- Effectively removes all types of contaminants to some extent (particles, pyrogens, microorganisms, colloids and dissolved inorganics), and is therefore useful as a first purification step.
- Requires minimal maintenance.
- Operation parameters (pressure, temperature, flow rate, ionic rejection) are easy to monitor.
- LImited flow rates per surface unit require either large membrane surfaces or an intermediate storage device to satisfy user demand.
- Requires good pretreatment to avoid rapid membrane damage by water contaminants: scaling (CaCO3 deposits on the surface), fouling (deposits of organics or colloids on the surface) or piercing (RO membrane cut by hard particulates).
