This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 is an introduction to membrane technology fundamentals for water treatment. The presentation describes each technology and the differences in their performance and products used....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 covering back to basics describes high pressure membrane technology and it's applications. Covered are nanofiltration and reverse osmosis along with the fundamentals of the technology. Products are described....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 for Back to Basics on membrane technology discusses pretreatment chemistry for microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. Water chemistry is presented and it's influence on the membrane treatment methods....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 for Back to Basics on membrane technology discusses various aspects of a reverse osmosis system design. Included are the impact of water quality, desired permeate quality and design influences....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 for Back to Basics on membrane technology discusses reverse osmosis plant troubleshooting, fouling and cleaning....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 for Back to Basics on membrane technology discusses microfiltration and ultrafiltration water quality and how it influences system performance. System design and MF/UF applications are presented....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 for Back to Basics on membrane technology discusses low pressure system design concepts. Comparisons within the MF and UF technology are made with respect to design, performance and applications....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 for Back to Basics on membrane technology discusses low pressure pilot plants and testing. Why to pilot, when to pilot, what to track and how to interpret the results are all given....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 for Back to Basics on membrane technology discusses water reuse and membrane bioreactors. A description of the various aspects of water reuse and how to address them is given. Advantages and disadvantages of different methods are reviewed....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 for Back to Basics on membrane technology gives a comparison of pilot plant data to actual plant data. How to evaluate piloting needs and procurement costs are presented....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 that described Optimizing Performance and Troubleshooting Techniques for Membrane Plants discussed membrane plant start-up and how to avoid initial problems. In addition, troubleshooting methods in a new facility are reviewed along with corrective measures....

This presentation from a preconference workshop in 2014 that addressed Optimizing Performance and Troubleshooting Techniques for Membrane Plants. IN field troubleshooting along with cleaning recommendations were given. Normalization of data was reviewed...

This presentation on pretreatment issues was from a preconference workshop in 2014 that described Optimizing Performance and Troubleshooting Techniques for Membrane Plants. The results of poor pretreatment is detailed with the impact on membrane treatment. Different means of pretreating a water stream for a membrane plant are reviewed....

This presentation on membrane autopsies is from a preconference workshop in 2014 that addresses issues from an Operators point of view. Why and when to perform a membrane autopsy along with methods to determine foulants and damage to membrane elements is given....

This presentation on membrane system design is from a preconference workshop in 2014 that discussed optimization of membrane plant performance and troubleshooting. Different aspects of plant design including pretreatment, skid configuration, flow and even cleaning are discussed....

This presentation on advancements of membrane technology is from a preconference workshop in 2014 that discussed optimization in membrane plant performance. New developments in large diameter elements system design, membrane manufacturing and even concentrate disposal were given....

This presentation on antisaclants is from a preconference workshop in 2014 that discussed optimization in membrane plant performance. A preliminary discussion about scale formation along with it's importance in membrane systems is given. Diagnosing membrane system problems is given along with solutions to address each issue is discussed...

This presentation on membrane system design from an energy viewpoint is from a preconference workshop in 2014 that discussed optimization in membrane plant performance. Booster pumps, energy recovery devices and alternatives to each are given. System design is discussed and a case study on North Lee County in Florida is presented....

This case study of the upgrades to the Bonita Springs Brackish water membrane plant was given at a Preconference Workshop on optimizing membrane plant performance in 2014. Energy recovery options, plant redesign and membrane upgrade choices are all described as well as final results of the effort....

This presentation reviewing the operations of the Sweetwater Authority's Reynolds membrane plant was given at a Preconference Workshop in 2014 that discussed membrane plants from an operators point of view. It shows most of the plant operations and gives some background on the membrane facility...

This presentation reviewing the transition from a conventional treatment plant to a membrane facility in Mansfield Texas was given at a Preconference Workshop in 2014 that discussed membrane plants from an operators point of view. Training issues, start up concerns, new terminology are reviewed along pictures of the facility....

This presentation reviewing the transition to as microfiltration plant at the Water Replenishment District in California was given at a Preconference Workshop in 2014 that discussed membrane plants from an operators point of view. Influences on the Alamitos Barrier along with operating challenges were given. The results of the change to MF and miti...

This presentation reviewing the solids handling at a Zero Liquid Discharge ( ZLD) plant at the Twin Oaks Valley facility in San Marcos, California was given at a Preconference Workshop in 2014 that discussed membrane plants from an operators point of view. Solids characterization, generation and handling along with operating challenges of this ul...

The paper in general provides an in-depth case study of a greenfield microfiltration plant, summarizing issues from conceptual design to construction. The paper will be beneficial for utilities that are embarking on multiple capital projects that are interrelated and are critical to advancing their infrastructure....

This paper presents preliminary findings from the laboratory scale operation of Therma-SEP? using model saline waters and produced waters. A novel inorganic-organic composite membrane was used to evaluate the process....

This paper presents a study of the comparative features such as stable and cost-effective membrane operation of microfiltration (MF) versus direct media filtration (DMF). This research was conducted at a seawater desalination plant in the City of Busan in Korea for more than 2 years. The feasibility study (MF=>RO) was prepared to find the optimum o...

This paper describes ten years of successful operation of membrane ultrafiltration at the Duck River Utility Commission (CRUC) and how the technology demonstrated the highest performance and reliability, comparable or better than any standard treatment technology. Energy use, water quality and plant expansions are all discussed....

The paper describes a project to investigate the rejection efficiencies of a membrane element for arsenite (As III) and arsenate (As V). In this study, the efficiency of arsenic removal with a reverse osmosis single element pilot plant from naturally contaminated ground water was evaluated. A series of pilot studies were conducted at Eden, Rainb...

This paper describes a novel hybrid process of coagulation-bubbling-ultrafiltration to study membrane fouling phenomena by surface water. The relationship of bubbles, flocs and the hollow fibers was explored....

This paper presents the challenges faced during design, construction, start-up and first year of operation with retrofitting a 90+-year old plant with the latest and greatest surface water treatment technology....

This paper is a case study of the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) in Orange County, California that provides potable water (local groundwater and imported), wastewater treatment for the production of recycled water, and natural treatment system to clean urban runoff. IRWD has several membrane treatment facilities that include the Deep Aquifer T...

This paper discussed the theoretical and experimental validation of a water gap membrane distillation (WGMD) process that has been successfully tested for seawater desalination. A detailed investigation on the influence of thickness of the water gap was carried in this study. Water vapor flux enhancement in the WGMD process is been described with t...

This paper describes an in-depth investigation of a steel companies waste water by looking at the feed water quality including size fractionation and chemical analyses of feed water constituents, bench scale fouling and scaling studies while applying some proprietary geochemical and RO process modeling tools. From these analyses, they were able ...

Electrodialysis (ED) processes require the application of an electric field in order to drive the migration of ions and cause demineralization. The conventional approach is to utilize metal electrodes (stainless steel for the cathode and noble metals for the anode for ED, and noble metal electrodes for electrodialysis reversal EDR) and perform wat...

This paper and presentation review the performance of one of the first large-scale membrane systems using Dow ultrafiltration (UF) membranes after 18 months of operation. Performance in terms of membrane integrity, permeability, log removal value (LRV) results, and cleaning requirements are reported over this period. The improvements made to redu...

In this case study, a pressurized microfilter (MF) was used without pretreatment processes such as screening and coagulation. In order to overcome the fouling issue associated with the secondary effluent, the efforts to make were to find a more effective membrane cleaning method. The findings from the case study can be a base in designing and opera...

This paper and presentation discuss past and present experiences with membrane plant operational assistance, including plant start-up and guidance, data normalization and evaluation, troubleshooting, process optimization, membrane cleaning assessment and optimization, membrane replacement, pilot testing, and energy savings optimization, among other...

The first part of the presentation will discuss how to review membrane system performance by looking at historical trends, checking operating sequences to determine effectiveness and perform a close review of cleaning performance checking appropriate chemical dose/strength to identify operational changes. The goal is to improve overall efficiency a...

This study presents an effective case study that demonstrates successful removal of algae and compounds associated with taste and odor in an advanced process train: This paper presents results of one-year-study conducted at a drinking water plant in City of Incheon, Korea. The advanced treatment process that includes microfiltration has demonstra...

This paper describes a model system to predict fouling of low pressure membrane systems using a constant flux model....

This paper describes the work on advanced oxidation of phenolic pollutants in reverse osmosis concentrate....

This paper will focus on the use of calcite beds for post treatment of soft waters. A comparison of the benefits of calcite beds over lime dosing systems will be shared. Desalinated waters require post treatment to adjust the pH, alkalinity and hardness suitable for the intended use and applicable standards. Conventional water remineralization ca...

This paper describes the use of tubular membrane filtration (TMF) as an alternative to traditional settling methods that may offer advantages, particularly in cases of high levels of silica and hardness. The effectiveness of TMF compared to a gravity clarification model is discussed in this paper. The TMF system used in this comparison was a cro...

This poster presentation describes the examination of the effect of MnO2(S) on membrane fouling when it is used as a coagulant for organic materials. Therefore, this research carried out experiments to study the fouling phenomena caused by MnO2(S) and the floc formed after coagulation by Al based inorganic coagulants. Low pressure ultrafiltration...

This paper describes the use of an integrated membrane system consisting Ultrafiltration (UF) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) filters treating raw river water that has been optimized by improving the operating sequence and cleaning conditions. The combined membrane process treats challenging surface water from Llobregat River (Barcelona, Spain) with occa...

This paper and presentation address some of the challenges that operators face when attempting to operate a membrane treatment system in parallel with a conventional surface water treatment facility to produce drinking water that meets all regulated requirements. The facility used for this case study has successfully operated the surface water tre...

In an advanced water reuse application, reverse osmosis (RO) technology serves a critical role. This paper reviews the benefits of operating high performance RO membranes, and the obstacles associated with delivering those benefits through the operation of the Orange County Water District?s (OCWD) Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS). Perform...

This paper addresses the challenges the nation, especially Texas, is facing due to the ongoing drought, and discusses how proper optimized application of tangential flow filtration (TFF) membrane processes can offset the acute shortage in water supply by tapping strategic water supply resources available in abundance. This strategy is promoted by ...

This paper addresses the predicted performance of the PX-Q300 device and describes the life cycle costs that are critical for the long term investment, maintenance, and operation of a large California desalination plant, which will set the technology standard of future desalination plants in California and possibly throughout the US for decades to ...

Two recent membrane installations have shown two very different applications in two different regions with two types of membranes. This paper details lessons learned from the design, construction, and startup of two membrane systems, how they are similar, and how they differ. One is in the City of Bossier City, LA a new 25 MGD microfiltration ...

The Oden Water Association installed an open platform style microfiltration treatment system to allow competitive bidding of replacement ultrafiltration membranes. The open platform style allows flexibility in operation in backwashing, and a custom configuration of plant support facilities....

Ultrafiltration is an effective method of treating wastewater so that it can be used as reuse water. This can also be considered pretreatment to treatment of the wastewater by reverse osmosis/nanofiltration membranes. Coagulant aids will sometimes greatly improve solid removal in the ultrafiltration treatment....

Online TTHM analyzers allow plant operations to be varied so that TTHM precursors in the bromoform family are adequately remove while the treatment process is optimized to reduce operating cost....

In this paper, the simplest possible pretreatments needed for controlling of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes arising from dissolved salts and invisible colloidal particles will be addressed. The new generation of antiscalants can now control all commonly encountered inorganic scales encountered in natural waters, and even in wastewaters at high rec...

PVDF based UF/MF membranes are susceptible to fouling and are generally cleaned using a chlorine-based solution. Exposer to sodium hypochlorite removes a portion of the hydrophilic additives from the membrane and making the membrane surface relatively less hydrophilic and more prone to fouling....

USAB treatment followed by MBR treatment based systems are able to treat greywater to effectively remove pathogens that allow this water resource to be used for direct irrigation of edible crops. This treatment configuration can be implemented on a small scale basis such as residential homes and would reduce the consumption of potable quality water...

Polymeric microfiltration membranes used to treat wastewater are subject to file fouling due to the diversity of microorganisms present in wastewater. Surface modification of polymeric microfiltration membranes using polyeletrolyte multilayer (PEM) and silver nanoparticle (AgNP) assemblies is investigated as a method of decreasing the deposit of bi...

The aim of the present study is to investigate the efficiency of the membrane bioreactor (MBR) for the elimination of Pharmaceutical Active Compounds (PhAC?s). Natural separated urine was artificially contaminated with selected pharmaceuticals including Levofloxacine, Ibuprofen and Atorvastatin. It was concluded that the PhAC?s can be effectively a...

Ceramic membranes can be used in wastewater treatment using the MBR process to avoid damage to the membranes caused by highly acidic or highly basic wastewater. A ceramic membrane provides a durable and long-lasting membrane in continuous or batch operation....

The oxygen transfer efficiency in the aeration process plays a large role in determining the size and footprint of MBR equipment. Higher concentrations of MLSS tend to restrict the oxygen transfer process when using a conventional fine or coarse bubble process. The Supersaturated Dissolved Oxygen Injection System (SDOX) significantly increases oxyg...

In forward osmosis applications the cellulose acetate (CA) membrane offers the best performance but carries the limitation of not tolerating a basic feed water. This characteristic eliminates the CA membrane from use with the ammonia-carbon dioxide (NH3-CO2) draw solution. Treatment of conventional reverse osmosis membrane with polydopamine improve...

Fouling of PVDF hollow fiber membranes is decreased by grafting 2-carboxyethylacrylate (CAA) from membrane surface via an activator generated by electron transfer. This process is significantly improved through the use of a nitrogen blanket to prevent oxygen interference with the process....

Cellulose acetate (CA) membranes are generally produced from wood or cotton cellulose. Cellulose acetate can be produced from sugarcane bagasse which is a lower cost alternative. Dichloromethane was used as the solvent....

This paper tracks and examines the sensitive nature of the membranes, seeding process, biomass growth rate, lessons learned and plant startup results for the two Membrane Bioreactors (MBR) located in Canaan Valley, West Virginia at a ski resort. Flat plate membranes were used and the project team developed a systematic process to build biomass wit...

This paper presents a study for seawater pretreatment using of a flow profile visualization method in three-dimensions using Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) and MATLAB. Flow patterns in contact zone/separation zone/effluent chamber are compared based on the analysis results from the Dissolved Air Flotation pilot tank. The experimental result us...

This article presents the results at the Lorne Park Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada of the performance testing that was conducted and lessons learned for future membrane performance testing. Once the Lorne Park WTP was fully commissioned, the membrane system had to be tested in accordance with the pre-selection documen...

This paper and associated presentation explores these areas of regulatory discretion under the Long-Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR) membrane regulatory framework, discussing the impact of different approaches both qualitatively (i.e., from a policy perspective) and quantitatively (i.e., using a sensitivity analysis applied t...

This paper discusses the use of in-line filtration with ultrafiltration (UF) membranes for disinfection by-product (DBP) precursor reduction, the challenges experienced during start-up of the facility, and the measures taken to address these challenges. The paper also demonstrates that while the membrane processes are often the focus of membrane f...

Racine Water Utility (RWU) implemented ultrafiltration treatment for pathogen removal as the final step in the drinking water treatment following conventional coagulation, flocculation, settlement, and filtration on water from Lake Michigan. Over a period of eight years RWU refined the equipment, operation and maintenance of the ultrafiltration pro...

The paper presents how the constant pressure desalination process work and compares it with conventional reverse osmosis desalination....

This paper discusses the procurement methods used and cost of the water from Singapore?s seawater desalination and reuse supplies. The cost of the water either desalinated seawater or NEWater is compared as a function of year of implementation and also global market conditions....

The Victorian Desalination Project provides drinking water to Melbourne and surrounding communities using seawater desalting and represents one of the most complex Public Private Partnership projects undertaken in southern Australia. Operation and maintenance of a 150 GL/Y seawater desalination plant is a significant task and attention to O&M durin...

This large-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) project by a progressive water agency in semi-arid Southern California provides a useful model for others to emulate. The project advances the use of the MBR process and provides for expansion of recycled water to new uses. This paper and presentation show how a variety of participants, many of whom are ...

This paper documents the process employed by the Orange County Water District (OCWD) to replace membranes in a 5 MGD reverse osmosis (RO) unit. From membrane extraction to installation, each step posed a series of unique challenges - some of which were unknown to staff prior to initiating the project. Upon start-up, performance was monitored clos...

Slant wells are a method to supply raw water for a seawater desalting plant. A slant well is a water supply well drilled on an angle instead of vertically and eliminates impacts to sea life, water quality upsets due to storm activity, and reduces pretreatment costs. Test pumping from the test wells at the Dana Point, California facility provides da...

Results from the City of El Dorado?s (Kansas) pilot testing and information about the applicability of ceramic membranes are presented, as well as the capital and operating cost comparison of the polymeric and ceramic membrane alternatives. This paper and presentation benefit other utilities that are looking to expand or add capacity and are consi...

There are many grades and types of stainless steel and stainless steels are used extensively in brackish and seawater membrane treatment facilities. Stainless steel corrodes when the wrong grade or type is placed in the wrong environment. Guidelines and specifications have been developed to create a uniform approach to selecting the proper stainles...

This paper provides an overview of the drivers for the microfiltration (MF) upgrade project in White Plains, NY, while elaborating on benefits, challenges, and lessons learned....

Reliability is a major consideration in a treatment system supplying boiler feed and cooling tower makeup for a refinery. Many redundant components and operating features were incorporated in the water supply to the National Cooperative Refinery Association facility in McPherson Kansas that treats fresh ground water, wastewater effluent, and chlori...

As more seawater desalting facilities are being planned there is the need for a reliable and accurate tool to predict, on a local basis and site specific treatment process, the energy consumption and consequent operating cost. The Water Research Foundation (WRF) and West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) collaborated to develop a spreadsh...

Energy recovery is now common in all seawater membrane treatment processes and selecting the appropriate energy recovery technique and device must include and examination of the capital cost (CAPEX) as well operating cost (OPEX) to assure maximum return on investment....

This work focused on viable pre-treatments options available for managing fouling of ceramic membranes caused by impaired water sources, emphasizing wastewater effluent and high-NOM surface water. Hence, hybrid processes composed of in-line coagulation or powdered activation carbon was employed. Cleaning protocols are also discussed in this researc...

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors offer a wastewater treatment process that uses less energy and space than an aerobic MBR. The anaerobic process leads to more frequent fouling and therefore more frequent membrane cleaning. Ceramic membranes offer the ability to last longer than polymeric membranes since they are more rugged. Pore size also plays a ro...

Pilot-scale trials of four different pre-treatments to ceramic membranes were performed for a surface water in southwest England. A study of the organic character of the feed and treated provided an indication of which fraction of organics was contributing to fouling. The large molecular weight organics contributed to fouling when ion exchange was...

This presentation discusses the practical application of electrodialysis metathesis (EDM), as experienced while operating two pilots in Colorado, including information on how the EDM system differs from traditional electrodialysis (ED) and the various options for coupling the EDM system with reverse osmosis (RO) / nanofiltration (NF). Data on wate...

Recovery of wastewater from the low pH clean in place of a UF/MF membrane plant can increase plant operating cost. By adding phosphoric acid and calcium to the wastewater calcium phosphate is formed and precipitated The decanted water can then be sent to the head of the plant, reducing the volume of CIP waste to be treated by 75%. This savings redu...

This paper and presentation provide an overview of the following: history of project and why 99% efficient is cost effective; configuration of the new treatment system; discussions with regulatory agencies to obtain approval; challenges with balancing new system start-up and performance testing while maintaining plant production capacity; changes i...

Without a standard approach to process and mechanical convergence of MF and UF treatment systems, end users and consulting engineers continue to deal with one-of-a-kind, non-interchangeable and incompatible systems. This does not help in expanding the low pressure membrane adoption from a technical and cost perspective. This paper will review the p...

The EPA sponsored regulations for testing the integrity of UF/MF membranes expired in 2013 and have been replaced with NSF/ANSI Standard 419. The standard provides more specific testing requirements and has the possibility of being updated annually to remain current with the industry. Standard 419 does not apply to RO/NF membranes....

This paper covers a wide variety of the current knowledge base about how to best operate and maintain a membrane filtration facility. Its authors cover the range of professionals with knowledge on the subject including design engineers, suppliers, regulators, and academics....

This paper examines the experience of using submerged ultrafiltration (UF) for seawater desalination with reverse osmosis (SWRO) pretreatment for the GE Power and Water plant at Yuhuan in China and for Siemens Memcor in Adelaide Australia, exploring whether the elimination of the RO feed tank in these plants confers an advantage in biofouling contr...

The Donna Bay Estuarine System located near Sarasota Florida was identified as a potential source of potable water. This project developed a treatment train comprised biological roughing filter for taste and odor reduction, anion exchange for organics and color reduction, ultrafiltration for particle and pathogen reduction, and reverse osmosis for ...

The paper and presentation is of interest to utilities that are challenged by total organic carbon (TOC), Geosmin, and MIB in their source water and are considering the use of membrane filtration to meet disinfection by-product (DBP) maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) and address taste and odor (T&O). Current operations are compared from plant to p...

Large amounts of wastewater are generated by some processes used to extract underground crude oil. A PTFE hollow fiber MF/UF membrane offers a reliable method of treating this wastewater and provides long duration operation and durability when cleaning the membranes. The PTFE hollow fiber MF/UF membrane is effective in removing oil residues from ot...

A large steel manufacturing plant uses a significant amount of water for the steelmaking process and boiler feed. Treating the wastewater generated from the steelmaking process for reuse within the plant conserves water. The treatment process includes ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and mixed bed ion exchange polishing for boiler feed....

A nanofiltration membrane was successful in removing color ina highly colored wastewater from a pulp and paper plant. Initial lab trials with this color removal NF membrane and plant wastewater proved that the color could be removed at high recoveries, but when trialed at the plant, it was found that the NF elements readily fouled. Further exper...

This paper and presentation cover results on the ability of an electropositive filter to remove organic and inorganic debris (nanoparticles, silica colloids, humic acid, and polysaccharides) from ultrafiltration (UF) filtrate and quantify the resulting improvements to process performance from using the polished water to backwash the membranes. The...

The feed spacer on a spiral wound RO membrane is intended to develop for vortexes for prevention of localized salt concentrations to reduce scaling and generous openings to minimize fouling. A thin feed spacer will allow an increase the membrane area in a standard 8? element which will allow greater water production in that same membrane element. T...

Desalinated and naturally soft water is corrosive because of its low pH value and lack of minerals, and therefore requires post-treatment for water stabilization and corrosion control. Conventional water remineralization can be achieved either by calcite contactors or lime dosing systems. Both of these techniques present some drawbacks for large de...

This paper presents the results from the full-scale testing of aluminum chlorohydrate (ACH) that is underway and describe lessons learned relevant to facilities that face similar challenges associated with variable water quality....

This paper presents the operating and performance results for the first 13 months of operation at the City of Gearhart?s water treatment plant. Membrane hydraulic performance is discussed with respect to the following: ferric chloride dose, variation in plant production due to water rights restrictions, maintenance cleans, and clean-in-place clea...

Economical and environmentally sound disposal of desalination concentrate can be the critical feasibility issue for inland desalination projects where a surface water outfall is not possible. Deep well injection can be a viable means to permanently remove concentrate and other liquid wastes from the biosphere. However, deep well injection requires ...

This paper presents the groundwater quality and the decision process that led to the treatment solution that was optimal for the client that deviated substantially from that listed in the request-for-proposals. The treatment process includes taking the groundwater directly to reverse osmosis (RO), lowering the pH before RO, adding antiscalant to a...

Two large BNR MBR facilities were commissioned in the City of Henderson (Henderson SWRF) and the City of North Las Vegas (CNLV WRF) in the summer of 2011. In both cases, dynamic process modeling using BioWinTM was completed to support decision making during facility start-up. This paper demonstrates how good planning, through the use of process mod...

Data generated from the City of San Diego Advanced Water Purification (AWP) demonstration project was used to support the City?s proposal for conditional regulatory approval and estimate of capital, operational and maintenance (O&M) costs of a potential full-scale project. The potential full-scale project would purify tertiary effluent from North C...

Forward osmosis (FO), an osmotic-driven membrane process, has been gaining attention for being a low-energy alternative for several applications usually performed by pressure-driven membranes, such as reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF). The FO process requires a draw solution (DS) to create the osmotic pressure as a driving force to separ...

A desalination system comprising of two purification stages was developed: (1) a low-pressure forward osmosis pre-treatment stage that eliminates foulants from the feed water followed by (2) a high-pressure high-permeability reverse osmosis stage. The final prototype system demonstrated at the Port Hueneme facility desalinated a highly fouling chal...

This study reports on the application of ultrafiltration (UF) to treat a water source that is subject to algae blooms, with data that demonstrates how the membranes may best be used in a treatment train to mitigate risks associated with membrane fouling, algal toxins, and taste and odor compounds....

The occurrence, fate and ecotoxicology of emerging organic micropollutants including pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), and personal care products (PCPs) have been of interest in recent years. Nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) have emerged as effective alternatives to conventional water trea...

The intent of the paper is to provide an overall picture demonstrating the success of a biological filtration process, over the past eleven years, as a proven application for pretreating poor quality groundwater in small system membrane water treatment plants. This information will provide designers and owners with real project examples summarizin...

Variable salinity desalination applications are becoming more abundant. The Expeditionary Unit Water Purifier Generation 1 was used to evaluate the practical aspects of converting a singlestage seawater system with energy recovery to a two-stage brackish water system capable of 75% water recovery. Performance is compared with various levels of sali...

This paper and presentation address the permitting issues and cost evaluation for an inland brackish water treatment plant. The solution to these challenges created a successful model for the region to follow....

Many water utilities ask why stringent UV disinfection requirements are in place since reclaimed water pathogen limits are mainly met through MBR alone. The energy use and associated cost for UV disinfection may be an impetus for some facilities to contemplate turning their UV reactors down to a lower operating dose setting without compromising reg...

During the last decade, the water industry has observed the dramatic increase in the application of Microfiltration (MF)/Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes for water and wastewater treatments. According to the latest report from the Global Water Intelligence, the global MF/UF membrane market is estimated to be around $220 mil. based on membrane sales o...

As growing demand taxes existing drinking water supplies and rising wastewater effluent standards lead to more advanced wastewater treatment, planned indirect potable reuse is becoming a feasible scenario for more utilities. A majority of planned potable reuse schemes currently in operation or planned to be employed in the U.S. make use of advanced...

Low-pressure membrane (LPM) technologies are becoming increasingly common in drinking water treatment, especially for the removal of disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors. Removal of DBP precursors by LPMs requires pretreatment that may mitigate or exacerbate membrane fouling. A review of relevant literature has indicated that although a number o...

Microfiltration membrane fouling can occur through the accumulation of particles, organic matter and biological growth. Depending on the surface water source and the treatment prior to water contacting the membrane, different fouling mechanisms can occur and physical and chemical cleanings become necessary for the membrane to produce water efficien...

Transparent expolymer particles (TEP) are believed to be a key organic compound that leads to membrane biofouling in SWRO systems. The sticky nature, high surface reactivity and micro-gel character of TEP play a major role in a membrane fouling, because deposition on the membrane surface acts as culture media for bacterial growth and as a depositio...

The City of Fargo Water Treatment Plant (WTP) recently piloted GE submerged ZeeWeed 1000, Siemens encased MemCor L20N, and Pall encased UNA-620A membranes for its new 15 million gallons per day (mgd) membrane WTP. The source water Sheyenne River quality is challenging for membrane treatment: elevated total dissolved salts, high total organic conten...

The design, construction, and start-up of a surface water membrane treatment facility, while difficult, were not the last challenges faced by operational staff. Daily operation of the individual system components, coupled with the ongoing costs required for maintenance and chemical addition can cause major treatment headaches. This paper will track...

Surface waters, from a water treatment perspective, can be difficult to treat due to variations in seasonal source water quality. The City of Grand Forks, ND water treatment plant (GFWTP) utilizes surface water that is further complicated with high organic material (influent TOC concentrations averaged 14 mg/L and range from 4-26 mg/L seasonally). ...

Subsurface intake systems are generally believed to deliver higher quality of feed water compared to open-ocean intake systems. Some new research results are reported from several desalination plants; two plants located on the Red Sea and one on the Caribbean Sea. These facilities were assessed to compare the feedwater fouling potential of the open...

Controlled studies are needed which examine the anti-biofouling benefits of new membrane and module innovations. Such investigations are often very small in scale, or they may lack sufficient control over feed water properties, or fail to compare against a control group of membranes, or run outside the normal operating ranges of RO systems. To addr...

In South Florida, nanofiltration (NF) has become a vital part of the water treatment landscape. The widespread use of nanofiltration in the region, combined with a challenging source water, makes control of fouling and cleaning of fouled membranes critical issues. For this presentation, the literature was reviewed to identify critical factors that ...

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) combine secondary treatment and solids separation in one system that produces high quality effluent with virtually free of solids. Coupled with widely used biological nutrient removal (BNR) technology, MBR can meet stringent effluent total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) limits, especially where site space limita...

As interest in direct potable reuse (DPR) grows, equivalency criteria for comparing water quality after indirect potable reuse (IPR) and DPR must be developed. An expert panel convened by the National Water Research Institute for a WateReuse Research Foundation project has developed public health criteria for pathogens, such as enteric viruses and ...

This paper gives the findings of the pilot study with regards to the sequencing batch reactor (SBR), cloth media filtration (CMF), and ultrafiltration (UF) parameters required to obtain ultra-low phosphorus levels in the plant effluent. In addition, some of the challenges encountered in the study are discussed, along with how these challenges were...

In Arizona, fresh water sources are currently and will continue to be limited. Natural surface waters are already fully developed, many groundwater sources are being over drafted, and the State's 2.8 million acre-foot allocation of Colorado River Water could be reduced in response to long term drought and other effects of climate change. One source...

How do you fix a small public utility water supply issues that include potential health issues related to septic fields affecting the surficial aquifer, limited water supply yield, limited treatment capacity, saltwater intrusion, lack of fire protection in some areas, and poor quality potable water? Currituck County in the northeastern portion of c...

This paper provides an historical overview of the design of the Southeast Morris Municipal Utility Authority?s water treatment plant, focusing on the operating history and modifications that have been made to the plant....

This paper presents streamlined and proactive approaches to reduce capital costs while maximizing the value of a membrane water treatment expansions to rate payers....

The City of Clovis, CA operates a 15 mgd surface water treatment plant (SWTP) that receives its source of supply from the Kings River via the Enterprise Canal. The plant was originally constructed in 2004 with a capacity of 15 mgd using ballasted clarification pretreatment followed by microfiltration membranes. Due to the SWTP?s inability in recent...

Membrane fouling is a major operational issue in reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plants. In particular, plants treating brackish groundwater can encounter troublesome inorganic membrane scales. A novel cleaning method is proposed to remove inorganic scales from fouled RO membranes using dissolved CO2. A comparison of cleaning methods is discusse...

A 6 MGD reverse osmosis plant in South Texas that was using chlorine to oxidize arsenic for improved membrane rejection was experiencing severe membrane fouling. The ferrous ions in the well water were being oxidized by the chlorine, resulting in ferric hydroxide fouling of the cartridge filters and membranes throughout the system. Despite numerous...

Spiral-wound water purification elements (e.g. reverse osmosis, nanofiltration) were developedin the 1960s in response to increasing water demand. Since then, the need for pure water has evolved to include not only the residential but also industrial sectors as most product developments and processes require ultrapure water. As the need for this wa...

This paper demonstrates the need for consistency in the use and selection of silt density index (SDI) filter pad chemistries by membrane treatment plant operators for their specific facility. While it is not the authors? intention to identify the ?best? filter pad for use in the SDI test, the findings will illustrate the need for a thoughtful cons...

This presentation will discuss the operation of a 4 MGD pressurized two-stage Ultrafiltration (UF) plant over a 14 month period at the Oliver-Mercer-North Dunn (OMND) Drinking Water Treatment Facility. The OMND Treatment Facility utilizes Ultrafiltration followed by low pressure Reverse Osmosis Softening to produce a blended Finished Water capacity...

Challenge test data from both loose ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, where the virus log removal value (LRV) is not correlated with LRV calculation model from the Membrane Filtration Guidance Manual (MFGM), and tight UF membranes, where a LRV calculation model can reliably be used to predict virus LRV, are presented....

The Town of Jupiter, FL decided to add nanofiltration to their existing RO/lime softening/ion exchange facilities for long term compiance and sustainability. A split feed concept was utilized to maximize savings using high salt passage elements housed in specialled constructed vessels. It producesd a concentrate of high enough quality to be blended...

Normally membrane technologies are approved if they meet national and state drinking water regulations, but the flexibility and strictness of the approval process depends on the State. A key finding was the acknowledgement of the predictive value of computer models for regulatory approval of RO systems....

The Loxahatchee River District (LRD) was one of the first large utilities in Florida to produce 100% reclaimed water in the 1980s. LRD's overal wastewater management strategy is to provide high level wastewater treatment and dispose of the highly treated wastewater in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner. The successful strategy of blend...

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors employ a membrane to retain biomass in the reactor, greatly reducing the hydraulic retention time needed for treatment and allowing for anaerobic treatment of dilute waste streams such as domestic waste. The performance of the AnMBR was evaluated based on treated water quality, biogas production, and membrane fouling ...

The purposes of this paper are to compare forward osmosis (FO) to best available technologies for treating high salinity feed waters and waters that limit the capabilities of reverse osmosis (RO), such as high silica feeds, to provide a true economic analysis on the overall cost of treatment. This new economic assessment is based on previously unr...

While wind and solar are among the most well known renewable resources, salinity gradient power in nearly untapped and has the potential to increase renewable energy production by 20%. Pressure retarded osmosis is a way to capture this. PRO can be utilized in several configurations. The advantage of this system is the brine generated is diluted bac...

This paper discusses the active management of a 10 MGD membrane filtration system to minimize operational costs over a decade of operation....

The purpose of this paper to present the findings of a research study developed by the Town of Jupiter and the University of Central Florida (UCF). Research was conducted to address the in-plant blending operations, distribution system corrosion issues, and disinfection separately. A description of the approach to corrosion testing is provided, w...

The paper presents the final membrane design integration into an existing facility that took advantage of site grading in order to be able to implement a unique membrane siphon design for anew submerged membrane system. Lessons learned during construction, installation, and initial membrane facility operation are discussed for this 24 MGD installa...

The goal of the Wwest Basin's Temporary Ocean-Water Desalination Demonstration Project was to demonstrate an environmentally responsible, energy efficient, reliable desalination process. The specific objectives were to develop data for the permitting, design, construction, and operation of West Basin's proposed full-scale desalination facility. The...

This paper describes the Mesa Water Reliability Facility?s treatment system, which includes nanofiltration (NF). Operational challenges included: inconsistent results between silt density index (SDI) filter pad technologies; membrane fouling characteristics and challenges; membrane cleaning improvements and optimization; and flux and recovery setp...

A seawater RO pilot study conducted at the City of Santa Cruz was conducted to evaluate treated water quality and integration into an existing potable water distribution system. Communication efforts with regulators and the community are outlined as well as a summary of "what could have been done differently"....

This presentation will cover our work to date in developing and testing new membrane materials for use in pervaporation desalination applications. Our work has specifically targeted high TDS produced waters (TDS > 50,000 mg/L) as these are the most challenging for conventional membrane based desalination systems. This is relevant to brackish water ...

The use of micro bubbles, effervescents, and high ionic strength cleaneres are explored for novel approaches for the removal of foulants on RO and NF membrane surfaces. The unique part of this is the use of venturi micro bubble generator in conjunction with specially formulated cleaning compound with the bubbles injected through a specially designe...

It is essential to use alternative energy, mainly solar, sources to meet the growing demand for desalination and being environmentally friendly. Most solar driven plants are connected to the grid because the exxisting desalination technologies require continuous energy supply for stable operation, which cannot be assured by solar energy alone. In t...

This paper presents data showing how the application of Thin Film Nanocomposite RO membrane technology can lead to improvements in the permeability and selectivity of low pressure RO membranes; and, how those improvements influence low pressure system performance through pilot testing. In particular, TFN membranes will be examined in low salinity ...

Seawater desalination is a promising option for a steady supply of high-quality water from the abundantly avialable source of ocean water, but the process is energy intensive. In this paper, nanocomposite RO and semi batch RO were evaluated at the pilot scale for energy minimzation during seawate desalination. The objecties were to: 1) compare the ...

In work is a collaboration between the Arizona State University (ASU) and the United States Bureau of Reclamation Water Quality Improvement Center (WQIC) in Yuma, AZ. The paper presents the results of long-term performance testing of Linde Type A (LTA) Polyamide Thin Film Nanocomposite Reverse Osmosis membranes for desalination of brackish water....

As a major investment, membrane life has a significant impact on the life cycle cost of a treatment facility with the key to optimum performance is the right balance between membrane life and good membrane performance. Production and membrane integrity are two drivers in determining the life of a membrane. If the production requirements can be met,...

Three of the most common membrane filtration products are offered as a proprietary system design which has limited interchangeability when membranes are replaced. Original Equipment Manufacturers have increased their participation in the low pressure membrane market using modules manufactured by different membrane manufacturers. Two approaches for ...

The paper gathers the best practices of 25 years of experience in operating MF/UF membrane facilities and is based on an overview of 10 water treatment plants equipped with different membrane technologies of different generations. The paper notes the three key stages when the MF/UF system has to be secured: project design phase, day-to-day operati...

Electrodialysis Reversal began in the 1970s as an improvement on the Electrodialysis technology with a cell pair composed of an anion membrane, a diluting spacer, a cation membrane, and a concentrating spacer. Building on the improvement of an old technology through continuous research and development efforts, current industry trends and leading ed...

A 2007 pilot study by CH2M Hill identified electrodialysis reversal (EDR) as the preferred main treatment process to reduce source water contaminants to below drinking water standards. EDR was preferred over RO due to high silica levels in the source groundwater, and over an activated alumina process. The pilot study concluded the EDR teesting demo...

Due to prohibitively high cost of inland desalination, there has been a surge of interest into emerging technologies and techniques for recovery enhancement and concentration minimization. EDR has been identified for its potential as a high-recovery desalination technology. This research hypothesis was that EDR could effectively treat brackish grou...

The forward osmosis membrane reactor (FOMBR) was recently introduced as an energy saving candidate to replace conventional membrane-based wastewater treatment systems such as the MBR. This study proposes the integration of anaerobic conditions into the FOMBR configuration to yield the novel anaerobic forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (AnFOMBR). B...

Research was conducted on a pilot-scale drinking water treatment plant system utilizing a membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) for treatment of nitrate and perchlorate where the MBfR uses anaerobic autotrophic biodegradation for the complete destruction of nitrate and perchlorate. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the feasibility of MBfR techn...

The implementation of potable reuse will require treatment processes with multiple barriers to prevent microbial, nutrients, and other contaminants of concern from compromising public health. The osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBR) is a multiple barrier that is comprised of three treatment barriers: biological treatment for carbon and nutrient remov...

Prior to the introduction into a drinking water distribution system, desalinated water requires post-treatment that involves the addition of minerals back into the water to provide a water quality that is non-corrosive toward distribution system materials. Blends of desalinated ocean water, treated surface water and local groundwater were circulate...

As the gap between world-wide water supply and demand widens and the availability of fresh water supplies dwindle, neew technologies are urgently needed to treat impaired waters in a sustainable manner. RO represents the best current tecchnology to meet this need but dispite major advancements in RO membrane efficiency and significant reducations i...

To address the issues of an aging WTP and licensure requirements, the Wiamea WTP began a project to upgrade its plant with membrane filtration to reliably produce 4 MGD. A demonstration study occurred to confirm produced water quality and introduce operators to membrane filtration processes. With only 2.0-log Giardia removal credit given, there hav...

The City of Mansfield, Texas owns and operates the Bud Ervin Water Treatment Plant (WTP). The facility includes both a conventional treatment train and a membrane filtration train consisting of a hollow-fiber, low-pressure membrane system that has been in operation since the spring of 2011. After about 12 months of operation, the City began to exp...

Membrane fouling is a limiting factor for the operation of UF processes and fouling management is critical for successful integration of UF technologies in water treatment. A new data analysis approach of transmembrane pressure balance (TMP balance) may improve data interpretation and operating decisions. Using flux data and different cleaning regi...

In this study, it was shown that proactive biological monitoring using advanced ATP was able to guide mitigation strategies and optimize design modifications for improved plant operation and water quality. Design changes were made to lower microbial content and enhance biostability resulting in better chlorine residual maintanence. The operational ...

Algae blooms in seawater present a challenge for desalination plants and are highly variable and are a function of several conditions arising from currents and upwelling; also they can vary widely in species, magnitude, and frequency. An extensive study to determine the characteristics of the Southern California algae blooms and to cultivate them i...

To meet the growing demand for water in arid areas, most large desalination plants have opted for open seawater intakes with media filtration or UF membranes prior to RO treatment. They are susceptible to Harmful Algae Blooms (red tide) such as what happened in the Arabian Gulf in 2008-2009. Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) clarification has been impl...

Transparent-exopolymer-particles (TEP) are reported as a significant contributor to organic fouling of low pressure membranes and biofouling of RO membranes. TEP-like substances are generally synthesised from algae and bacteria, but most research only investigates algal TEP instead of bacterial TEP. Results show bacterial mixed TEP caused severe fo...

There is a global challenge to efficiently use water sources and opportunities with membranes in the oil production, refining, and petrochemical sectors. Membrane technology developments in these fields include produced water management in the oil industry, zero liquid discharge in refineries, and silica removal for boiler feed water. UF membranes ...

The semiconductor industry uses 1,500 gallons of ultrapure water to make a single 300 mm silicon wafer which generates a high volume wastewater stream high in silicon and turbidity. Using ultrafiltration that is backwash-free (air scour only) to recycle the waste stream has proven to be equally as effective as backwash and air scour. The filtrate c...

A containerized WTP using inside-out ultrafiltration as pretreatment to brackish water RO membranes with blending was built for treating mine influenced water prior to discharge to a local waterway. It was found that water quality changed and caused rapid fouling of the membranes due to oxidized iron and manganese that even very frequent CIPs coul...