Industrial coatings

improve water quality for precision coatings

Technologies deployed

Nanofiltration (NF) membranes — core filtration technology producing 2.5m³/hr of purified water.
Advanced pre-treatment systems — protect downstream membranes from fouling and damage.
Variable-speed drive (VSD) pumps — automatically adjust flow rates to match demand and reduce energy waste.
Storage tanks — provide surge capacity during peak production periods.
Continuous monitoring controls — track water quality parameters and adjust treatment automatically.
Modular system design — allows future capacity expansion without major infrastructure changes.

Client overview

Our client operates a surface finishing facility in Coventry that provides coating services for commercial and architectural projects.

High-quality finishes demand consistently pure water, making reliable treatment essential for maintaining coating standards and meeting customer expectations.

Challenge

Existing reverse osmosis equipment struggled to deliver the water quality needed for precision coating work.

Conductivity levels fluctuated above acceptable limits, and energy costs climbed as ageing pumps worked harder to maintain output during peak production periods.

Maintenance demands increased as conventional filtration required frequent servicing to prevent fouling. Production schedules suffered when water quality dropped below specification, forcing operators to halt coating processes until acceptable purity returned.

Objectives

Our client needed water with conductivity below 30 μS/cm to ensurecoating adhesion and finish quality.
Reduce operating costs with energy efficiency improvements.
Extend maintenance intervals and reduce labour requirements.
Future expansion plans required a scalable system that could grow with increased capacity demands — integration with existing infrastructure needed to happen without major production shutdowns or expensive pipework modifications.

Solution

Membracon designed a nanofiltration system producing 2.5 cubic metres of purified water per hour. Advanced pre-treatment protects the NF membranes, and storage tanks provide surge capacity during peak coating operations.

Variable-speed pumps adjust automatically to demand, reducing energy waste during low-flow periods. Control systems monitor water quality continuously and adjust treatment parameters to maintain consistent purity regardless of feed water variations.

Site-specific modifications integrated the new system with existing pipework and electrical supplies. Commissioning happened during planned maintenance windows to avoid disrupting customer commitments.

Results

Water quality now consistently measures below 30 μS/cm, exceeding industry standards for coating applications. Energy consumption dropped to 0.85 kWh per cubic metre, cutting previous usage by 29% and delivering immediate cost savings.

Maintenance intervals were extended by 35%, reducing labour costs and improving system uptime. Modular design allows future capacity increases without significant infrastructure changes, protecting the client’s expansion investment.

Client feedback

“Membracon’s tailored approach helped us future-proof our operations. We’ve seen measurable improvements in energy use, system reliability, and water quality.”

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