW30-400/34i and BW30XFR-400/34i without equipment modification?

A2: Totally compatible. This membrane adopts unified 8-inch standard outer size and iLEC interlocking end cap specifications. In size, installation mode and basic operating parameters, it fully matches BW30-400/34i and BW30XFR-400/34i. Direct disassembly and replacement can be realized without adjusting pressure vessels, pipelines and PLC control systems, with zero engineering transformation cost.

Q3: What are the standard operating pressure and temperature limits of BW30HR LE-400/34i membrane element?

A3: Standard continuous operating pressure range: 28–41 bar; maximum allowable instantaneous pressure 41 bar. Applicable working temperature range 5–45°C, the temperature of short-term chemical cleaning cannot exceed 45°C. Long-term operation within standard parameter intervals can protect the integrity of the membrane active layer and extend the overall membrane element service life.

Q4: How to conduct daily cleaning and maintenance to slow down membrane fouling for BW30HR LE-400/34i?

A4: Carry out regular forward flushing every 7–10 days to wash away suspended particles on the membrane surface. For organic and microbial pollution, use alkaline cleaning liquid with pH 10–11 for circulation cleaning; for inorganic carbonate and sulfate scale, adopt acidic cleaning liquid with pH 2–3. The cleaning cycle is adjusted to 1–3 months according to raw water SDI value. Avoid long-term over-pressure and over-pH operation to delay membrane aging and maintain stable filtration performance.