Franklin FWME8040RO-BW Industrial Brackish Water RO Membrane

High-Capacity 8040 Brackish Water RO Membrane for Industrial Desalination

When a 4040 element cannot keep up with your plant's demand, the FWME8040RO-BW is the industrial step up. The Franklin Water FWME8040RO-BW industrial brackish water RO membrane produces 10,500 GPD from 400 ft² of active area with 99.7% stabilized salt rejection, the highest in the Franklin Water lineup. Tested at 225 psi with 2,000 mg/L NaCl feed solution and rated for brackish source water up to 5,000 mg/L TDS.

Quick Specs

• Membrane Type: Thin-Film Composite (TFC), Brackish Water

• Element Size: 8" x 40" (standard 8040 format)

• Active Membrane Area: 400 ft² (37.2 m²)

• Permeate Flow Rate: 10,500 GPD (39.7 m³/d)

• Stabilized Salt Rejection: 99.7%

• Standard Test Pressure: 225 psi (1.55 MPa)

• Maximum Feed TDS: 5,000 mg/L

• Certification: NSF/ANSI 61

Key Features and Benefits

• 10,500 GPD from 400 ft² of active area, a high-capacity brackish water membrane that delivers more than four times the output of a 4040 element per housing.

• 99.7% stabilized salt rejection on feed water up to 5,000 mg/L TDS, the highest rejection rate of any industrial RO membrane in the 8040 format from Franklin Water.

• 170 m³/h (74.8 gpm) maximum feed flow supports multi-element pressure vessels in large scale RO membrane systems for industrial water treatment and desalination.

• NSF/ANSI 61 certified, meeting health-effects requirements for a water treatment plant RO membrane producing drinking water, process water, or boiler feed at industrial volumes.

• This 8 x 40 reverse osmosis membrane element fits standard 8-inch pressure vessels with a 1.12-inch permeate tube, compatible with Dow Filmtec BW30-400, Toray, and other reverse osmosis membranes.

• Cleaning pH range of 1 to 13 and 600 psi maximum operating pressure for the aggressive CIP protocols that industrial desalination plants running 8040 membranes require.

FWME8040RO-BW Specifications

Applications

• Municipal and industrial water treatment plants

• Brackish groundwater desalination

• Power generation boiler feed water at plant scale

• Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and electronics process water

• Steel, petrochemical, and chemical manufacturing

• Large-scale cooling tower makeup water treatment

• Water reuse and reclamation systems

• Pre-treatment for industrial-scale ultrapure water production

Industries

• Municipal water utilities

• Power generation

• Pharmaceutical and biotechnology

• Electronics and semiconductor manufacturing

• Petrochemical and chemical processing

• Steel and metals manufacturing

• Food and beverage production at scale

Buy the Franklin Water FWME8040RO-BW RO Membrane Online from Cleanflow

The FWME8040RO-BW RO Membrane puts industrial-scale brackish water treatment in a standard 8040 element. At 10,500 GPD with 99.7% rejection and NSF/ANSI 61 certification, it is the high volume reverse osmosis membrane to specify when 4040 elements can no longer keep pace with plant demand. Cleanflow is an authorized Franklin Water Treatment distributor. 

The FWME8040RO-BW industrial brackish water RO membrane, compatible reverse osmosis system accessories, and replacement parts ship across Canada and the USA. Returns accepted within 30 days at returns.cleanflow.net.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do I need an 8040 membrane instead of a 4040?

When your system design requires more than 2,500 GPD per element. A single Franklin Water 8040 BW membrane is a 10,500 GPD RO membrane with 400 ft² of active area, roughly four times the output of the 4040-BW. Fewer elements means fewer pressure vessels, less piping, and a smaller system footprint. Most plants switch to the BW 8040 RO membrane format once total system demand exceeds 50,000 to 100,000 GPD.

How many elements fit in an 8040 pressure vessel?

Standard industrial pressure vessels hold 6 to 7 elements in series. With 10,500 GPD per element, a single 7-element vessel produces roughly 73,500 GPD. Plants scale by adding vessels in parallel arrays. The FWME8040RO-BW is sized for standard 8-inch vessels from Codeline, Protec, Wave Cyber, and other vessel manufacturers, making it a Franklin Water industrial reverse osmosis membrane that drops into most existing plant arrays.

Does 99.7% vs 99.6% rejection actually matter?

At industrial volume, yes. On feed water at 3,000 mg/L TDS, 99.6% rejection produces permeate at 12 mg/L TDS. At 99.7%, permeate drops to 9 mg/L. That 3 mg/L difference compresses over hundreds of thousands of gallons per day and can determine whether your permeate meets spec without a second pass, saving an entire additional treatment stage.

Can I use this for brackish groundwater desalination?

Yes, it handles brackish groundwater with TDS up to 5,000 mg/L. As an 8040 brackish water reverse osmosis membrane, the FWME8040RO-BW industrial brackish water RO membrane is built for exactly this application. Get a full water analysis first. Brackish wells often carry iron, manganese, silica, and hydrogen sulfide that require specific pre-treatment (oxidation, media filtration, antiscalant dosing) before the RO stage to prevent fouling and scaling at these flow volumes.

What pre-treatment does an industrial-scale brackish water RO system need?

Plant-scale systems need more than a carbon cartridge and a sediment filter. Typical pre-treatment trains include multimedia filtration or ultrafiltration for SDI control, cartridge filtration at 5 microns as a final guard, antiscalant dosing for hardness and silica, and sodium bisulfite or carbon beds for dechlorination. Cleanflow Utility Supply Company stocks compatible reverse osmosis filters and cartridge housings for the filtration stages. Feed water must reach the membrane with SDI below 5, free chlorine below 0.1 mg/L, and temperature between 0 and 45°C.