RO/NF antiscalants are specialty chemicals that are added upstream of a reverse osmosis membrane system. These scale inhibitor chemicals are designed to prevent or slow-down mineral scale formation on the membrane surface. For this reason, the right antiscalant is critical for the consistent operation of a reverse osmosis or nano filtration system.
Mineral scale is formed when the dissolved minerals in water are allowed to concentrate to beyond their saturation limit, where they will start to come out of solution. Similar to water spots on a window, the water sprayed on the window appears clear but there are dissolved minerals in each drop. As that water evaporates the dissolved minerals stay behind and show themselves as a hard water spot.
In a reverse osmosis membrane or nano filtration system, water is forced through the membrane but the dissolved minerals cannot pass through so they stay behind. Imagine if each of those ‘spots’ stayed and were joined by more spots to form a large area of mineral scale. The scale on the membrane surface would prevent water from passing through, so it is essential to inhibit scale for RO/NF systems to operate continuously.
