Water Impurities

• Turbidity

• Microorganism

• Organic substances

• Alkalinity

• Magnesium & calcium

• Chlorides and sulphates

• Iron/silica etc
TSS
Total Suspended Solids (TSS) are
solids in water that can be trapped
by a filter.

TSS can include a wide variety of

material, such as silt, decaying plant
and animal matter, industrial wastes,
and sewage. High concentrations of
suspended solids can cause many
problems for stream health and
aquatic life.
TDS

Total dissolved solids (TDS)

is a measure of the combined
content of all inorganic and
organic substances
contained in a liquid in
molecular, ionized or micro-
granular (colloidal sol)
suspended form.
Hardness
Hard water is water that has high
mineral content .

Hard water is formed when water

percolates through deposits of
limestone and chalk which are
largely made up of calcium and
magnesium carbonates.

In domestic settings, hard water is

often indicated by a lack of lather
formation when soap is agitated in
water, and by the formation of lime
scale in kettles and water heaters.
TYPES OF HARD WATER
TEMPORARY HARDNESS

• Combination of calcium ions and bicarbonate ions in water

• Can be removed by boiling water or by addition of lime
PERMANENT HARDNESS

•Caused by presence of calcium and magnesium sulfates and/or chlorides. Cannot be removed
by boiling.
•Removed using a water softener/ ion exchanger

TYPICAL VALUES:
SOFT 70 - 140 ppm
SLIGHTLY HARD 140 - 210 ppm
MODERATELY HARD 210 - 320 ppm
HARD 320 - 530 PPM
Carbonate Hardness

• Often called "temporary hardness"

because heating the water will
remove it. When the water is heated,
the insoluble carbonates will
precipitate and tend to form bottom
deposits in water heaters.

• Ca2+, Mg2+ associated with HCO3-, CO32-

• CH = TH or Total alkalinity, whichever
is less
Non-Carbonate Hardness

• Called permanent hardness because it

is not removed when the water is
heated. It is much more expensive to
remove non-carbonate hardness than
carbonate hardness.

• Ca2+, Mg2+ associated with other ions,

Cl-, NO3-, SO42-
Conductivity

Therefore conductivity is used to measure the

concentration of dissolved solids which have
been ionized in a polar solution such as water.
The unit of measurement commonly used is
one millionth of a Siemen per centimeter
(micro-Siemens per centimeter or µS/cm).

It is the reciprocal of electrical resistivity

(ohms).
Hardness Units

• milligrams per liter (mg/L) as calcium carbonate (most common)

• parts per million (ppm) as calcium carbonate
• grains per gallon of hardness (to convert from grains per gallon to
mg/L, multiply by 17.1)
• equivalents/liter (eq/L)
TREATMENT PROCESSES AND EQUIPMENT

• AERATION

• CLARIFICATION

• DE-AERATION

• DE-ALKALIZING

• DISTILLATION

• FILTRATION
i. DEEP BED SAND FILTRATION
ii.ACTIVATED CARBON FILTER
FILTRATION
• Oldest water treatment process (cloth filters)
• Removes suspended solids, colloidal matter
(flocculate, iron oxide etc.)
• Typically a bed of sand or anthracite or both
• Water flows through bed either by gravity or by
pressure
• Material collects on top of bed and as thickness
increases, has to be removed
• Material removed by backwashing with water
flow reversed.
• Often scouring with air carried out.
Filtration vs Purification
• Water Filtration:
• Removal of suspended solids in water
• Media Filters, Ultra/Micro-Filtration, Cartridge filtration

• Water Purification:
• Removal of dissolved ions in water
• Reverse Osmosis, Nanofiltration
Normal Filtration

Ions and
particles
Used in: cartridge filters, dual media filters, etc.
Cross Flow Filtration

Feed Concentrate

Ions Only
Permeate
Used in: Reverse Osmosis, Nanofiltration, Micro/Ultra filtration
Filtration Classifications
Elements of Membrane Separation
A number of membrane-based desalination processes are
used on industrial scale.
the membrane-based processes include
Reverse osmosis,
Nano-filtration,
Ultrafiltration, and
Microfiltration.

16
Differences among membranes

• Microfiltration operates on a • Nanofiltration operates on a

particle size range of 0.10 µm to particle size range of 5xl0-2 µm to
0.15 µm. 5x10-3 µm

• Ultrafiltration operates on a • Reverse osmosis operates on a

particle size range of 0.15 µm to particle size range of 5xl0-3 µm to
5xl0-2 µm 10-4 µm.

17
Spiral Wound Membrane Element Basics

• Microfiltration - 1.0 to 0.05 micron

• Ultrafiltration - 0.1 to 0.005 micron
• Nanofiltration - 0.008 to 0.001 micron
• Reverse Osmosis - 0.001 to 0.0002 micron
Separation spectrum of pressure-driven membrane processes

19
Membrane Treatment
Reverse Osmosis
Salt Reduction
Particle and Microbial Filtration

Nanofiltration
Some Salt Reduction
Particle and Microbial Filtration
THM Precursor removal

Micro/Ultrafiltration
Particle and Microbial Filtration
THM Precursor Removal
Typical Recoveries

• Recovery = Permeate Flow / Feed Flow

• RO 65-85%
• NF 80-90%
• UF 80-95%

No System can operate effectively at 100% recovery

Microfiltration & RO Membranes

• Microfiltration Membrane RO Membrane

• Scale = 0.2 micron filter, 8000 x magnification Scale = Non-porous, 8000 x Magnification
Osmosis
Osmosis is the spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules through a semi-
permeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration, in the
direction that tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides.

23
RO- Reverse Osmosis
Reverse Osmosis, commonly referred to as RO, is a process where you demineralize or
deionize water by pushing it under pressure through a semi-permeable

24
RO Basics

• Feed - the solution which enters the

RO system after the pre-treatment
Membrane
equipment

• Permeate - the solution which passes PERMEATE

FEED
through the semi-permeable
membrane

• Concentrate - the solution which does

not pass through the semi-permeable CONCENTRATE
membrane and is rejected
Reverse osmosis
• Two main type of membranes
 CTA (CELLULOSE TRI ACETATE)
Chlorine resistant

 TFC (THIN FILM COMPOSITE - POLYMERS)

Superior flow & rejection rates
• Material that can foul the membrane must be removed

SUSPENDED SOLID ETC. Filtration/clarification

BIOLOGICAL FOULING Chlorinate and then de-Chlorinate with activated

carbon etc. To prevent membrane damage

SCALE FORMING SALTS DOSING CHEMICALS

Reverse Osmosis

Recovery Ratio (RR), A parameter of practical interest in water treatment processes

27
Treatment Scheme
• To increase the efficiency and life of reverse osmosis system, effective pretreatment
of the feed water is required.
• Pretreatment is suggested to control following parameters in RO module.
 To remove Suspended Solids
 To avoid Scaling of dissolved salts
 Biological Fouling

• To control the above rated parameters following systems are available at RO Plant.
Filtration System:
•The suspended solids area usually removed from raw
water through sand filters.
•Two filters with backwashing systems have been

provided.

Biocide Dosing System:

•Biocide Dosing is done to avoid growth of biological

Species. in membranes.
Anti-Scalant Dosing System:

•Scale inhibitor also known as antiscalant is used to

control carbonate, sulfate and calcium Flouride
scaling.

•It remove the adhesion forces of scale forming

agents.

•To prevent from scaling antiscalant in feed stream

is dosed.
 Scheme of RO Plant

Demin Water to storage tank

Chlorine Removal Dosage

Permeate

Raw Water from TW

Membrane Housing
Mixed Bed Polisher
Multimedia A/B 5/10 Micron 1 Micron
Filter Filter

Rejects

High Pressure Pump

Biocide Dosing Antiscalant dosing

Performance Parameters of RO

1. Osmotic and operating pressure

2. Salt rejection
3. Permeate recovery
Membrane manufacturing companies define system specifications in
terms of the feed quality, which includes salinity and temperature
Operating pressure
Operating pressure is adjusted to overcome the adverse effects of the
following:
- Osmotic pressure
- Friction losses
- Membrane resistance
If the operating pressure is set equal to the sum of the above resistances
the net permeate flow rate across the membrane would be minimal or
equal to zero;
therefore, the operating pressure is set at higher value in order to
maintain economical permeate flow rate.

33
Features of the RO Membranes
The membranes are formed of thin film of polymeric material several thousand
Angstroms thick cast on polymeric porous material.

Commercial membranes have high water permeability and a high degree of semi-
permeability.

The membrane must be stable over a wide range of pH and temperature, and have good
mechanical integrity.

The life of commercial membranes varies between 3-5 years.

 This depends on the feed water quality, pretreatment conditions, and stability of operation.

34
Basic Definitions
• Recovery - ratio of permeate flow to feed flow, expressed as a
percentage

• Machine Recovery - ratio of permeate flow to the feed flow of the

RO machine, expressed as a percentage

• Element Recovery - ratio of permeate flow to the feed flow of an

individual element within a machine, expressed as a percentage

• Rejection - percentage of dissolved solids in the feed rejected by the

membrane that remain in the concentrate stream

• Passage - inverse of rejection, percentage of dissolved solids in the

feed that pass through the membrane in the permeate stream
Basic Definitions
• Bank/Stage – A group of housings for which the water flow split between and is the
same direction – 3:2:1 banking.
• Pass – Refers to the RO machine itself. Typically used when referring to more than 1
machine – 1 pass vs 2 pass system
• Recycle – The component of the concentrate stream that is returned to the feed
stream.
• Pressure Drop – The difference between primary and final pressure.
• Conductivity – The measure of water ionic purity measured by the resistance to
conduct electricity.
• Auto flush or fast forward flush – A periodic increase in the amount of feed water
moving across the membrane surface, designed to sweep away deposits.
R/O : Flow Streams

SIMPLIFIED R/O CONFIGURATION

PRESSURE VESSEL

FEED PRODUCT /
WATER HIGH PERMEATE
PRESS.
PUMP
SEMI- REGULATING
PERMEABLE VALVE
MEMBRANE
REJECT /
BRINE
Recovery Rate, %

Permeate Flow
% Recovery = x 100
Feed Flow

Recovery is the amount of flow left after

discarding the reject water.
Salt Passage, %

Permeate TDS
% Salt Passage = x 100
Feed TDS

The percentage of Feed TDS that passes

through the membrane.
Salt Rejection, %

Permeate TDS
% Rejection = 1 - x 100
Feed TDS

The percentage of Feed TDS that does not

pass through the membrane.
Machine Recovery
• Ratio of permeate flow to feed flow in a crossflow
filtration machine.
• % Recovery = (permeate flow ÷ feed flow) * 100%
• Example: (100 gpm ÷ 125 gpm) * 100 = 80%

Feed Permeate

Concentrate
Membrane Flux
Definition
How much permeate produced per square foot of membrane.
Defined as Gallons per sq ft. per day (GFD).

 Typically elements are run at 12 – 22 GFD.

 Typical areas:
 4” element = 95 ft2
 8” element = 370 - 400 ft2
Temperature Effects:
• All elements typically rated for flow rates at a standard
temperature: 25 deg. C
• As temperature decreases, water viscosity increases and
membrane flux rates decrease.
• As temperature increases, water viscosity decreases and
membrane flux rates increase.
• Rejection rates and fouling potential can change depending on
temperature.
PREDICTION OF SCALE FORMATION AND
CORROSION TENDENCY

• Alkalinity

• Hardness (Calcium)

• pH

• TDS

• Temperature
LANGELIER SATURATION INDEX (LSI)

LSI Tendency of Water

2.0 Scale forming; non corrosive

0.5 Slightly corrosive & scale forming

0.0 Balanced but pitting corrosion possible

- 0.5 Slightly corrosive & non-scale forming

- 2.0 Serious corrosion

LANGELIER SATURATION INDEX (LSI)