How IDE’s High-Recovery Technologies Transform Cost, Compliance, and Sustainability

Across industries, the economics of water treatment are being rewritten. Freshwater tariffs are rising, brine disposal costs are escalating, and environmental regulations are tightening worldwide. As a result, utilities and industrial operators are rethinking traditional designs and turning toward solutions that deliver maximum water recovery with minimum brine.

In this shifting landscape, high-recovery processes are proving that smarter water and brine management is not only environmentally responsible,  it is economically superior.

Total Cost of Ownership: The Real Benchmark

Water treatment decisions can no longer focus solely on upfront capital expenditure (CapEx). Over a plant’s lifecycle, operational expenditure (OpEx), driven by energy, chemicals, and especially brine disposal, often exceeds initial construction costs.

CapEx includes:

Engineering, procurement, civil works, installation, commissioning

OpEx includes:

Energy and chemical consumption, membrane replacement, manpower, and critically, waste brine disposal

When disposal routes are limited or expensive, high-recovery performance becomes a direct economic advantage. IDE’s high-recovery technologies are specifically designed to reduce brine volumes, shrink downstream system sizes, and minimize OpEx over decades of operation.

The Macro Forces Driving High-Recovery Treatment

1. Rising freshwater prices

Industrial water tariffs commonly range from $1–$12 per m³, with the highest rates in water-stressed regions.

2. Increasing brine disposal cost

Depending on geography and regulations:

• Surface discharge is inexpensive but restricted
• Deep well injection requires continuous pumping and monitoring
• Evaporation ponds demand land and large CapEx
• Crystallizers represent the highest CapEx and OpEx in ZLD

When both freshwater supply and disposal are costly, maximizing recovery becomes essential,  and this is exactly where IDE technologies excel.

Why Reverse Osmosis Matters, and Where It Falls Short

Reverse osmosis (RO) is the backbone of modern brine minimization. But conventional RO systems face natural constraints:

• Increasing osmotic pressure with salinity
• Scaling from CaCO₃, CaSO₄, and silica
• Fouling from organics and biofilms
• Concentration factor limits at high recovery

This is where IDE’s breakthrough MAXH2O solutions come in,  pushing recovery beyond the limits of traditional RO.

MAXH2O: IDE’s High-Recovery Platform

IDE’s MAXH2O portfolio was engineered to overcome the chemistry and kinetic limitations that traditionally cap RO recovery at 70–80%. Today, MAXH2O technologies routinely enable 90–98% recovery, dramatically lowering brine volumes and total cost of ownership.

MAXH2O PFRO: Pulse Flow Reverse Osmosis

Conventional RO operates in steady-state conditions, the perfect environment for sparingly soluble salts to nucleate and crystallize. MAXH2O PFRO breaks that pattern.

PFRO alternates between:

• Permeate production, and
• High-velocity brine pulses, designed to outpace the kinetics of scale formation

Because PFRO cycles faster than the time required for crystal nucleation, scaling cannot develop, allowing operators to achieve ultra-high recovery without increasing antiscalant dosage or cleaning frequency.

PFRO delivers:

• Recovery approaching 98% (depending on chemistry)
• Stable operation with highly scaling-prone waters (e.g., silica-rich)
• Far fewer CIP events
• Lower brine volumes and disposal costs
• A modular, prefabricated skid for simple installation or retrofit
  

MAXH2O Desalter: Integrated Precipitation for High Recovery

In brines dominated by CaCO₃, CaSO₄, or silica, even PFRO has limits. MAXH2O Desalter addresses this by integrating a fluidized bed reactor (FBR) directly into the RO loop.

Inside the reactor:

• RO brine circulates through a high-velocity pellet bed
• Sparingly soluble salts precipitate onto seed pellets, not membranes
• Pellets grow and are discharged as dry solids
• The cleaned brine is returned to the RO system for further concentration

This approach allows the RO to safely operate at its osmotic pressure limit — typically 90–99% recovery depending on feed composition.

MAXH2O Desalter delivers:

• Dramatically reduced brine volume
• Up to 50–70% reduction in evaporator and crystallizer size in ZLD systems
• Lower energy consumption and thermal system duty
• Predictable, stable long-term performance

Real-World Economics: MAXH2O in Action

Case Study 1: Municipal Wastewater Reuse

MBR + MAXH2O PFRO

• Recovery improved: 75% → 90%
• Brine reduced: 330 → 110 gpm
• Evaporation pond area shrank: 92 acres → 30 acres
• Saved ≈$4M in construction

Case Study 2: Semiconductor Manufacturing

Cooling Tower Blowdown + MAXH2O PFRO

• High silica (~140 mg/L) had limited conventional RO to 30%
• PFRO increased recovery to 50%
• Weekly CIPs eliminated
• Savings: $3M/year (brine disposal) + $1M/year (freshwater)

Case Study 3: Mining (Zinc Operation)

ZLD with MAXH2O Desalter in a Semi-Batch Loop

• Initial recovery: 55%
• Upgraded recovery: ≈90%
• Crystallizer feed: 400 gpm → 88 gpm
• Payback dropped from 6+ years → under 3 years

These cases demonstrate what IDE sees globally: high-recovery water treatment can dramatically improve lifecycle economics when the right technology is applied.

Conclusion: High Recovery Is Now a Business Imperative

Smarter water and brine management isn’t just an environmental aspiration — it’s an economic necessity. As freshwater scarcity intensifies and disposal routes tighten, high-recovery solutions like MAXH2O PFRO and MAXH2O Desalter offer a clear path to:

• Lower OpEx
• Higher water reuse
• Smaller and cheaper thermal systems
• Regulatory compliance
• Long-term sustainability

Across industries and geographies, IDE’s high-recovery technologies are enabling utilities and companies to cut costs while protecting the environment — proving that doing more with less isn’t just possible; it’s profitable.

Contact a water expert today and find out more about how IDE can help you solve your water challenges.