Contamination of groundwater sources due to the presence of chromium ions, a heavy metal, and the detrimental impact of it on the health of consumers have become a serious global concern. The present study was designed to understand the effects of three process variables, namely feed chromium concentration, feed pH and pressure, on chromium removal and permeate flux, by employing response surface methodology and central composite design techniques. Spiral-wound reverse-osmosis membrane was used for the removal of chromium from the groundwater samples in this study. Membrane performance, in terms of high permeate quality and flux, was evaluated by optimization of various operating conditions. The obtained experimental results were then matched with the predicted values obtained from the models. The models indicated that the highest chromium removal of 98.38% and permeate flux of 48.73 L/m² h could be achieved at the optimum feed pH of 3.00, pressure of 4 kg/cm² and feed chromium concentration of 0.431 ppm. Experimental validation confirmed that the model had higher predictive capabilities. The changes in pressure and the chromium concentration significantly affected the chromium removal and permeate flux, the former being positively correlated and the latter being negative to both the responses. Therefore, small-scale RO membranes can be used to treat aqueous solution with chromium contamination.

由于铬离子（一种重金属）的存在而对地下水源造成的污染及其对消费者健康的不利影响已成为一个严重的全球问题。本研究旨在通过采用响应面方法和中心复合设计技术来了解三个工艺变量，即进料铬浓度、进料 pH 值和压力对铬去除和渗透通量的影响。在本研究中，螺旋缠绕式反渗透膜用于去除地下水样品中的铬。在高渗透质量和通量方面的膜性能通过优化各种操作条件进行评估。然后将获得的实验结果与从模型中获得的预测值进行匹配。在最佳进料 pH 值为 3.00、压力为 4 kg/cm ²和进料铬浓度为 0.431 ppm时，可以达到²小时。实验验证证实该模型具有更高的预测能力。压力和铬浓度的变化显着影响铬去除和渗透通量，前者与两种响应呈正相关，后者与两种响应呈负相关。因此，小规模的反渗透膜可用于处理含铬污染的水溶液。