• 2025-07-22

Hydroponics Water Treatment

Core role of reverse osmosis

Reverse osmosis (RO) technology drives water flow through semipermeable membranes through high pressure, achieving a dissolved solids (TDS) removal rate of >95%, providing an ideal water source for hydroponic systems. Typical four-stage purification process:

Pretreatment: intercept ≥5μm suspended particles to protect the back-end membrane components

Activated carbon adsorption: efficient removal of chlorine/chloramine (residual amount <0.1ppm)

Softening and scale inhibition: ion exchange resin controls hardness <1GPG

Membrane fine filtration: 0.0001μm pore size intercepts bacteria/viruses/heavy metal ions

Key verification of water quality

The osmotic pressure of plant nutrient solution is positively correlated with the TDS of the water body. When TDS>150ppm:

Nutrient absorption efficiency decreases by 40%

Root oxygen transmission rate decreases by 30%

Induce mineral crystal deposition (such as calcium salt blocking the conduit)

RO produced water (TDS 5-20ppm) can accurately control the EC value in the optimal range of 1.2-2.0mS/cm.

Water source adaptation plan

Municipal tap water needs to be pre-treated:

Residual chlorine control: aeration for 24 hours or catalytic carbon filtration (free chlorine ≤ 0.01ppm)

TDS control: RO produced water and raw water are mixed according to the crop demand ratio (recommended 1:1 to 1:3)

Microbial inhibition: UV sterilization device (dose ≥ 30mJ/cm²)

System selection suggestions

Leafy vegetable cultivation: three-stage RO system (daily water production 1-5 tons)

Berry cultivation: customized system equipped with online pH/EC monitoring

Scaled production: industrial RO unit with integrated automatic dosing module

Technical advantages quantification

Pollutant removal

Nitrate/sulfate reduction> 90%

Pesticide/herbicide residues < 0.01ppb

Sodium ion concentration is controlled below 10ppm

Operational benefits

Nutrient solution cost reduced by 35% (reduced neutralizer dosage)

Membrane life extended to 3-5 years (through scale prevention pretreatment)

Crop growth cycle shortened by 15% (stabilizing the water environment to promote metabolism)