In this work, a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination process operating under batch mode is considered experimentally. The effect of operating parameters, such as pressure and feed salinity on the permeate quantity and salinity is evaluated. In addition, the water permeability constant, Kw, which is one of the main parameters that affect the optimal design and operation of RO processes is evaluated as a function of changing feed salinity and pressure using the experimental data and two literature models. A strong pressure dependence of the water permeability constant is observed in line with earlier observations. Interestingly, a strong concentration dependence of the water permeability constant is also observed which has always been neglected or ignored in the literature. Finally, for a given pressure, concentration dependent correlations for Kw are developed and are used in the full process model (described by a system of ordinary differential and algebraic equations) for further simulation studies and to validate the experimental results.
