GE Osmonics E4H Series User manual

E4H SERIES
WATER PURIFICATION MACHINES
OPERATION AND
MAINTENANCE MANUAL

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE MANUAL
FOR GE OSMONICS
E4H SERIES
WATER PURIFICATION MACHINES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1.0 DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................................... 1
1.1 General Information and Principles of Operation ......................................... 1
1.2 Machine Nomenclature.................................................................................. 4
1.3 Machine Permeate Quality ............................................................................ 5
1.4 Economy and Deluxe Model Options ........................................................... 5
1.4.1 Economy Model................................................................................. 5
1.4.2 Deluxe Model Options....................................................................... 6
1.5 Specifications for E-Series Machines............................................................ 7
1.5.1 Feed Water Requirements .................................................................. 7
1.5.2 Permeate (Product Water) Flow Rate ................................................ 7
1.5.3 Concentrate Flow Rate ...................................................................... 8
1.5.4 Typical Pure Water............................................................................. 8
1.5.5 Final Operating Pressure.................................................................... 8
1.5.6 Pump .................................................................................................. 8
1.5.7 Reverse Osmosis Membrane Element Rejection .............................. 8
2.0 INSTALLATION ....................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Mounting........................................................................................................ 10
2.2 Piping ............................................................................................................. 10
2.2.1 Inlet Piping .............................................................................................. 10
2.2.2 Valves Required for Clean-In-Place ........................................................ 10
2.2.3 Concentrate Outlet Connection ............................................................... 10
2.2.4 Permeate Outlet Connection.................................................................... 10
2.3 Electrical ........................................................................................................ 10
2.3.1 Economy Electrical System............................................................... 11
2.3.2 Deluxe Electrical System................................................................... 11

Page
3.0 PREPARATION AND START-UP ............................................................................ 12
3.1 Pretreatment for Water Purification............................................................... 12
3.2 Start-Up.......................................................................................................... 12
4.0 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE ..................................................................... 18
4.1 Daily Log Sheets............................................................................................ 18
4.2 Pre-Filter Cartridge ........................................................................................ 18
4.3 Flushing ......................................................................................................... 19
4.4 Cleaning ......................................................................................................... 19
4.5 Draining Machine for Shipment .................................................................... 21
4.6 Membrane Element Installation..................................................................... 22
4.7 Membrane Element Replacement.................................................................. 23
5.0 OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES.................................................................................... 25
5.1 Level Controls................................................................................................ 25
5.2 Filters and Water Softeners............................................................................ 25
5.3 Storage Tanks................................................................................................. 25
6.0 TROUBLESHOOTING............................................................................................. 26
7.0 RETURN GOODS AUTHORIZATION (RGA) PROCEDURE .............................. 31
8.0 WARRANTY............................................................................................................. 32
9.0 START-UP DATA SHEET......................................................................................... 34
10. DAILY LOG SHEET................................................................................................. 36

Page
LIST OF FIGURES
1 Normal Versus Cross Flow Filtration .................................... 1
2 Membrane Element with Interconnectors.............................. 2
3 Cross Sectional View of Membrane Element........................ 2
4 Principles of Operation .......................................................... 3
LIST OF TABLES
1.1 Feed Water Requirements ...................................................... 7
1.2 Typical Membrane Element Rejections/Passages.................. 9
3.3 Machine Recovery ................................................................. 16
4.4 Dry Chemical Cleaners .......................................................... 20

1.0 DESCRIPTION
1.1 General Information and Principles of Operation
Your E-Series reverse osmosis (RO) machine is a durable piece of equipment which, with
proper care, will last for many years. These instructions give operating and maintenance
details vital to the sustained performance of the machine.
Reverse osmosis is the separation of one component of a solution from another component by
means of pressures exerted on a semipermeable membrane element. Removal of ionic, organ-
ic and suspended / dissolved impurities occurs during the RO process. Unlike a filter, which
separates by “normal” filtration, the General Electric (GE) Osmonics membrane element sep-
arates using a process called cross flow filtration. Feed water solution is separated into two
streams, permeate and concentrate, and collected from both sides of the membrane element. A
semipermeable RO membrane element, under sufficient pressure, allows passage of purified
water while rejecting and concentrating dissolved and suspended solids.
Figure 1.1
Normal Versus
Cross Flow Filtration
GE Osmonics manufactures a patented spiral-wound membrane element package, with a tur-
bulent flow design. This membrane element collects the purified water within a central tube,
the permeate tube (Figure 1.2, Membrane Element with Interconnectors and Figure 1.3, Cross
Sectional View of Membrane Element).
1

Figure 1.2 - Membrane Element
with Interconnectors
Figure 1.3
Cross Sectional View of
Membrane Element
2

Some operating definitions are provided to help you further understand your machine:
Permeate Rate [Product Water Rate (Qp)] is the flow rate of purified water which has
passed through the membrane element and out of the membrane element housing;
expressed in gal/min (gpm) or gal/hr (gph) [in metric, liter/min (Lpm) or cubic
meters/hour (m3/h)]. Specified permeate rates are normally at 77ºF (25ºC).
Concentrate Rate [Waste Water Rate (Qc)] is the flow rate of water containing reject-
ed solids to drain in gpm or gph (Lpm or m3/h).
Feed Rate (Qf)is the flow rate of incoming water in gpm or gph (Lpm or m3/h).
Feedwater rate equals permeate rate plus concentrate rate.
Recovery equals permeate rate divided by feed rate and is expressed as a percentage.
For example, 33% recovery means that out of a given feed rate, 33% is produced as
purified water (permeate).
Concentration equals the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) concentration of a solution
expressed as milligrams per liter (mg/L) or conductivity (microSiemens/cm).
Cf= Feed Concentration
Cp= Permeate Concentration
Cc= Concentrate Concentration
Cavg = Average Concentration in Machine
Salt (Ionic) Rejection equals the percent of dissolved salt rejected by the membrane
element, calculated from an average concentration over the membrane.
Salt (Ionic) Passage equals (100% - rejection) or the percent of dissolved salts passed
through the membrane element.
An example of how to calculate salt rejection and recovery is given below:
Figure 1.4
Principles of Operation
3

Flow Description - The feed water passes through a replaceable 5-micron cartridge
pre-filter which removes bulk suspended solids. Filtered water then flows to the inlet con-
trol valve. This solenoid-controlled diaphragm valve is wired to the ON/OFF switch and
opens when the machine is turned ON, allowing water to flow to the pump inlet. When
the machine is turned off, the valve closes, preventing non-turbulent flow through the
membrane elements, which would lead to shortened membrane element life.
The pump feeds water to the membrane element housings arranged in parallel and serial
combinations. The direction of water flow is indicated by an arrow on each membrane ele-
ment housing. Water is separated by the membrane elements within the membranes and
leaves the membrane element housings in two streams: permeate and concentrate.
Permeate from each membrane element housing is collected in a common manifold. The
permeate then flows through a flow meter and to the outlet point of the machine.
The concentrate leaves the last membrane element housing and flows to the flow control
center (recycle/concentrate manifold). At this point, the recycle valve channels a prede-
termined amount of concentrate into the pump inlet. Recycle increases recovery while
maintaining adequate cross flow through the membrane elements. The other two ports of
the flow control center lead to the concentrate valve and final pressure gauge. The con-
centrate valve has three functions: It controls the amount of concentrate flowing to the
drain; it controls the pressure within the machine; and it helps control the system recov-
ery. An Autoflush solenoid is added to the flow control center with an additional tee. The
concentrate then flows through a flow meter and to the outlet point of the machine.
1.2 Machine Nomenclature
GE Osmonics E-Series water purification machines are numbered in such a way as to indi-
cate the permeate flow and quality you can expect from the machine.
4
Given the system case in Figure 1.4 (Principles of Operation):
Average Concentration (Cavg) = (Cf) 100 mg/L + (Cc) 146.9 mg/L
2
(Cavg) = 123.5 mg/L TDS
Rejection = (Cavg) 123.5 - (Cp) 6.2 x 100 = 95%
(Cavg) 123.5
Passage = (Cp) = 6.2 x 100 = 5.0%
(Cavg) = 123.5
Recovery = (Qp) 2 gpm x 100 = 33%
(Qf) 6 gpm