Effects of Feedwater Salinity and Composition on Industrial Zero Liquid Discharge Process Performance and Costs

This presentation focuses on research results from two projects, the Bureau of Reclamation project: Treatment of Concentrate and the Joint Water Reuse and Desalination Task Force report: Survey of High Recovery and Zero Liquid Discharge Technologies for Water Utilities. As part of the research the treatment of concentrate by the 5 general ZLD processing schemes that have been used in the industry were studied. Variables included plant size (1, 10, and 20MGD), salinity (4,000, 8,000, and 12,000 mg/L), and concentrate composition (various levels of major ions and silica). Capital, operating, and annualized costs were developed for the 5 ZLD process schemes as a function of the variables. Results indicate a strong dependence of process cost on salinity and composition and reveal system performance and cost trends, individual process step contributions to costs, and identify major cost factors.

This presentation is available to AMTA Members only.