Reverse osmosis has been around for decades, and many in the water sector see it as a technology that has already reached peak efficiency. But as Bruce Alderman, CEO of ROTEC USA, explained in his recent appearance on The Water Entrepreneur podcast, the story is far from over. RO may be mature, but its evolution is still underway, and the next wave of improvements, technology like Flow Reversal RO (FR-RO), is already reshaping how utilities and industries think about high recovery. 

During his conversation with host Paul Gagliardo, Bruce shared that even with reverse osmosis’ long history, real innovation is still happening. “There’s still room to move,” he said. “We’ve found new patents and new processes that are even improving on Flow Reversal.” That balance – respecting the industry’s proven fundamentals while pushing it forward – is central to ROTEC’s mission. 

In the discussion, Bruce uses the analogy for explaining Flow Reversal. Traditional RO systems place the harshest, highest salinity loads on the final stage, forcing that last pressure vessel to carry a disproportionate amount of scaling and fouling. Over time, that imbalance becomes the limiting factor for performance. Bruce described ROTEC’s approach as simply “rotating the tires.” By switching the position of the most stressed pressure vessel and moving it to the front, the system avoids allowing any one membrane to remain in a punishing environment for too long. “You’re cleaning it by putting it back in the front,” he explained, creating a built-in cleaning cycle that helps maintain stable operation even at high recoveries. 

This technological advancement delivers benefits that are clear. Bruce noted that taking a system from 88% recovery to around 93–95% may sound incremental, but the impact is dramatic. “You’re cutting the waste in half,” he said. Those few percentage points directly influence brine volumes, PFAS disposal, pond life for ZLD facilities, and the overall capacity of existing treatment trains. For plants facing regulatory pressure, limited space, or rising disposal costs, that difference is operationally meaningful. 

Bruce also touched on the sectors where ROTEC sees the strongest demand for Flow Reversal. Power plants and inland facilities rely on high recovery because every gallon of waste must be managed, often through costly or capacity-limited disposal methods. Municipal utilities, especially those treating PFAS, benefit from both increased recovery and reduced concentrate volumes. And fast-moving industrial sectors, particularly food and beverage, are often among the earliest adopters of RO innovation because efficiency and sustainability targets drive them to look for more resilient solutions. 

To hear the full conversation and dive deeper into Bruce’s insights, listen to the full episode: 

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gnDxpknJ 

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/g_UtGt9C