Reverse Osmosis and Borehole Water Treatment Systems

RO systems are rated on feed water going in. Between a third and half of it leaves as reject, so the litres-per-hour figure on the label is not what fills your bottles.

Description

A reverse osmosis system pushes water through a semi-permeable membrane under pressure. Clean water passes. Dissolved salts, most bacteria and a lot of other contamination don't, and they leave with the reject stream.

Before the membrane there's pre-treatment: sand filtration, carbon, sometimes a softener. That stage isn't optional decoration. Borehole water in much of Nigeria is hard, and hardness scales up membranes fast. Skip pre-treatment to save money and you'll be buying membranes instead, which costs more and stops production while you wait for them.

Recovery rate is the number people miss. A system recovering 60% takes 1,000 litres of borehole water and gives you 600 litres of product. The rest goes down the drain. If you're pumping that water yourself, that's your pump running nearly twice as long as you assumed.

For sachet or bottled water you'll also need NAFDAC registration, and that has requirements beyond the machine.

Feed water in, product water out

Recovery rate decides your real output. Typically 50-70%. The rest leaves as reject. Size your system on product water you actually need, then work backwards to feed water and pump capacity.

Pre-treatment protects the membranes. Hard borehole water scales membranes quickly. Pre-treatment is cheaper than replacement membranes and much cheaper than stopped production.

Test your borehole before anyone quotes. TDS, hardness and iron decide the whole system design. A quote given without a water analysis is a guess, and we'd rather not guess with your money.

Membranes are consumables. They have a working life and they need replacing. Ask what they cost and how available they are here before you commit to a particular system.

Specification

These figures decide output and running cost. We confirm them against written supplier data before quoting.

Capacity	Litres per hour of product water, ideally. If a supplier quotes feed water, ask for the recovery rate so you can work out the real figure.
Recovery rate	Percentage of feed water that becomes product. Usually 50-70% depending on design and your water quality.
Pre-treatment included	Sand filter, carbon filter, softener, dosing. Compare this line closely, because it's where quotes differ most.
Membrane type and count	Membrane size and how many housings. Determines capacity and replacement cost.
High pressure pump	Make and power. This is the component that does the work and the one to spec properly.
Power supply	380V three-phase for commercial systems, 50Hz. Matches our grid without correction.

We do not publish prices, because the landed figure depends on the specification, the Customs valuation and the exchange rate on the day you pay.

Minimum order

One system, sized to the product water you actually need per day.

If you're setting up sachet or bottled water production, the filling and packing machines are a separate quote and we'd rather price the whole line together so nothing is missing when it lands.

What decides the right one

Your borehole water, tested. Everything about the system design follows from TDS, hardness and iron content. This is the first step and it's not skippable.

Then product water per day, worked back to feed water through the recovery rate. This gives you the real pump and storage requirement.

Then whether pre-treatment is properly specified. It's the stage buyers cut when comparing prices, and it's the stage that decides whether your membranes last two years or four months.

Common questions

What's the minimum order

One system. Common starting capacities for sachet water run from 500 to 2,000 litres per hour of product water.

Why is my output less than rated

Recovery rate. Some of the feed water always leaves as reject, typically 30-50% of it. We quote on product water so this doesn't surprise you.

Do I need to test my borehole first

Yes, and we'd rather you did before we quote. Water chemistry decides the design, and a system built for the wrong water underperforms from day one.

What does NAFDAC require

Requirements cover the facility, the process and testing, not just the machine. We can spec equipment to that standard, though the registration itself is your process.

How often do membranes need replacing

Depends on your feed water and pre-treatment. Good pre-treatment extends membrane life considerably, which is the main argument for specifying it properly.

Send us your water test and your daily volume

A borehole water analysis if you have one, plus how many litres of product water you need a day and what you're doing with it. We'll tell you what system that is, what it lands at in Naira with every line itemised, and what pre-treatment your water actually needs.

Costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.

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