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An AQUA-SEP® vacuum skid on a low-loader trailer: an open steel frame with insulated pipework and yellow access platforms.

Productized platform

AQUA-SEP®

AQUA-SEP® is Petro Sep's vacuum membrane distillation platform, standardized into a system you can size and quote. The feed runs along one side of a hydrophobic, microporous membrane while the other side is kept under vacuum; water passes through the pores as vapor, and almost all of the dissolved salts stay behind. Petro Sep's brochure says it can treat reject brine from desalination plants and from RO and seawater RO (SWRO) plants, and toxic wastewater.

AQUA-SEP® delivers

What the platform delivers.

Productized does not mean compromised. AQUA-SEP® was tuned to the applications that asked for it most.

Water recovery, standalone
85 to 90%+
Vacuum membrane distillation, on tested feeds: produced water, mining brines, RO reject.
Water recovery, RO + AQUA-SEP hybrid
Up to ~95%
RO at ~40% recovery, AQUA-SEP at the tail.
Recovered water purity
<10 mg/L TDS
99.99% pure on a TDS basis. Independently testable on your own feed.
Electricity vs evaporator + crystallizer
26 vs 43
kWh/m³ for the 100 GPM unit, with 129 vs 300 kWh/m³ of utilities, per the AQUA-SEP Energy Comparison data sheet. Drops further on sites with waste heat.

Performance envelope

Sizes, materials, options.

Capacity scales by adding skids in parallel. Materials and code stamps configure to your jurisdiction. We document every option in the proposal package.

Maximum feed TDS
Up to 25%+(250,000 mg/L)
Flux rate
Up to 25kg/m²·h
Standard plant range (packaged systems)
50 to 1,000m³/day
Operating temperature
60 to 80°C
Max operating pressure
200kPa
Permeate quality
<10mg/L TDS (99.99% pure)
Footprint, 100 m³/day plant
2 skids5.5 × 5.5 × 5 m and 6.5 × 2.5 × 5 m
Specific energy (100 GPM unit)
26 + 129kWh/m³ (electricity + utilities)
Membrane materials
PE, PP, PVDF and others
Form factor
Hollow fiber (preferred) or flat sheet
Code stamps
ASME 'U', 'U2'; NB 'R'(Kerteh shop)
Materials of construction
Stainless 316L standard; duplex and Hastelloy options

Energy comparison

AQUA-SEP® vs evaporator + crystallizer.

Published energy figures for a 100 GPM unit, AQUA-SEP® versus a conventional evaporator + crystallizer alternative. Source: Petro Sep AQUA-SEP Energy Comparison data sheet.

SystemElectrical energy (kWh/m³)Utilities (kWh/m³)
AQUA-SEP®26129
Evaporator + crystallizer43300

For the 100 GPM unit, AQUA-SEP® uses less on both lines: 26 against 43 kWh/m³ of electricity and 129 against 300 kWh/m³ of utilities. The advantage widens further on sites with waste heat available to drive the vacuum distillation loop.

Built on

Vacuum Membrane Distillation.

Membrane distillation under vacuum, built as AQUA-SEP®, for brines, RO reject and high-salinity wastewater.

AQUA-SEP® is the productized application of our vacuum membrane distillation technology. The technology page is where engineers go for the working principle, full specs, and how it compares to alternatives.

Why this matters to a buyer

  • The system is the same platform we already ship at scale; no first-of-a-kind risk.
  • If a custom configuration is needed beyond the standard envelope, we engineer it on the same platform.

Ready to size
AQUA-SEP® for your feed?

Send us your fluid composition and a target capacity. We will send back a sized configuration, expected performance, and an indicative budget promptly.