Combined Scheme of Permafrost Water Purification in Central Yakutia

Abstract

The problem of providing the of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic population with drinking water, taking into account severe climatic conditions, is extremely urgent. The uneven distribution of the population over the republic vast territory dictates special requirements for the water supply organization. One of the solutions may be the partial involvement of sub-permafrost waters in the local systems of drinking water supply for the population of Central Yakutia. They contain increased concentrations of lithium, fluorine and sodium and can be used for drinking water supply only after preliminary water treatment, despite the significant reserves of subpermafrost waters and their undoubted advantages. The choice complexity of the water treatment technological scheme is due to the lack of approved methods for purifying drinking water from lithium. The authors carried out an experimental-industrial approbation of the ion-exchange method for removing lithium from the subpermafrost waters of the Yakutsk artesian basin. On the basis of the results obtained, a comprehensive scheme for the purification of Central Yakutia subpermafrost waters for drinking water supply was developed, which provided for a decrease in the concentrations of lithium, fluorine and sodium to standard requirements.