Desalination & Membrane Water Treatment Equipment worked example

RO Recovery Rate at 68% target ro recovery: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop target ro recovery to 68%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Calculate reverse osmosis recovery by comparing permeate flow with feed flow so engineers can estimate concentrate volume, scaling risk, and production capacity.

The inputs for this scenario

  • RO permeate flow: 8 m³/hr or gpm (held at the documented default)
  • RO feed flow: 250 m³/hr or gpm (held at the documented default)
  • Target RO recovery: 68 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 95)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Actual RO recovery = RO permeate flow ÷ RO feed flow × 100.
  • Actual RO recovery works out to 3.2 % at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Recovery gap to target works out to 64.8 points at these inputs.
  • RO permeate flow works out to 8 count at these inputs.
  • RO feed flow works out to 250 count at these inputs.

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 %.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to target ro recovery, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It is a single-pass system ratio; it does not check concentrate-side scaling indices (LSI, S&DSI) that ultimately cap how high recovery can safely go.

Results at a glance

  • Actual RO recovery: 3.2 % (headline result)
  • Recovery gap to target: 64.8 points
  • RO permeate flow: 8 count
  • RO feed flow: 250 count

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live RO Recovery Rate calculator, set target ro recovery to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.