Speciality chemical and membrane company Lanxess has added the capability to model the Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis technology of US company Desalitech to its LewaPlus process design software.

The new module was developed jointly by Lanxess Sybron Chemicals and Desalitech to expand the reverse osmosis and ion exchange dimensioning capabilities of LewaPlus. According to a statement from Lanxess, modelling of the CCRO process was until now based on experience values without energetic optimisation, which it says generally limited CCRO projections for recovery rates and system capabilities.

Desalitech’s CCRO process offers recovery rates of up to 98%. It uses membranes such as Lanxess’s polyamide Lewabrane membranes and assembles them in a closed circuit configuration, recycling water through a single-stage membrane array until no further recovery is possible, followed by discharge of a concentrated waste.

According to Lanxess, the new module replaces the prior calculation protocol using multiple Excel spreadsheets to approximate system performance. The module incorporates the existing graphical user interface, layout and linear process logic of LewaPlus. In addition, the new module includes tabs for power consumption, post-treatment and cost analysis, the company says.