APPLICATION GUIDE

PRESSURE RELIEF

DESALINATION

Desalination is the process of removing salt, and often other impurities, from water. Especially seawater or
brackish water contain salt, as the salt is dissolved. The desalination process is typically used to create
potable water but it’s also intensively used for some industrial applications like purified process water for
the pharmaceutical industry or ultrapure water used in the semiconductor industry.

Desalination can be achieved in two ways. When using distillation, the water is heated to create steam,
which is condensed back to produce fresh water. By reverse osmosis the salt water is pressurized and
forced through a semi-permeable membrane while most salts and impurities are rejected by the
membrane. Relatively high pressures are needed to overcome this osmotic pressure so the flow will migrate
from the side with high concentration to the low side concentration. An extra point of attention is that in
both systems the salt water can lead to build up of material. This means that filters need to be cleaned or
replaced on a regular basis. The same for the RO membranes which need regular cleaning. All these
different equipments are prone to overpressure risks.

www.Fike.com Form No 8.9024.00.0, November, 2018

1 of 2

This document is only intended to be a guideline and is not applicable to

all situations. Information subject to full disclaimer at
http://www.fike.com/disclaimer
 Fike creates custom designed discs which are corrosion resistant so they are safe to use in salt water
systems. On top, due to the minimum height of the product the need for changes to the existing piping
configurations is eliminated, offering a drop-in solution.

In some cases, pressure relief valves are already installed. There it is better to place the disc upstream of the
pressure relief valve. The non-corroding disc protect the valve from contact with the salt water, which could
lead to malfunction. With a rupture disc as protection, a valve will have a greatly extended lifespan.

www.Fike.com Form No 8.9024.00.0, November, 2018

2 of 2

This document is only intended to be a guideline and is not applicable to

all situations. Information subject to full disclaimer at
http://www.fike.com/disclaimer