Compliance & Document Hub
- Complies with U.S. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act as amended under Food Additive Regulation 21 CFR § 177.2550 for liquid food processing and water purification in food manufacturing.
- Element parts or materials in contact with potable water are compliant to 21 CFR § 170 to 199.
- Subject to drinking water application restrictions in some countries; end-users must verify application status before use.
Executive Product Summary
The DuPont FilmTec XLE-440 is an advanced, extra-low-energy reverse osmosis brackish water membrane element engineered to deliver exceptional water purification while significantly reducing operational utility expenses. Fabricated using state-of-the-art polyamide thin-film composite chemistry, this 8-inch commercial membrane separates dissolved salts, silica, nitrates, and ammonium from water with remarkable precision. Designed specifically for industrial facility operators and reverse osmosis plant managers seeking uncompromised permeate quality, the FilmTec XLE-440 stands as the lowest pressure reverse osmosis element within the DuPont FilmTec portfolio. By leveraging an expansive 440 square feet (41 square meters) of active membrane surface area paired with a 28-mil feed spacer, this element enables system designers to minimize equipment capital expenditures (CAPEX). This massive surface area directly translates into financial savings by requiring fewer membrane elements and smaller feed pumping systems to achieve target water production capacities.
Operating under ultra-efficient standard test conditions of 125 psi (8.6 bar) and 2,000 ppm NaCl, the FilmTec XLE-440 generates an impressive permeate flow rate of 14,000 gallons per day (53 cubic meters per day) while maintaining a strict stabilized salt rejection rate of 99.0 percent. Beyond standard sodium chloride removal, this polyamide thin-film composite membrane is chemically optimized to deliver excellent rejection of difficult, small-molecular-weight contaminants. This makes it an indispensable asset for heavily regulated industrial utility water generation, demineralization, and large-scale municipal drinking water treatment facilities.
Operational robustness and maintenance efficiency are core engineered benefits of the XLE-440. It boasts the widest cleaning pH range tolerance in the reverse osmosis industry, safely operating between pH 1 and 13 during short-term, 30-minute chemical cleaning cycles. This extreme chemical tolerance allows plant technicians to execute highly aggressive clean-in-place (CIP) protocols to strip stubborn biological fouling, inorganic scaling, and organic deposition without compromising the internal membrane matrix. For continuous processing, the element safely handles a pH range of 2 to 11 and can process massive feed flows up to 75 gallons per minute (17 cubic meters per hour). To ensure absolute longevity, procurement and plant engineering teams must enforce specific operating limits: the maximum operating pressure is strictly rated at 600 psi (41 bar), and the maximum continuous operating temperature is 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius). For operations where the feedwater pH exceeds 10, the maximum temperature threshold decreases to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius). By strictly managing feed silt density indices (SDI) below 5 and ensuring entirely chlorine-free feed water (free chlorine tolerance is strictly < 0.1 ppm), operators can ensure this element delivers sustained low-energy performance and substantially lowers the total cost of ownership (TCO) across the lifespan of the RO plant.
Applications & Industry Use-Cases
- Municipal Drinking Water Production: The extra-low energy requirements and rigorous 99.0% stabilized salt rejection make this membrane ideal for large-scale municipal desalination plants converting brackish water into safe, potable public drinking water.
- Industrial Utility Water Generation: Capable of high-volume 14,000 gpd output at low pressures, the XLE-440 is deployed in large manufacturing facilities to generate the high-purity utility water necessary for cooling towers and generalized plant operations.
- Industrial Water Demineralization: Thanks to its specialized polyamide thin-film composite structure, this element excels at demineralizing source water, delivering excellent selective rejection of silica, nitrates, and ammonium for sensitive industrial processes.
- Water Reuse and Recycling Systems: Industrial facilities seeking to lower their raw water footprint utilize this membrane to treat and recycle challenging wastewater streams, capitalizing on its robust pH 1 to 13 cleaning tolerance to manage heavy organic fouling loads.
- Food and Beverage Liquid Processing: Complying with rigorous USA FDA Food Additive Regulation 21 CFR § 177.2550, this membrane is verified as safe for processing liquid foods and purifying source water destined directly for human food manufacturing.
- Boiler Feed Water Pre-treatment: By aggressively rejecting destructive silica and scaling minerals, the membrane protects downstream thermal equipment from scaling accumulation, thereby improving thermal transfer efficiency and minimizing costly boiler blowdown frequencies.
Cross-Compatibility & System Integration
The DuPont FilmTec XLE-440 is meticulously engineered to standard industrial 8-inch sizing conventions, ensuring seamless drop-in cross-compatibility with the vast majority of commercial brackish water reverse osmosis pressure vessels. Measuring exactly 40.0 inches (1,016 millimeters) in total length and 7.9 inches (201 millimeters) in outer diameter, this robust element securely fits into multi-element pressure housings without requiring custom mechanical modifications. A durable fiberglass outer wrap encases the membrane layers, providing exceptional structural integrity to resist expansion, torquing, and deformation under fluctuating hydrostatic pressure loads up to a maximum of 600 psi.
For streamlined and secure system integration, DuPont supplies the necessary critical connection hardware directly alongside the membrane element. Each XLE-440 element is shipped with a dedicated interconnector coupler (DuPont part number 259171) specifically designed to flawlessly join the 1.5-inch inner diameter permeate tubes of adjacent elements in a series. Furthermore, to ensure an absolute, leak-free seal between these elements, each supplied coupler includes two high-performance 2-125 EPR O-rings (part number 216370).
System integrators, mechanical contractors, and plant maintenance engineers must ensure that pressure vessel assemblies are dynamically balanced to maintain a maximum pressure drop of 15 psi (1.0 bar) per individual element. Across a standard pressure vessel housing a minimum of four elements, the cumulative pressure drop must not exceed 50 psi (3.5 bar). Proper installation utilizing the supplied U-cup brine seals and precision O-rings guarantees optimal directional flow, effectively preventing untreated feed water bypass and ensuring maximum high-purity permeate extraction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the permeate flow rate of the DuPont FilmTec XLE-440?
Under standard operational test conditions of 125 psi and 2,000 ppm NaCl, the FilmTec XLE-440 element generates an impressive permeate flow rate of 14,000 gallons per day (53 cubic meters per day).
Q: Is the FilmTec XLE-440 FDA compliant for food processing?
Yes, when used unmodified and according to good manufacturing practices, the XLE-440 membrane strictly complies with the U.S. FDA Food Additive Regulation 21 CFR § 177.2550. It is fully approved for processing liquid food and purifying water for food manufacturing.
Q: What is the maximum operating pressure for the XLE-440 membrane?
The maximum continuous operating pressure for this polyamide thin-film composite membrane is 600 psi (41 bar). Exceeding this critical limit may compromise the structural integrity of the fiberglass outer wrap and damage internal membrane layers.
Q: Can the DuPont FilmTec XLE-440 tolerate chlorine exposure?
No, the membrane has a highly restrictive free chlorine tolerance of strictly < 0.1 ppm. DuPont explicitly notes that oxidation damage is not covered under warranty, requiring all residual free chlorine to be completely removed by pretreatment before the water contacts the element.
Q: What are the dimensions of the XLE-440 element?
The element features standard 8-inch commercial dimensions, measuring exactly 40.0 inches (1,016 mm) in overall length, 7.9 inches (201 mm) in outer diameter, and utilizes a standard 1.5-inch (38 mm) inner diameter permeate tube.
Q: Where can I buy the DuPont FilmTec XLE-440 in bulk?
You can source the DuPont FilmTec XLE-440 extra-low-energy membrane in bulk quantities directly from Growthbet LTD. Contact our specialized procurement engineering team at sales@growthbet.net for a comprehensive DDP landed-cost quotation.
Source This Product From Growthbet LTD
Growthbet LTD is a UK-registered global industrial procurement company specializing in sourcing and delivering technical components under a full-liability DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) model. When you source through Growthbet, the company assumes complete responsibility for supplier verification, quality control, international freight, customs clearance, and last-mile delivery to your facility — with a single, transparent invoice and no hidden costs.
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