Membrane treatment is versatile — A single treatment facility producing boiler feed, food processing water, and drinking water

Abstract

Membrane treatment is gaining a reputation for consistent and stable performance, which might lead some to the impression that treatment systems utilizing membranes are not versatile. On the contrary, there is a recently completed facility operating in the agricultural area of Southeast Florida which provides boiler feed water, food processing water, and drinking water from a single facility. The versatility required by this facility is increased by the need to seasonally vary the quantity of each of these flows. This paper examines this facility and demonstrates that the quality of water produced by a membrane treatment plant can be varied to suit many requirements, without expanding the facility. The plant is designed to produce 750,000 gpd and it provides three different qualities of water. This facility was built to provide process quality water to a sugar retinery on a year-round basis and boiler feed water during the six month period each year when the sugar milling process is not in operation. The consistently high quality of water will improve the quality of refined sugar and allow the refinery to operate all year. In addition, the treatment plant provides potable water for use and consumption by the employees. Potable water was previously trucked to the site on a daily basis.