Presentation provides a very general overview of reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) water treatment processes. In doing so, the basic concept of osmosis/membrane separation is described as well as the differences in treatment capabilities between RO and NF. The history and development of each technology is chronicled as well as current ap...

Overview of design considerations for reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) is presented. Fundamental concepts such as recovery, rejection and membrane flux are defined. Specific to RO and NF, design considerations such as production/permeate quality goals, pretreatment recovery rates, flux rates, membrane selection and staging are all revie...

Membrane system operations and troubleshooting is reviewed. Recommended maintenance protocols treatment plants are detailed including oversight of data through normalization to detect potential problems. Membrane fouling and scaling is also described with information presented on typical causes and methods to reverse or clean membranes to restore o...

An overview of membrane process pretreatment processes is offered. Most importantly, the purpose of pretreatment is defined to provide a proper feed water to the membranes. Determination of pretreatment requirements is reviewed which then allows for the ultimate selection of the pretreatment processes to be employed....

Presentation provides an in-depth look at the use of microfiltration and ultrafiltration membrane applications. Both skid mounted and submerged configurations were reviewed with the relative benefits of each defined. The technologies are offered as effective tools for turbidity and pathogen removal or for pretreatment for complex nanofiltration or ...

Presentation offers a detailed account of microfiltration and ultrafiltration membrane system facility and process design. Pressurized and immersed designs are reviewed along with the unique design issues of each. Mechanical and ancillary systems are discussed including with facility design recommendations that will reduce maintenance and improve o...

The benefits of pilot testing low pressure membrane systems is presented. Although often required by regulatory agencies, pilot testing is offered as a means of confirming system effectiveness to treat challenging waters, a means to evaluate equipment options and lastly a beneficial way to provide operational experience. Presentation illustrates ho...

To prevent membrane scaling or fouling, pretreatment is utilized in advance of microfiltration of ultrafiltration. Although usually limited to strainers or screens, the presentation details how more elaborate strategies are used to combat higher organic loadings including settling and coagulation....

Presentation provides an account of the many beneficial ways in which treated wastewater is now being used. The report describes how reuse water quality regulations are established by regulatory agencies based upon the application for use. To address, membrane processes can provide for effective treatment while minimizing the risk for public health...

Providing adequate system capacity and safe water quality are outlined as the primary goals of treatment operations. To monitor the effectiveness of microfiltration and ultrafiltration treatment, various water quality indices are reviewed. The importance of operational trend graphing and normalization is highlighted....

There are multiple fouling mechanisms in membrane systems including suspendid solids, scaling, organic, and microbiological. It is imperative to fully understand incoming water chemistry to determine potential fouling mechnisms. In RO/NF systems, organic fouling and inorganic scaling are the most common and troublesome. Keys to successful syste...

A comprehensive overview of the various types of membranes are discussed. Comparison between element type, chemistry, and system configuration are reviewed. Differences between MF, UF, NF, and RO membranes and the constituents they remove are discussed...

Several key parameters that require continuous monitoring are discussed. The main indicator of comprosied membrane performance are increases in pressure. Based on the type of pressure increase, the type of fouling problem can be identified. Troubleshooting matrix and guide are presented....

Destructive membrane autopsies are a highly effective tool for troubleshooting membrane systems. Key parts of an autopsy include pre-testing, visual inspection, and foulant identification. Foulant analysis includes numerous tests that can properly identify main constituents found on the membrane surface. Based on autopsy findings, system changes...

The are numerous types of fouling mechanisms in membrane systems that often require specific cleaning procedures to remove. Both mechanical and chemical cleaning methods can be utilized to restore membrane performance. The type of cleaning method required often depends on the type of fouling experienced. General cleaning procedures and recommend...

Data collection is critical for evaluating system performance. Normalization of daily operating data allows plant owners to determine if a system is performing correctly. Data collection and normalization also help determine when and what to clean for RO systems. Different fouling mechanisms can be identified through proper operating data analys...

Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is a novel process for generating energy utilizing forward osmosis. Forward osmosis is achieved through the salinity differences between fresh (river) water and seawater. Pilot test data is presented on a PRO system. Efficiency and footprint of PRO is compared to other renewable energy sources. Challenegs for com...

Membrane distillation is a desalination process where a vapor pressure gradient drives the diffusion of water across a hydrophobic membrane. Benefits of membrane distillation include extremely high salt rejection (100% theoretical rejection), permeate quality that is independent of feed salinity, utilization of low grade waste heat, and operation ...

Capacitive Deionisation (CDI) is a low energy process for brackish water desalination. A novel graphene electrode has been developed that increases salt removal efficiency. Improved electrode properties include high specific area, high electrical conductivity, electrochecmial stability. and low scaling & fouling propensity....

An energy source (high salinity wastewater/seawater) has been identified using microbial electrochemical technologies (MET). Energy generation as a result of combining microbial desalination and electrodyalysis (microbial fuel cells, MFC) is shown to produce electrical power generation. Desalination rates and max power generation may be improved...

Summary of renewable energy sources (wind, solar, biogas, geothermal) and energy reduction strategies for the minimization of greenhouse gasses (GHG). Technologies include distillation, microbial desalination cells, ion concentration polarization, and forward osmosis....

An overview of Australian desalination plants and their green energy sources, the National Centre for Excellence in Desalination Australia envisions efficient and sustainable augmentation of traditional water sources to provide security against the natural variability of rainfall and potential future impact of climate change....

Adsorption desalanation has potential to reduce cost by using solely renewable energy heat sources, particularly when used with combined-cycle solar and geothermal energy sources. Successful pilot testing of adsorption desalanation has been shown powered by renewable energy at 55C to 80C....

A novel approach to multi effect disallation (MED) shows a boost to freshwater yield of up to 39% compared with standard 6 effect MED....

Development of drivers are described for desalination from alternative waters supplies. Steps required for identifying sustainable sources of water for desalination, drilling, testing, pump management, and resources assessement are summarized....

This presentation identifies steps on how the demonstration process is streamlined for TCEQ drinking water processes involving approval of brackish groundwater desalination while assuring the required quality and quantity of drinking water....

An overview of RO design for brackish groundwater is presented, from technology drivers to membrane cleaning. Additionally, a case study for the San Antonio Water System Brackish Water desalination program is described....

A summary of RO concentrate disposal methods is given, including discharge to WWTP, surface waters, reuse, and injection well. Case studies for El Paso and San Antonio injection well discharge discuss injection well parameters operating within TCEQ guidelines....

Summary of RO Plant power supply requirements and design strategies, including power distribution. Details include load and space planning, instrument testing, and controls planning....

The optimal project, and construction, delivery method depends on application specific drivers. One important step in the delivery process is the selection of a Program Team (Prime Engineer). A case study for one method called Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) is discussed including end user benefits and incentives....

There are many methods for treating ?produced water? including gravity, flotation, centrifugal and membrane filtration. Produced water comes directly from oil wells and contains a mixture of hydrocarbons in the form of water soluble oils (WSO) and dispersed oils. A technology overview is presented including selection guidelines, monitoring method...

There is a growing movement to treat Produced Water as a revenue generating resource instead of a waste product. Advanced water treatment technologies including membrane filtration, membrane bioreactors (MBR) and membrane distillation are discussed including case study references. Some guidance is provided regarding the development of various tec...

There is a growing movement to treat Produced Water as a revenue generating resource instead of a waste product. Advanced water treatment technologies including membrane filtration, membrane bioreactors (MBR) and membrane distillation are discussed including case study references. Some guidance is provided regarding the development of various tec...

Understanding the basics of oil formation and extraction can help wastewater experts to select appropriate treatment technologies. Following a more detailed discussion on the process of low salinity water flooding, and the impact of water cut on Produced Water, a comparison of desalination technologies is provided including evaluation metrics. Th...

Produced Water contains numerous contaminants. Measurement of these contaminants can be challenging with results contingent on sampling methods, sample location and time in between sampling and testing. This paper offers specific information with regards to oil and grease sampling, measurement in Produced Water applications....

The Athabasca Oil Sands, located in Alberta, contain the third largest oil deposit in the world. Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is used for in situ recovery of the oil. There are several existing membrane applications used to treat produced water and many more in development. This paper discusses tailings water treatment, de-oiling initi...

Shale oil and gas, accessed by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, is a critical and growing part of North American energy production plans. One of the challenges faced during extraction is the treatment and management of flowback, also called frac or produced water. In this presentation a flowsheet is examined with a focus on viable a...

The paper describes research to investigate the feasibility and efficiency of a hydrophobic membrane distillation process for drying and stabilization of sludge and fecal waste. This practical application to convectional on-site sanitation systems should provide significant advantages,particularly by preventing pollutant release to groundwater and...

This paper describes the study to separate and concentrate perchlorate at low concentrations simultaneously from natural water in the presence of the other major anions via perchlorate permselective membrane coupled with electrodialysis (ED). The results show that the MTBA/PVC membrane can be applied with ED to separate and concentrate low concent...

This paper discusses the unique membrane installation at the Lynn R. Morgan Water Treatment Plant located in Erie Colorado that the facility uses pressurized microfiltration and submerged ultrafiltration are utilized within the same facility. The paper presents a summary of long term operations and also the fact that multiple surface water sources ...

This paper presents a firsthand account of how water quality and operational challenges have been addressed to improve plant reliability. The overall methodology to address each challenge, including treatability and monitored data, will be presented. ZLD facilities present unique challenges since any constituents that enter the facility in the untr...

The Village of Byesville, Ohio was the first drinking water installation utilizing microfiltration membranes in Ohio when it was constructed in 2004. Now, after eight years of successful operation, the membranes are nearing the end of their useful life and the Village has decided to replace the membranes....

This presentation focuses on the pilot testing results obtained for the concentrate treatment technologies that were evaluated. It also includes results from the capital, O&M and life cycle cost analyses for various concentrate pretreatment and treatment technologies. These costs are based on design and operational parameters (e.g. chemical dose, r...

This paper discusses the treatment of membrane concentrate from nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) between primary and secondary membrane stages, in an effort to increase membrane recovery rates and decrease the concentrate volume. The paper evaluates lime softening, ferric sulfate coagulation, and ion exchange as individual, intermediate...

The purpose of this paper is to compare concentrate management strategies for recycled wastewater, highly brackish groundwater, seawater, and saline surface water. Discussed is a process for generating calcium carbonate by combining carbon dioxide emissions from power plants with seawater to mitigate global warming, and to recycle the calcium carb...

This paper reviews the procurement process employed by OCWD to evaluate, qualify and select RO membranes for the GWRS. Given the dynamic regulatory environment and advances in membrane technology, the program has adapted to ensure that membranes are appropriately evaluated and selected. The evolution of this program, as well as performance data fro...

This papers discusses the Singapore PUB's NEWater, a potable drinking water that is produced from reclaimed water that has been purified using advanced membrane technologies. NEWater is produced via a multi-barrier treatment process that includes Micro- or Ultra-filtration, followed by Reverse Osmosis (RO) and finally UV disinfection. discussed ar...

The purpose of this paper is to document the performance and integrity issues experienced at this facility and present a preliminary cost comparison to either repair or replace the Memcor 90M10C micro filtration (MF) units at the West Basin ExxonMobil Water Recycling Facility. Three options were evaluated; 1) continue repairing the existing MF sys...

This paper discusses the development of modified cellulose acetate (CA) membranes to increase their surface charge and potentially increase their removal of charged pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs). The objective of this study is to conduct two field tests to evaluate their effectiveness in the removal of ppt and ppb levels of the ...

The paper discusses studies designed to understand how graft copolymer dose affects PVDF membranes. The study uses scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle measurement and pure water flux were used to characterize morphology, hydrophilicity and permeability of produced membranes....

Ceramic membranes were recently approved for use in municipal water treatment plants in Colorado, California, and Texas (AWWA, 2011). While their use for drinking water applications is novel in the United States, they have been used in Japan and France for over a decade. Ceramic membranes already hold promise in terms of their extreme durability an...

This paper describes the integrated biological/RO membrane treatment process, benefits of chemical free treatment on sustainable RO membrane operations for removing very high levels of dissolved organics (>20 mg/L DOC), assessment of upgrade options and construction approach/challenges in staging the construction activities while continuing potable...

The City replaced their obsolete pressure sand filtration water treatment plant with a new robust state of the art submerged membrane plant. Algae in the surface water source during the summer months correlated with high disinfection byproducts (DBP?s) in the distribution system. The new treatment facility included a rapid mix basin where 900 g mix...

This presentation addresses pretreatment methods in combination with low pressure hollow fiber membranes in the micro-filtration and ultra-filtration range when utilized to treat surface waters. The presentation does not focus on any specific membrane manufacturer, but shows that several manufacturers have products that will provide an effective TO...

This paper discusses membrane element cleaning for a wide range of foulants and scales. The authors theorize that during the soaking process of a specific cleaning solution encourages natural osmosis of permeate water through the membrane to help remove biofilm and clay fouling layer. The paper also concludes for the cleaners tested that it was e...

In this paper, biopolymer produced by marine bacteria was monitored over time to determine the TEP production coefficient. During the experiment, cultured marine bacteria was incubated in a 1 liter flask under room temperature with shaking. The cultured marine bacteria was allowed to grow in the flask for 7 days. Water samples were taken from the 1...

This paper describes a new method to control fouling of RO membranes that is based on injecting performic acid (PFA) directly into inlet of the membrane system during use. Test results in laboratory and small scale membrane pilots concluded that a dose of PFA helped control fouling and keep the surface of membrane clean from organics. The paper go...

This paper will discuss the current expansion and how it is the first and largest Indirect Potable Reuse Project to utilize large diameter RO equipment. The paper discusses the procurement process that made for a competitive environment that allowed the City to save millions of dollars on the RO System. The paper will discuss the unique design aspe...

The West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) is implementing ozone pretreatment of its non-nitrified secondary effluent as part of an expansion of the Edward C. Little Water Recycling Plant (ECLWRF) in El Segundo, California. This project is intended to improve water production for existing polypropylene microfiltration (MF) membranes in th...

This paper will present the initial findings of a year-long pilot test of a reclaimed water purification system that is currently in procurement and will begin operation in early Fall of 2012. In addition to the membrane processes, the pilot testing will include the first known testing of membrane contactors for removal of dissolved oxygen prior to...

The information included in this presentation will explain the challenges operators will face with starting up a new membrane treatment facility, training staff and operating and maintaining a membrane facility regardless of membrane manufacturer. This presentation will share direct experiences based on personal experience and the experiences plant...

This paper will be of interest to utilities and engineers planning or operating MF/UF WTPs in Texas. The discussion, tables, and flow charts will provide checklists of requirements for MF/UF membrane projects....

This paper covers a 5 year mandate to reduce groundwater use by 30% followed by a 60% reduction by 2025 for the City of Missouri City, Texas. Discussed are the city?s efforts to coordinate funding, outreach, regulatory, design and construction of the treatment and transmission facilities within this abbreviated timeframe. The result was the constru...

The paper will provide a detailed explanation of the concerns highlighted above, including actual manufacturing data and challenge test results. The objective is that the paper will provide an opportunity for industry peers to contribute, and ultimately to generate a work that can act as an augmentation to the MFGM....

This paper discusses the US EPA Membrane Filtration Guidance Manual and the differences involved the selection of modules for challenge testing. The various test methods are compared and contrasted. The conclusion is to harmonize these protocols, offering manufacturers both NSF certification and data to submit for CDPH approval from the same suite...

This paper will utilize the tool to evaluate a variety of cases for both seawater and brackish water RO systems....

The authors of this paper will introduce a new design method which eliminates the need for replacing equipment and re-machining of the high cost components. This innovative design method allows for rapid customization of the fluid pathways so that equipment efficiency is restored with minimal downtime and cost to the operator, while maximizing effi...

This paper discusses hydrophobic microporous flat sheet membranes made of poly tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and poly propylene (PP) were explored for desalting real Red Sea water using direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process. This paper describes reported flux performance membrane characterization, water contact angle as well as other rel...

This paper is a case study that discusses increasing the recovery of the he Leo J. Vander Lans Water Treatment Facility (LVLWTF) to 92%. The plant was designed or a microfiltration recovery of 94% and a reverse osmosis recovery rate of 85%. In this study the 3rd stage RO system was piloted to confirm its viability. This paper then highlights the d...

This paper discusses the development of a new integrated process composed of biological activated carbon/coagulation/microfiltration/dedicated RO. The objective was to recover 25% RO brine generated from the current water reuse facility and to enhance the overall water recovery from the current 75% up to 94% in a water reuse application. The paper ...

This paper is a case study that discusses a Middle Eastern Seawater RO (SWRO) system that has multiple environmental challenges. The solution was to draw some of the feed seawater before being mixed with recycle streams and process through one of the trains in the RO system. By doing so, a portion of the feed seawater was isolated for producing pot...

This research paper discusses the development of biofouling resistant nano-composite RO and NF membranes through incorporation of nano-carriers to disturb biofilm formation. Discussed is the nano-carrier nano-zeolite. The papers preliminary results s show short-term anti-biofouling efficacy accompanied by slow release of the anti-microbial/anti-bi...

Reverse osmosis (RO) desalination may be used for desalination of brackish and saline waters, but the product water may have low concentrations of hardness and alkalinity, which may corrode infrastructure. Addition of pH, hardness, and alkalinity may be required to meet potable water guidelines. Upflow calcite contactors may be used instead of li...

This paper investigates the performance of forward osmosis membranes under operating conditions typical of industrial-scale FO membrane modules. Using a novel bench top system experiments were performed one cellulose triacetate and two thin film composite polyamide membranes were tested to evaluate the performance of traditional and emerging FO me...

Three original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) were invited to OWA?s filtration plant to attend a walk through and to provide proposals. Each OEM had agreements with membrane module suppliers providing modules of similar dimension, membrane surface area, backwash and cleaning strategies, and chemical compatibility....

This presentation will provide a project summary focusing on the Title 22 validation testing results....

This paper is a case study of the City of Yuba City operates a 36 mgd surface water treatment plant. The paper covers testing of conventional and membrane filtration systems as well as full scale membrane operation when membrane integrity issues began to impact operations. Testing was conducted on new membrane filtration modules with improved abras...

This paper is a case study from the City of San Angelo, Texas (COSA) that performance a demonstration-scale pilot study was developed to evaluate the performance of reverse osmosis for radium removal to meet the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality?s (TCEQ) treated water quality requirements. The pilot testing of the RO membranes has been com...

This paper discusses Zero Discharge Desalination (ZDD) technology as part of a three year project sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. ZDD is able to achieve up to 98% recovery by desalinating brackish groundwater. Testing was performed at several laboratory to evaluate the potential to recover NaCl and other useful salts. Details of the te...

This paper discusses the design philosophy of the Chino II Concentrate Reduction Facility and the selection of appropriate treatment technologies to meet the challenges of scaling constituents in the concentrate stream....

This paper discussed laboratory integrity testing of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes monitored by a surrogate test for rejection of ions in the presence of various membrane foulants and scales. Covered are methods and materials and a results discussion. Covered in the discussion are the differences of qualitative versus quantitative results indicati...

This paper discusses the removal of trace concentrations of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), and other ?emerging? organic contaminants by nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes. The study investigates the removal by examining interactions with typical components found in surface waters, includ...

The occurrence of emerging organic contaminants in the environment originating from both point sources (e.g., wastewater treatment plants, industrial activity, etc.) and non-point sources (e.g., veterinary pharmaceuticals, pesticides, etc.) has triggered increasing concern regarding drinking water production. Most experts concur that the health ri...

This paper discusses fatigue testing on polymeric membranes are made of high molecular-weight polymers. One approach is accelerated fatigue test where the testing conditions are closely resemble to those used in actual operating conditions with a much accelerated pace. The paper concludes that properly designed fatigue test is considered the best a...

This paper discusses Chromatic Elemental Imaging (CEI) as it relates to identifying the spatial distribution and relative concentrations of elements with high accuracy and resolution for membrane separation and filtration technologies. Discussed are the benefits of the technology and a comparison to Element Mapping (EM), Scanning Electron Microscop...

Natural organic matter (NOM) is universally recognized as a major foulant of membranes used for drinking water treatment. The fouling has been attributed to adsorption of NOM in membrane pores and/or to formation of a gel layer that covers the membrane surface. Colloids, humics, and polysaccharides have each been implicated as major contributors ...

The results of the optimization runs using settled water as feed show that membrane operation at flux of 200 Lmh can be sustained with stable transmembrane pressure (TMP) and permeability. After that, the effect on membrane operational performance is investigated when 0.5 mg/L residual ozone is applied to the feed of the membranes with interesting...

This paper is a case study of a demonstration project that explores the use of ceramic membrane filtration technology to remove DBP precursors from surface water at the Naval Facilities Command (NAVFAC) Engineering Service Center. The systems primary goal was to remove TOC cost-effectively to control DBP concentrations in the water distribution sy...

This paper discusses the use of ceramic membranes to treat impaired quality source waters (e.g., seawater and wastewater) in seawater pretreatment and water reuse applications. The paper also covers n-line coagulation and a new generation ceramic membrane which has uniform pore-structure, manufactured by anodic oxidation instead of sintering. Discu...

This paper compares and contrasts the designs of at least six separate brackish groundwater desalters in Southern California for key parameters such as flux, recovery, brine concentrations and disposal methods, permeate treatment goals, and stabilization methods and requirements. Additionally, the paper discusses operational and performance issues...

This paper, presented by SAIC (the City?s program manager) provides key insight into the establishment of a mitigation bank and then the process of creating the constructed wetlands. Then the paper discusses the permitting challenges for this and for similar projects, comparing the original timeline estimates to actual permitting timelines and the...

This paper discusses the design and performance of nanofiltration plants for municipal water supply and the various regional needs for the technology. The paper contains the comparison of various NF plant designs and operation conditions and concludes that these plants provide a very reliable water source to the local municipality and a water quali...

This paper is a case study that compares five different industrial membrane treatment units in an effort to evaluate the potential installation of a new permanent water treatment plant facility to replace the current leased water treatment trailers, resolve the water quality issues associated with finished water, and address current concerns with f...

This paper is a case study that covers the use of ceramic membranes and ozone on the Shibaura Water Reclamation Center facility. This facility uses ozone technology to enhance coagulation. The system also uses ceramic membrane filtration to permit a higher flux rate and remove any potential of broken fibers. The performance and operating costs of t...

This paper is a case study that discusses the use of cloth media filtration as a pretreatment to ultrafiltration for waste water applications. Covered are the possible reasons for this approach and the performance of a system that filtered the wastewater using an inside-to-outside flow path that eliminates the need for cleaning with an air-scour s...

This paper considers the capital and operating costs associated with improvements in brackish RO energy recovery technologies and compares them to more conventional designs that are still being implemented. These improvements include turbochargers, isobaric energy recovery, turbine-assisted interstage boost pumping, and concentrate turbine equipmen...

This paper highlights the challenges and potential advantages of Point of Use filtration systems in regions of the works where clean potable water is not readily available. This study considers two areas in Texas, and investigates point of use filtration systems. The objectives of this research are to (1) assess the region?s current water source an...

This paper describes the Digestivore process, a new development that functions as a sludge handling system and also provides ammonia treatment of side streams at wastewater treatment plants. The Digestivore process is a very versatile and robust technology that features an aerobic digestion process utilizing flat plate membranes for thickening was...

This paper looks at the results of autopsying 50 MF/UF modules received from facilities around the world treating water for different applications.The gathered data show that most of the time, the autopsy succeeds in drawing up a cause and effect scenario explaining the observations recorded on sites. The reasons for production loss and integrity f...

The use of support media in submerged membranes systems has shown great potential in controlling and minimizing membrane fouling without the need of increasing the membrane operational parameters. Support media can be very efficient for removal of water organic impurities and turbidity. However, the fill fraction of support media required for minim...

This paper documents a study intended to determine the impact of shear stress conditions on hollow fiber membrane fouling in natural waters, compare shear stress conditions and pre-coagulation on membrane fouling (separately and in combination), and compare the relative cost of shear stress conditions (sparging) and/or pre-coagulation with respect ...

In many areas of the world, use of fresh groundwater and surface water resources is at or exceeds sustainable levels. Brackish waters offer a new source of potable supply in many areas. This paper investigates the various types of brackish waters available, and considers and implications for their use as a potable water source....

This paper discusses the implications that increasing water recovery has on feed water chemistries and how additional pretreatment is required to eliminate specific solute compounds from interfering with reverse osmosis (RO) system separations and efficiency. Examples of actual system designs with specific feed water chemistries are discussed to s...

This study investigates the accuracy of RO membrane manufacturer's performance prediction software with respect to TDS rejection and feed pressure. Six commercial softwares were investigated and compared with real-world performance from facilities located in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Maryland, Kentucky, and Kansas. Preliminary conclusions indicate t...

This paper looks at the challenges associated with the design of a larger 12.6 mgd facility compared with design considerations for a smaller facility (less than 5 mgd), and shows how these challenges were addressed. Discussion includes: pilot testing, supplier selection, pre-purchase process, accommodatig for future expansion, using 3D design, con...

This paper describes the wastewater master planning challenges in the Southern Outer Banks coastal community. The high cost of land, the challenges of public-private regionalization, influent flow and load issues, the limited area available for effluent disposal, and stringent effluent disposal regulations for non-discharge systems have presented ...

The City of Kingman commissioned a state of the art flat panel membrane bioreactor (MBR). This paper discusses the selection of hollow-fiber MBR versus flat-panel MBR, and presents a case study for the implementation of flate-plat MBR at the City of Kingman facility....

Subsurface intakes can be used as part of the pretreatment system for seawater reverse osmosis facilities. Wells of various designs and galleries are being used for intakes at many site globally in order to reduce pretreatment costs, chemical usage, biofouling potential, and environmental impacts (entrainment and impingement). The goal of using a...

This paper considers the development of antifouling RO membranes where the effects of the surface modification are verified not only through microbial fouling-, but also application-oriented performance tests. To achieve antifouling membrane surfaces, polymer chains with antifouling properties are synthesized onto the selective (feed-) side of the ...

Gas Permeable (GP) membranes are a relatively mature technology for various industrial water treatment applications; however, they are an emerging technology in municipal water and wastewater applications. GP membrane processes use a microporous hollow-fiber membrane to achieve mass transfer of a dissolved, volatile constituent from liquid to gas, ...

The groundwater that St. John the Baptist Parish in southern Louisiana supplies to residents has been high in organic material and color. Options available for rapid and accurate microbiological water testing are very limited. ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) is the primary energy transfer molecule for all living cells on Earth and therefore its measur...

An extensive pilot study of ceramic microfiltration (MF) in the Ceramac configuration for treating IJssel Lake water was conducted at a demonstration-scale. At a gross flux of 75 LMH, a backwash interval of 30 minutes, and a chemically enhanced backwash after the 11th backwash, a nearly constant specific flux of about 500 LMH/bar (corrected to a t...

Reducing energy consumption is critical for lowering the cost of desalination and addressing environmental concerns about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the continued use of conventional fossil fuels as the primary energy source for seawater desalination plants.In this study, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to gather informatio...

Pasquotank County in the Albemarle Sound region of coastal North Carolina decided to upgrade their water supply system by building a reverse osmosis water treatment plant near Elizabeth City. The paper will present design development data and compare to operational data from the first year of operation. Also, other areas of interest will be address...

Expansion of the City of Delaware's existing lime-softening water treatment plant with UF/RO in order to address THM formation and other removal considerations are discussed in this paper. The surface water RO will remove TOC, atrazine, nitrates and herbicides which eliminates the need for GAC from the existing plant. A case study comparing the lim...

This article reviews some of the unique steps taken to maintain enough ultrafiltration plant capacity to meet demand, including an untested alternate temporary raw water header, temporary 1 mm raw water screens, and middle of the night SCADA programming changes. The plant successfully operated for eight days under these conditions while emergency ...

The cold semi-arid climate of the Missouri Plateau of North Dakota adds several challenges for water and wastewater facilities in the region. Adequate and dependable water sources are limited, so regional water systems have evolved to provide communities and rural users with reliable, safe drinking water. Because of the region?s climate and physi...

Diminishing potable water supplies and conservation initiatives have prompted utilities to look to unconventional sources and process applications to meet potable water demands, while making the most of existing resources. Treatment of waste streams can be an essential aspect in meeting these goals....

This paper investigates whether High Pressure RO can be successfully implemented as second stage RO for brine volume minimization without chemical pretreatment. Consderations include feed water quality, intermediate chemical pretreatment, and lower energy consumption in the HPRO process when compared with concentrate disposal options.The investigat...

West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) has chosen to follow a ?step-wise? approach to incorporating Ocean Water Desalination as 10% of West Basin?s diverse water portfolio. In 2002, West Basin began pilot scale testing to determine the viability of Ultrafiltration (UF) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) as treatment processes to produce potable des...

This paper will compare operating results from the membrane filtration and RO systems applied for indirect potable reuse (IPR), comparing each system configuration and membrane type based on fouling rates, product water quality, and energy usage. These results will also be compared against available operating information from full-scale facilities...

Direct, non-biological microfiltration (MF) of primary effluent has been tested at a number of locations over the last decade, including in the USA. Pilot testing of an MF system treating primary effluent was carried out at the City of Corona, CA, Treatment Plant No. 2. During th planned 4-month pilot test utilizing a Pall Corporation 0.1 micron Pv...

The purpose of this paper is to describe the permitting process associated with reclaiming wastewater effluent to be further treated into potable drinking water. Because of the risks associated with this concept, the permitting process became an important step in a string of equally important engineering tasks. The permitting process of the Big Spr...

This paper considers process designs and projected membrane performance of semi-batch reverse osmosis (RO) systems for a range of brackish and low-salinity source water types and compositions. The potential advantages of new process design features that are attainable with batch RO but not practical for conventional RO, such as short membrane arra...

This paper investigates the types of silica fouling that would occur in the presence of aluminum carryover from coagulant dosing and evaluates multiple types of antiscalants to determine if such fouling can be prevented....

Glycidal Methacrylate (GMA) has been found to be a useful epoxy in the attachment of chelating agents onto the surface for polymer membranes. The treated membranes were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results of the analysis are discussed, and suggest the modified membranes have a potentia...

The City of Gearhart commissioned an ultrafiltration system which utilizes an arsenic co-precipitation step with ferric chloride prior to final filtration with the UF. A modified cleaning strategy is presented in order to address ferric in the feed, and legal constraints associated with reduced flow periods....

This paper presents findings from the City of Gallup's pilot testing for a surface water microfiltration project from the San Juan River. At a cost of nearly $1 billion, this is a major effort being managed by the Bureau of Reclamation. This paper presents the details of the 2012 six month pilot water treatment project and treatment plant process s...

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and demonstrate the unique technology of ozone pretreatment for ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes and the stable operating performance of the membrane filtration plant. The ozone adjustment proves to have good tolerance towards the fluctuation of the iron and manganese issues associat...

The City of Fargo completed a Facility Plan of their Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in 2011 to address two main issues: increasing water demands and high sulfate concentrations within a raw water source (Sheyenne River) primarily due to Devils Lake flooding. Reverse Osmosis (RO) was recognized as the most appropriate technology for sulfate reduction, ...

The information presented in this paper provides a great value for agencies and consultants who are considering use of seawater desalination as a means to supplement current water supplies and plan to introduce desalinated seawater into their existing distribution system. Testing methodology and outcomes of the study are provided....

This paper describes operation of a number of full scale seawater desalination plants ultrafiltration pretreatment over longer periods. These plants differ in capacity from small plants for supply of water to local industry to large scale municipal potable water production plants. These plants are in operation in various geographical locations, s...

This paper summarizes the results of both bench and pilot-scale Membrane Distillation tests when treating a variety of feedwaters including thermal desalination system brines, seawater, tap water and prepared sodium chloride solutions. In addition to measuring flux & effluent quality as a function of process conditions (temperature, flows, salinity...

Paper considers the design, construction, commissioning, and piloting of a membrane brine concentrator (MBC) process for treatment of highly saline formation and frac-flowback water (collectively called produced water) from an unconventional natural gas plays in the Marcellus shale and Permian basin. This study captures pilot operations covering th...

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), together with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), and Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) has been collaborating on a Tool for Planning Temporary Water Supply Response in Drought Emergencies (the Tool). Four communities in the severe drought area of Texas volunteered to serve as case studies ...

San Antonio, along with many parts of Texas is experiencing double digit growth rates every 10 years. San Antonio Water System (SAWS) must be able to provide adequate water supplies in order to meet this growth. SAWS, currently gets the majority of their drinking water from the Edwards Aquifer, but water levels are decreasing, resulting in limitati...

In order to diversify their water supplies, SAWS has inaugurated a brackish desalination project to supply over 10 MGD initially to later be expanded to 25 MGD of treated potable water to the City of San Antonio. The first phase will have thirteen production wells completed into the lower Wilcox Sands at depths from 1,200 to 1,800 feet. The brackis...

In-line coagulation for the Collins Park prior to microfiltration was investigated as a method to reduce fouling of the membranes and to enhance energy usage. Bench scale testing on Fletchers lake with different coagulants tested options for treatment of feed to the MF unit prior to nanofiltration....

The paper summarizes the design elements that were incorporated into the City of Bozeman Hyalite/Sourdough Water Treatment Plant to address the cold weather raw water conditions expected, the known wildfire vulnerability within the system, and the susceptibility of the raw water to human impact. A cursory summary of the new water treatment plant p...

The paper compared several energy recovery devices (ERD) for Bonita Springs Utilities membrane element, and membrane train expansion combinations. The analysis resulted in a membrane element specification that considered not only purchase cost, but also life-cycle cost when operating with the new ERD at current and potential future feed water qual...

This paper describes work to consider design with energy recovery systems for tidally influenced surface water sources that have wide variations in TDS and temperature The overall power consumption for the two turbocharger options, the motor assisted turbocharger option and the pressure exchanger system were evaluated. This demonstrates the sens...

This paper describes a water management study conducted in the arid southwestern U.S. to evaluate treatment options for a high salinity RO reject that is produced as a waste stream from high purity water production within an electronics facility. Increasing RO reject flows, coupled with a fixed volume within existing solar evaporation ponds for con...

This paper describes a solution combining membrane filtration and evaporation that was developed in the PROMETHEUS project aiming to treat high strength, polymer containing rubber part manufacturing wastewater. A pilot study was carried out in early 2012 at a rubber factory, Cikautxo, located in the Basque Country in Spain...

Electrically conductive polymer-nanocomposite (ECPNC) reverse osmosis (RO) thin film membranes were demonstrated to have biofilm-preventing capabilities under extreme bacteria and organic material loadings. A simple route to the creation and application of these polyamide-carbon nanotube thin films is reported along with characterization by SEM, T...

This paper presents the results from a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) system energy analysis and an ongoing air-scour energy optimization study. The energy analysis was conducted on the major MBR system components that include the RAS pump, permeate pumps, and air scour blower. Preliminary energy consumption and membrane transmembrane pressure (TMP) re...

This paper compares the results of the validation pilot study and full scale plant performance of a direct filtration pressure membrane system for the growing City of Pasco, WA. The City relies on the McNary Pool of the Columbia River as its water source, which is generally low turbidity, low TOC and experiences seasonal taste and odor events in th...

This paper presents full-scale start-up and performance results for the upgraded East Valley Water District Plant 134, with the implementation of enhanced coagulation using ferric chloride followed by in-line filtration with submerged PVDF membranes. Operational approaches and results relative to disinfection by-product (DBP) precursor and total o...

This paper compares Pilot plant to Full-Scale Ultrafiltration performance at the West Morgan-East Lawrence Water Authority for the Robert M. Hames WTP which was to be an 8 MGD UF system installed in Hillsboro, AL....

This paper describes the start-up of the East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District (ECCV) 10.9 million-gallon-per-day (MGD) brackish water reverse osmosis (RO) treatment facility in 2012 during record breaking temperatures. The plant provides a renewable water source to areas of southeast metro Denver currently served exclusively by no...

The paper describes the pilot testing for San Antonio Water System?s (SAWS) Brackish Groundwater Desalination Program. The primary goals in the pilot testing effort were to obtain a TCEQ capacity rating and approval of the use of membranes from three manufacturers for the full scale facility and to evaluate certain pre-membrane processes. However, ...

This paper and presentation detail the process evaluation, membrane selection, process piloting, detailed design, construction, and completed project performance since July 2012 for the new Big Spring Water Treatment Plant in Tuscumbia, Alabama....