Demineralized Drinking Water in Local Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Stations and the Potential Effect on Human Health

Water is important for life and its elements are very useful for human body to some extent. Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a very effective method in minimizing the concentrations of some elements in drinking water treatment. Therefore, the goal of this study is to measure the concentrations of some important parameters for human body and the role of Reverse Osmosis (RO) method in the local drinking water treatment stations in minimizing these constituents. This goal was achieved by comparing the effluent of five local drinking water treatment stations that depends on Reverse Osmosis as a primary treatment for the water produced from the Al-Diwaniyah water treatment plant. These parameters are PH, EC, TDS, Ca, Mg, and TH. Therefore, samples were collected and tested in Al-Qadisiyah Environmental Authority for these local drinking water treatment stations for seven weeks, in order to compare the effluent with the minimum concentrations required for human body according to the health studies and guide lines. The results show that all the drinking waters produced by these stations were below the WHO and Iraq standards. The concentrations of Calcium were in the range from 5.3 to 25 mg/l, while the concentrations of magnesium were in the range from 9.5 to 18.2 mg/l. Therefore, drinking water produced from RO stations should be remineralised to increase the concentrations of necessary constituents in order to minimize the risk of the potential influence of low level concentrations containing calcium carbonate or by adding calcium compounds to the water.

Suggested Strategies in Water Treatment by Using Situ Pressure in Reverse Osmosis

Nowadays desalination is one of the main resources to obtain water in many areas. The most advanced method for water filtration is reverse osmosis. In this system, water is injected into semi-membranes by using power pumping, and its salt water is taken away from the solution. This paper has tried to offer guidelines to use the pressure created?in situ?of harvesting water, instead of utilizing power pump, which produces the necessary pressure for the reverse osmosis. These guidelines have been divided into 2 main groups: Using the created natural pressure, and the other way is using the pressures that are caused by the constructions built for harvesting water.

A Pilot-scale Demonstration of Reverse Osmosis Unit for Treatment of Coal-bed Methane Co-produced Water and Its Modeling

This study presents the first demonstration project in China for treatment of coal-bed methane(CBM) co-produced water and recycling.The work aims to provide a research and innovation base for solving the pollution problem of CBM extraction water.The reverse osmosis(RO) unit is applied to the treatment of CBM co-produced water.The results indicate that system operation is stable,the removal efficiency of the total dissolved solids(TDS) is as high as 97.98%,and Fe,Mn,and F-are almost completely removed.There is no suspended solids(SS) detected in the treated water.Furthermore,a model for the RO membrane separation process is developed to describe the quantitative relationship between key physical quantities-membrane length,flow velocity,salt concentration,driving pressure and water recovery rate,and the water recovery restriction equation based on mass balance is developed.This model provides a theoretical support for the RO system design and optimization.The TDS in the CBM co-produced water are removed to meet the "drinking water standards" and "groundwater quality standards" of China and can be used as drinking water,irrigation water,and livestock watering.In addition,the cost for treatment of CBM co-produced water is assessed,and the RO technology is an efficient and cost-effective treatment method to remove pollutants.

Studies on Feasibility of Reverse Osmosis (Membrane) Technology for Treatment of Tannery Wastewater

Tanneries reusing wastewater by combination of conventional and advanced Reverse Osmosis (RO) treatment technologies were assessed for technical and economic viabilities. Conventional treatment methods such as neutralization, clari-flocculation and biological processes are followed to clean the effluents before feeding to RO membrane modules. The characteristics of untreated composite effluents such as pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), and total chromium were in the range of 4.00-4.60, 680-3600 mg/L, 1698-7546 mg/L, 980-1480 mg/L, 4200-14500 mg/L, and 26.4-190 mg/L, respectively. Inorganic ions like Ca2+, Na+, Cl– and SO42– were found more in the wastewaters. Conventional treatments significantly removed the organic pollutants however failed to remove dissolved inorganic salts. Membrane technology removed the salts as well as remaining organic pollutants and the product water is reused in the process. The studied tanneries (5 numbers) have achieved 93-98%, 92-99% and 91-96% removal of TDS, sodium and chloride, respectively. Seventy to eighty five percentage of wastewater was recovered and recycled in the industrial processes. The rejects are subject to either solar evaporation system or Multiple Effect Evaporation (MEE) technology. The resulting salts are collected in polythene bags and disposed into scientifically managed secured land fill (SLF) site. The cost of wastewater treatment for operation and maintenances of RO including the pre-treatments (conventional methods) is INR 100-110 m-3.

One-Step Reverse Osmosis Based on Riverbank Filtration for Future Drinking Water Purification

The presence of newly emerging pollutants in the aquatic environment poses great challenges for drink-ing water treatment plants.Due to their low concentrations and unknown characteristics,emerging pol-lutants cannot be efficiently removed by conventional water treatment processes,making technically,economically,and environmentally friendly water purification technologies increasingly important.This article introduces a one-step reverse osmosis(OSRO)concept consisting of riverbank filtration(RBF)and reverse osmosis(RO)for drinking water treatment.The OSRO concept combines the relatively low-cost natural pretreatment of river water with an advanced engineered purification system.RBF pro-vides a continuous natural source of water with stable water quality and a robust barrier for contami-nants.With the pre-removal of particles,organic matter,organic micro-pollutants(OMPs),and microbes,RBF becomes an ideal source for a purification system based on RO membranes,in comparison with the direct intake of surface water.OSRO treatment removes almost 99.9%of the particles,pathogens,viruses,and OMPs,as well as the vast majority of nutrients,and thus meets the requirements for the chlorine-free delivery of drinking water with high biostability.The OSRO treatment is cost effective com-pared with the standard conventional series of purification steps involving sprinkling filters,softening,and activated carbon.Artificial bank filtration(ABF),which functions as an artificial recharge in combi-nation with a sand filtration system,is proposed as an alternative for RBF in the OSRO concept to supply drinking water from locally available resources.It is also suggested that the OSRO concept be imple-mented with wind power as an alternative energy source in order to be more sustainable and renewable.An OSRO-based decentralized water system is proposed for water reclaiming and reuse.It is suggested that future water treatment focus on the combination of natural and engineered systems to provide drinking water through technically efficient,financially feasible,resource reusable,and environmentally relevant means.

Microbial Removal from Secondary Treated Wastewater Using a Hybrid System of Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis

The efficiency of advanced membranes towards removal of general and specific microbes from wastewater was investigated. The treatment included a subsequent system of activated sludge, ultrafiltration （hollow fibre membranes with 100 kDa cut-off, and spiral wound membranes with 20 kDa cut-off）, and RO （reverse osmosis）. The removal evaluation of screened microbes present in treated wastewater showed that hollow fibre membrane rejected only 1 log （90% rejection） of the TPC （total microbial count）, TC （total coliforms）, and FC （faecal coliforms）. A higher effectiveness was observed with spiral wound, removing 2-3 logs （99%-99.9%） of TPC and complete rejection of TC and FC. The RO system was successful in total rejection of all received bacteria. The removal evaluation of inoculated specific types of bacteria showed that the hollow membranes removed 2 logs （99%） of inoculated E. coli （10^7-10^8 cfu/mL inoculum）, 2-3 logs （99%-99.9%） of Enterococus spp. （10^7-10^10 cfu/mL inoculum）, 1-2 logs （90%-99%） of Salmonella （10^8-10^10 cfu/mL inoculum） and 1-2 logs （90%-99%） of Shigella （10^5-10^6 cfu/mL inoculum）. The spiral wound was significantly efficient in rejecting further 3 logs of E. coil, 5 logs of Enterococus spp., 4 logs of Salmonella, and a complete rejection of all received bacteria was accomplished by RO membrane. The results indicate that Gram positive bacteria were removed much more efficiently compared to the Gram negative ones, the rationale behind such behaviour is based on cell walls elasticity.

An Air Operated Domestic Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis Plant: Economically Sustainable Solution for Safe Drinking Water Supply for Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology Affected Areas in Sri Lanka

Chronic Kidney Disease with unknown etiology (CKDu) is one of the crucial health issues in North Central, Uva, North Western, North, Central, and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka and incapacitates the kidney function. The main source for the CKDu has not yet been identified, though many scientists believed that the number of certain drinking water quality parameters is changed due to the contamination of water sources by agricultural activities. Hence, the government of Sri Lanka introduces electrically driven Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis (BWRO) plants with a capacity of 10 tones/day to supply safe drinking water for the impacted community though it is an energy-intensive process. Concurrently, a smaller version of an electrically driven BWRO plant was introduced to the rural farming community for their domestic use. However, it was not practically worked out due to various reasons such as high cost, unavailability of electrical power supply for those villages. In this study, an economical air operated domestic use BWRO plant with zero-emission was designed. This anticipated system significantly reduces the government expenditures to subsidize the water purification cost by 50% of the existing expenses. Besides, simple payback time was found to be 2.5 years, and the benefit-cost ratio to be more than 1. Evaluating the performance with the conventional values, it comprehends with more sustainable and economically viable system compared to the existing method of water purification.

Performance of Nanofiltration (NF) and Low Pressure Reverse Osmosis (LPRO) Membranes in the Removal of Fluorine and Salinity from Brackish Drinking Water

Certain areas in Senegal have a serious problem of high fluoride and salinity in underground water because of soil properties. This water currently used for drink has a bad taste on consumption and caused diseases like dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis. A membrane filtration plant constructed by Pall Corporation was improved through nanofiltration (NF) and Low Pressure Reverse Osmosis (LPRO). Both NF and LPRO membranes were shown applicable for salinity and fluoride ions removal from brackish and high fluorinated drinking water in a remote community. The NF membrane has given a fluorine retention rate varying between 63.3% and 71% while the LPRO membrane allow to reach 97 to 98.9% for fluorine rejection. Highest salinity rejection rates expressed through conductivity measurements are around 46% and 97% for respectively NF and LPRO.

Research Progress of Brackish Water Desalination by Reverse Osmosis

Brackish water (BW) desalination is a primary path to relieve the shortage of water. As one of the BW desalination methods, reverse osmosis (RO) technology has advantage for both technology and process procedure. The expounding of this research studied or reviewed recent years, reverse osmosis membrane, energy recovery, new energy and application technology in BW desalination of RO at home and abroad. Wind power and solar energy can be combined with energy recovery device for RO. The research also explains that BW desalination by RO is practical and feasible in some areas in China.

Biological Treatability of Low Total Dissolved Solids (LTDS) Using SBR as a Pre-Treatment for Reverse Osmosis

Huge quantity of effluents is generated from pharmaceutical industries attributed to their wide array of manufacturing and maintenance processes. Wastewaters from pharmaceuticals are characterized by the presence of solids, pH, temperature, biodegradable organic compounds, unusual turbidity, hardness and conductivity. Wastewater from pharmaceutical industry arising from various units is categorised as low total dissolved solids (LTDS) and high total dissolved solids (HTDS) based on the concentration of total dissolved solids. The present study focuses on treatment of LTDS using a combination of biological treatment followed by membrane process, reverse osmosis. This research presents the results from the pilot-scale studies focussed on biological treatment using SBR as pre-treatment for RO towards the removal of LTDS effluent. Three-month data on a daily basis is presented. The efficiency of the process was tested with a reduction in parameters like total dissolved solids and chemical oxygen demand. SBR tested for its suitability as a preliminary treatment for the Reverse Osmosis process during the months of August-October. The highest and lowest TDS reduction was recorded as 9.72% and ?4.67% in the month of August. The highest and least COD reduction was recorded as 87.28% and 80.66% in the same month. The highest and lowest TDS reduction was recorded as 0.84% and ?7.92% in the month of September. The highest and least COD reduction was recorded as 87.07% and 83.28% in the same month. The performance of RO tested for its efficiency in removing the TDS and COD after SBR as pre-treatment. The highest and lowest TDS reduction was recorded as 94.93% and 93.27% in the month of August. The highest and least COD reduction was recorded as 96.84% and 90.19% in the same month. The highest and lowest TDS reduction was recorded at 96.53% and 91.25% in the month of October. The highest and least COD reduction was recorded as 94.31% and 72.57% in the same month. SBR has proved to be a promising solution for pre-treatment removing all substances that might result in membrane fouling. Hence, the present study concludes that a combination of SBR and RO will be a promising solution for effective removal of TDS and COD from pharmaceutical wastewaters.

Pilot Scale Biological Treatment as Pre-Treatment for Reverse Osmosis

Treatment of pharmaceutical wastewaters is a challenging task owing to their complexity and pollution load, variability in strength of waste streams accompanied with shock loads. Since no single treatment system is a viable option, integration of existing systems with advanced physical/chemical processes has been gaining attention for treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater. In the present study, two biological treatment methods were evaluated for their efficiency as pre-treatment system for RO which are sequencing batch reactor and membrane bioreactor. Efficiency of biological treatments tested SBR and MBR was pre-sented in terms of percentage removal of physico-chemical parameters. Total dissolved solids removal by SBR was 31.82% while MBR showed 29.25% reduction. Chemical oxygen demand removal by SBR was 69.54% while MBR showed 30.35% removal. Efficiency of combined treatments SBR-RO and MBR-RO was presented in terms of removal of total dissolved solids, COD and ammonia. TDS removal was the highest in the combination of SBR-RO with 95.94% removal, while MBR-RO combination resulted in 87.29% removal. Chemical oxygen demand was achieved maximum with the combination of MBR-RO 92.33% while competitive results were achieved with the combination SBR-RO also with 88.62% removal. Removal of ammonia was maximum with the combination SBR-RO 87.5%, while competitive results were obtained with MBR-RO 85.51%. From the results, it can be understood that SBR was efficient in removing ammonia, total dissolved solids and was equally competent in removing chemical oxygen demand. This study concludes that combined treatment of SBR-RO proves to be promising in treating pharmaceutical wastewaters.

Design and Operation of Small-Scale Photovoltaic-Driven Reverse Osmosis (PV-RO) Desalination Plant for Water Supply in Rural Areas

The alarming water and energy crisis in many regions of the world can be eased by combining renewable energy with desalination technologies. The ADIRA project funded by the EU looked for demonstrating the feasibility of water desalination in areas around the Mediterranean by installing a number of autonomous desalination systems (ADS) which are able to convert brackish or seawater into potable water for the needs of small communities. Within the activities of the ADIRA project a reverse osmosis unit powered by photovoltaic electricity was installed in a village in the northern part of Jordan with a capacity of 0.5 m3/day. The system was composed of a softener, reverse osmosis unit, PV panels (432 Wp) and storage batteries. Residential type “OSMONICS” membrane (TFM-100) was utilized in the RO unit. Field tests were performed on brackish water (1700 mg/L total dissolved solids (TDS)). This paper sheds the light on the process flow diagram, sizing of the system main components and presents some of the results obtained.

Study on brackish water treatment technology

Based on the characters of deep well water quality in Fenxi Mining Group in Liulin, the feasibilities of two treatment technologies which use electrodialysis and reverse osmosis are analyzed. Through analyzing and comparing, reverse osmosis technology has several advantages, such as good treatment effect, convenient operating management and low run cost.

Solar-Driven Water Treatment: New Technologies, Challenges, and Futures

In this review, the new solar water treatment technologies, including solar water desalination in two direct and indirect methods, are comprehensively presented. Recent advances and applications of five major solar desalination technologies include solar-powered humidification–dehumidification, multi-stage flash desalination, multi-effect desalination, RO, and solar stills. Each technology’s productivity, energy consumption, and water production costs are presented. Also, common methods of solar water disinfection have been reviewed as one of the common and low-cost methods of water treatment, especially in areas with no access to drinking water. However, although desalination technologies have many social, economic, and public health benefits, they are energy-intensive and negatively affect the environment. In addition, the disposal of brine from the desalination processes is one of the most challenging and costly issues. In this regard, the environmental effects of desalination technologies are presented and discussed. Among direct solar water desalination technologies, solar still technology is a low-cost, low-tech, and low-investment method suitable for remote areas, especially in developing countries with low financial support and access to skilled workers. Indirect solar-driven water desalination technologies, including thermal and membrane technologies, are more reliable and technically more mature. Recently, RO technology has received particular attention thanks to its lower energy demand, lower cost, and available solutions to increase membrane durability. Disposal of brines can account for much of the water cost and potentially negatively affect the environment. Therefore, in addition to efforts to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar technologies and water treatment processes, future research studies should consider developing new solutions to this issue.

Assessment of Standard Criteria Implementation in Heamodialysis Water Treatment Units in Sharkia Governorate

Introduction: Haemodialysis is the most well-established form of treatment for ESRD. Method: To evaluate the implementation of standard criteria in heamodialysis water treatment units in Sharkia governorate and to determine the weak points in application of standard criteria, and reach the optimal standards to improve pt. outcomes, across the sectional study was conducted at 30 heamodialysis units of Sharkia governorate, using a modified questionnaire was developed based on MOH protocol and international guidelines such as CARI guidelines, AAMI guidelines and others by the researchers. All data were collected, tabulated and statistically analyzed using SPSS 22.0 for windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: Of the 30 units, the majority more than 80% of the units achieved the infrastructure and schematic structure, contain water purification devices, good infection control policies, proper chemical disinfection, good monitoring and quality control, accepted maintenance technician evaluation and collected processed water samples results matched decree of 63 for 1996. Conclusion: Most of the studied units nearly fulfilled the standard specifications of both MOH and AAMI. Ensuring that water quality meets AAMI standards and recommendations will minimize patient exposure to potential contaminants such as chemical hazards and endotoxemia associated with the use of the treated water for HD.

Study and Proposal for a Hyperfluorinated Brackish Water Treatment System in the Fatick Region, Case of Diouroup (Senegal)

Groundwater is the main resource for human consumption in many countries, especially in developing countries. This groundwater is often brackish and hyperfluorinated, which leads to diseases such as dental and bone fluorosis, etc. The water from the Diouroup water drainage facilities, like those from many other water drainage facilities in the regions of Fatick, Kaolack, Diourbel and the area of Touba, is facing this problem. To solve these problems, several physicochemical and membrane methods have been implemented. In this work we have briefly outlined some of these methods and we have chosen one of them, low pressure reverse osmosis. In addition, this technique is very simple to operate and maintain. Reverse osmosis provides good quality water in a single step, without the need for additional sterilization or remineralization treatments. We then carried out simulations with the Reverse Osmosis System Analysis (ROSA) software. For reasonable operating parameters, we have noticed a low feed pressure of 11.58 bars, a good average flow of raw water of 27.79 L/m2/h and a recovery rate of the first pass of 75.01%. The results obtained also showed a good quality of the permeate which respects the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) on drinking water. The fluorides of 0.59 mg/L have a recovery rate of 90.8% while the chlorides of 59.09 mg/L have a recovery rate of 92.12% as for the Total Dissolved Solids of 184.90 mg/L for an abatement of 92%. Finally, the low energy consumption of the process makes it possible to consider it in coupling with an electric supply by photovoltaic solar collectors for isolated sites.

Fertilizer drawn forward osmosis as an alternative to 2nd pass seawater reverse osmosis: Estimation of boron removal and energy consumption

Agriculture is the largest consumer of freshwater.Desalinated seawater is an important alternative water source for sustainable irrigation.However,some issues of the current desalination technology hinder its use for agriculture irrigation,including low boron removal and high energy consumption.This study systematically explored the feasibility of employing fertilizer drawn forward osmosis(FDFO)as an alternative to 2nd pass reverse osmosis(RO)by considering the boron removal performance and specific energy consumption(SEC).Different operating conditions were investigated,such as the boron and NaCl concentrations in feed solution(FS),draw solution(DS)concentration,pH,the volume ratio of FS to DS,membrane orientation,flow rate,and operating temperature.The results indicated that a low boron concentration in FS and high DS pH(pH=11.0)decreased the boron solute flux,and led to low final boron concentration in the DS.The other operating conditions had negligible influence on the final DS boron concentration.Also,a lower flow rate and higher specific water flux with certain permeate water volumes were conducive to reducing the SEC of the FDFO process.Overall,our study paves a new way of using FDFO in irrigation,which avoids the phytotoxicity and human health risk of boron.The results show the potential of FDFO as an alternative to 2nd pass RO for irrigation water production.

Economic and Technical Analysis of a Reverse-Osmosis Water Desalination Plant Using DEEP-3.2 Software

Reverse osmosis （RO） is proved to be the most reliable, cost effective, and energy efficient in producing fresh water compared to other desalination technologies. It is the fastest-growing desalination technology with a greater number of installations around the world. The economic and technical performance of a medium-capacity RO desalination plant （2,000 m^3/day） proposed to be installed in Umm Qasr city south of Basra, Iraq is analyzed using DEEP-3.2 software created by the International Atomic Energy Agency （IAEA）. This port city is located on the Gulf shore and does not have any fresh water resources. The analysis shows that the cost of fresh water produced by this plant is US$0.986/m^3 with a good quality of fresh water （279 ppm）, which is a reasonable price for this remote area. The analysis also shows an increase in water production cost of about 12% at increased electricity price from 0.06 to 0.1 US$/kWh, 53% when the seawater salinity increased from 35,000 to 45,000 ppm, 2.5% when the seawater temperature decreased from 33 ℃ to 20 ℃, and 0.71% when the interest rate increased from 0% to 5%. Pumping fresh water from the Basra purification plant （located 175 km north of Umm Qasr） is 22.16 times the cost and 236.7% poorer quality than the fresh water produced by the RO plant.

Experimental Investigation on Saline Water Purification Using Reverse Osmosis by a Novus Biomimetic Membrane

A substantial amount of Earth’s water is inadequate for human consumption while local demand is outstripping traditional supplies in many world regions;thereby,brackish and seawater treatment has become a prerequisite.This investigation suggested a complete design of an RO-based desalination filter with a multilayer biomimetic membrane.The study demonstrated a comprehensive method for experimentally fabricating a proprietary biomaterial-based multilayer nano-porous membrane.This analysis revealed that Silk Nano-Fibril(SNF)and Hydroxyapatite(HAP)extracted from Bombyx Mori silkworm cocoons may be utilized to manufacture highly methodical multilayer membranes by incorporating protein-self-assembly and in-situ-bio-mineralization.Membrane’s aquaporin layer containing lipid-bilayers has rapid water permeability and high efficacy at eliminating salt ions and contaminants.The 4µm thick SNF/HAP membrane showed a considerable decrease in salinity,with a salt rejection of 93.33%.The proposed membrane had a saline water permeability of 6.58 LMH/bar,almost 61.09%higher than conventional TFC membranes.Hydrophobic barrier and spiral-wrapped filter architecture of the membrane enable low fouling and self-cleaning properties.The schematic filter design and biomimetic fabrication of the SNF/HAP membrane have formulated a conceptual framework that might direct to the broad-scale,low-cost RO water purification filters,increasing the efficiency of water desalination and boosting the effectiveness of water treatment technologies to reduce potable water scarcity.