CFRO
Osmose inverse à contre-courant
CFRO for High-Recovery Brine Concentration
Gradiant’s Counterflow Reverse Osmosis (CFRO) is a membrane-based brine concentration technology that helps industrial facilities recover more water, minimize liquid waste, and cut the cost of MLD and ZLD, without relying on energy-intensive thermal systems.
Conventional RO stalls at high salinity. Thermal evaporators and crystallizers can handle concentrated brines but are costly, energy-hungry, and complex to run.
CFRO closes the gap. A multi-stage counterflow design with controlled salt passage lowers the osmotic pressure barrier, concentrating brine at lower pressure and lower energy than thermal alternatives. SmartOps AI and CURE chemistries manage scaling and fouling to keep systems running reliably as conditions change.
For facilities facing water scarcity, tight discharge limits, high disposal costs, or MLD/ZLD requirements, CFRO pushes membrane concentration further, allowing you to shrink or eliminate the thermal footprint.
Benefits of CFRO
Lower Capital and Operating Costs
CFRO extends membrane treatment into salinity ranges once served only by thermal systems. Concentrating brine upstream, or replacing thermal steps entirely, reduces capex, energy use, and the total cost of MLD and ZLD.
Maximize Water Recovery
CFRO concentrates brine to near saturation, up to 250,000 mg/L TDS as NaCl, recovering more water, cutting liquid waste, and increasing reuse across your operation.
Reduce Energy Consumption
CFRO avoids the high-energy demand of evaporation. Counterflow operation and controlled salt passage concentrate high-TDS brines at pressures below ultra-high-pressure RO, and with a fraction of the energy of thermal systems, lowering the total cost of brine concentration, MLD, and ZLD.
Improve System Availability
High-salinity brines cause scaling, fouling, and corrosion. CFRO improves uptime through adaptive process control and CURE antiscalant and cleaning chemistries that reduce fouling and extend membrane life. SmartOps AI is available as an optional layer to monitor performance and predict issues before they disrupt operations.
Enable Resource Recovery
High-salinity brines cause scaling, fouling, and corrosion. CFRO improves uptime through adaptive process control and CURE antiscalant and cleaning chemistries that reduce fouling and extend membrane life. SmartOps AI is available as an optional layer to monitor performance and predict issues before they disrupt operations.
Gradiant’s Counterflow RO (CFRO)
Designed for Industrial Water Challenges
CFRO is built to concentrate difficult brines, recover more water, and improve MLD/ZLD economics.
Minimum and Zero
Décharge de liquide
Reduce brine volume and evaporator load in integrated MLD/ZLD trains
Industrial Wastewater and
Brine Minimization
Cut discharge volumes, recover water for reuse, and lower disposal costs
Semiconductors
Enable water reuse and brine minimization for high-demand fabs with strict discharge limits
Resource
Recovery
Concentrate brines to recover salts, critical minerals, and dissolved materials
Eau de mer
Dessalement
Increase recovery and reduce disposal volumes where intake or discharge limits constrain operations
CFRO installation for a semiconductor fab in Europe.
CFRO for a resource recovery mining site in the U.S.