Reverse osmosis is an important technology for the production of drinking and process water, in which the selection of the high-pressure pump has a significant influence on the process and acoustic characteristics of the system. In this thesis, a pilot-scale reverse osmosis system was upgraded, and the existing system with a Hydra-Cell diaphragm pump was compared with a system incorporating a Danfoss APP 0.6 axial-piston pump and a booster pump. The systems were compared in terms of achieved pressures and volumetric flow rates, as well as their acoustic characteristics at different operating pressures and measurement distances. Both systems provided comparable process parameters and satisfactorily met the required operating conditions. The acoustic analysis revealed differences in both relative digital levels and the frequency content of the emitted sound. The Hydra-Cell system exhibited more pronounced lower-frequency components, whereas the Danfoss system exhibited more pronounced higher-frequency components. A-frequency weighting further demonstrated the importance of frequency content when evaluating acoustic characteristics. From an acoustic perspective, the Danfoss system showed no advantage over the existing Hydra-Cell system; therefore, the replacement cannot be considered beneficial in terms of reducing acoustic disturbance.
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