Desalination & Membrane Water Treatment Equipment worked example

RO Recovery Rate at 99% target ro recovery: a worked example

This scenario runs the ro recovery rate calculation on the strong side: 99% target ro recovery, with every other input held at its documented default. Use it when ro recovery rate in desalination and membrane water treatment equipment needs a clean rate and gap-to-target you can put on a tier board.

The inputs for this scenario

  • RO permeate flow: 8 m³/hr or gpm (unchanged)
  • RO feed flow: 250 m³/hr or gpm (unchanged)
  • Target RO recovery: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 95)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Actual RO recovery = RO permeate flow ÷ RO feed flow × 100) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 3.2 % for actual ro recovery, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 95.8 points for recovery gap to target.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 8 count for ro permeate flow.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 250 count for ro feed flow.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where target ro recovery sits at 95% and the headline result is 3.2 %, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 3.2 %.
  • Use it during commissioning to verify the array hits design recovery, or in daily operation to confirm you are inside the scaling-safe window. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.

Results at a glance

  • Actual RO recovery: 3.2 % (headline result)
  • Recovery gap to target: 95.8 points
  • RO permeate flow: 8 count
  • RO feed flow: 250 count

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live RO Recovery Rate calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.