Filtration Plant Research Articles

Reverse osmosis pretreatment by a fluidized magnetic ion exchange resin for application in a power plant: Pilot-scale and high-rate operations and foulant characterization

Biofouling is one of the most serious problems in reverse osmosis (RO) operations. Here, we operated a pilot-scale MIEX® system with a high-rate configuration as a pretreatment for an RO system in a water purification plant. The goal was to investigate the RO foulants obtained with and without pretreatment by MIEX®. The MIEX® resin (10 to 300 mL/L) removed dissolved organic matter (DOM) within 5 min. A pilot-scale fluidized reactor with 100 mL/L of MIEX® removed 35.6%, 49.4%, and 56.2% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) for effective resin doses of 0.03, 0.06, and 0.12 mL/L, respectively. Unknown screening analysis by Orbitrap mass spectrometry revealed that the MIEX® pretreatment decreased or removed 165–363 DOM features with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (CHO features) and 145–220 CHO features with N heteroatoms (CHON features) with effective resin doses of 0.03–0.12 mL/L. Moreover, fluorescence EEM revealed the preferential removal of terrestrial DOM, resulting in over half of the protein-like substances remaining in the RO feed. MIEX® selectively removed highly oxygenated DOM features within a short contact time, while condensed aromatic structures and lignin-like compounds were removed after 30 min. Increasing the MIEX® dose resulted in the additional removal of DOM features with less oxygenated characters and longer alkyl chains. The RO system with and without MIEX® pretreatment was similarly fouled by protein-like substances and CHON features; however, the MIEX® pretreatment decreased CHO features and terrestrial DOM foulants. The MIEX® pretreatment decreased organic and irreversible fouling and doubled the RO system lifetime, resulting in lower chemical cleaning and pressure requirements for an identical permeate volume.

Performance of regional water purification plants during extreme weather events: three case studies from New South Wales, Australia.

Climate change is altering weather patterns, which affects water supply systems globally. More frequent extreme weather events like floods, droughts, and heatwaves are impacting the availability of raw water sources that supply cities. These events can lead to less water, higher demand, and potential infrastructure damage. Water agencies and utilities must develop resilient and adaptable systems to withstand shocks and stresses. Case studies demonstrating the impact of extreme weather on water quality are important for developing resilient water supply systems. This paper documents the challenges faced by regional New South Wales (NSW) in managing water quality and supply during extreme weather events. Effective treatment processes, such as ozone treatment and adsorption, are used to maintain drinking water standards during extreme weather. Water-efficient alternatives are provided, and critical water networks are inspected to identify leaks and reduce system demand. Local government areas must collaborate and share resources to ensure that towns can cope with future extreme weather events. Systematic investigation is needed to understand system capacity and identify surplus resources to be shared when demand cannot be met. Pooling resources could benefit regional towns experiencing both floods and droughts. With expected population growth in the area, regional NSW councils will require a significant increase in water filtration infrastructure to handle increased system loading. Continuous research, regular strategy reviews, and innovative approaches are essential to ensure a secure and reliable water supply during future extreme weather events.

Optimization of pump scheduling in waterworks considering load balancing using improved genetic algorithm

The water transmission and distribution process of the water supply pump station of the water purification plant plays a key role in the entire urban water supply system. When the requirements of water supply quantity and water pressure are satisfied, the reduction of operating energy consumption of the pump set and improvement of its service life are urgent problems. Therefore, to reduce the cost of water supply pump station, a mathematical model is established to minimize the energy consumption of pump group, the number of pump switches and the load balancing in this paper. In order to solve the pump scheduling problem, a two-stage strategy based on genetic algorithm is proposed. In stage one, the frequency conversion ratio and the number of pumps needed to be turned on at the lowest energy consumption are calculated. In stage two, through the improved genetic algorithm and iterative way to reduce the number of pump switches and load balancing. Finally, a case study from a real waterworks in Suzhou, China is used to verify the validity of the proposed model. Numerical results reveal that the improved genetic algorithm outperforms the competing algorithms. In addition, a proper sensitivity analysis allows assessing the effects under different pump operating conditions.

Bio-purification of Ascaris lumbricoides ova in a transformed Echinochloa pyramidalis wastewater treatment filter plant in the city of Yaounde (Cameroon)

The reuse of wastewater is widespread across the globe, especially in regions with water scarcity. Recycled water can be utilized in irrigation but if not treated effectively can pose risk for public health owing to the pathogens present in the recycled water used for irrigation Ascaris lumbricoides is a major soil-transmitted helminth that is highly infective to humans. The ova of A. lumbricoides are able to survive wastewater treatment, thus making it an indicator organism for effective water treatment and sanitation. Hence, Ascaris ova must be removed from wastewater matrices for the safe use of recycled water. The results of the observations of Ascaris lumbricoides eggs indicate a general density of 88 ± 72 ova.l-1. The highest density was 338 ova.l-1 obtained in fat and oil removal basin during the LRS. Although a density of 24 larvae/L was detected at the outlet. Overall, larvae decreased at the secondary treatment level with a general purification yield of 85%.

A Feasibility Study on Textile Sludge as a Raw Material for Sintering Lightweight Aggregates and Its Application in Concrete

This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of textile sludge as a raw material for sintering lightweight aggregates (LWAs) and its application in concrete. Three samples of different components were taken from the textile sludge, which came from different textile factories in Taiwan. The analysis of the chemical composition of the sludge shows that the total content of SiO2, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 in the textile sludge was far lower than the recommended value in the literature, and that glassy melt could not be produced and sintered into LWAs alone. Therefore, the water purification sludge obtained from a water purification plant owned by the Taiwan Water Supply Company was used as the main raw material, and the textile sludge was used as the auxiliary raw material in addition amounts of 7.5%, 15.0%, and 22.5%. The test results showed that the LWAs sintered by adding textile sludge to water purification sludge could reach the particle density that is generally required for LWAs (between 0.2 and 1.8 g/cm3). The 14-day compressive strength of the lightweight aggregate concrete made from textile-sludge-based LWAs was between 20 and 25 MPa. This means that textile-sludge-based LWAs can be used in secondary structural concrete.

Inorganic CO2 conversion through reaction with concentrated reject brine: Polymorphic characteristics of intermediate carbonate salts

In recent times, various types of water purification plants have been employed to produce clean water from seawater, as a means to overcome water deficit problems. However, this process results in the production of highly concentrated reject brine solutions, which can cause significant environmental and ecological problems due to their high ionic concentration when released into the near-shore area without treatment. Conversely, these reject brine solutions can be regarded as a promising reactant for providing metal cations during the conversion of CO2 into inorganic materials, rather than treating them as wastewater. This study proposes a CO2-based post-treatment process for desalinated reject brine and investigates the relationship between the ionic concentration of the reject brine solution and the polymorphic properties of inorganic compounds produced by the reaction between metal cations and CO2. The polymorphic properties of metal carbonates were investigated with respect to the gradual changes in the concentration of the reject brine solution through dilution and concentration. As a result of this study, the degree of reaction inhibition was found to be based on the concentration of the reject brine solutions, and these results can be applied in multidisciplinary areas, including climate change mitigation, post-treatment of desalinated brine, and advanced materials and resource production.

Membrane filtration plants set to benefit from cartridge filter CIP process

H2O Innovation Inc has recently successfully applied a cleaning process for membrane-based filtration systems which, it says, could potentially benefit countless water treatment facilities that currently use cartridge filters.

Validation of conventional and synchronous fluorescence emission of potable water

Water from filter plants and bottled water is generally safe to drink but regular quality monitoring of these facilities requires development of quick analytical technique to ensure public safety and health. This study presented the variation of two components in spectra of conventional fluorescence spectroscopy (CFS) and four components in synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) to assess the quality of 25 water samples from different sources. Poor quality water either due to organic or inorganic contaminants presented high intensity fluorescence emission in the blue green region and low intensity water Raman peak unlike an intense water Raman peak originated from pure water when excited at 365 nm. Emission intensity in the blue green region and water Raman peak can be used as a marker for quick screening of water quality. Although few discrepancies were observed in CF spectra of samples with intense Raman peak but were found to be positive for bacterial contamination, thus questioning the sensitivity of CFS that needs to be addressed. Whereas, SFS presented highly selective and detailed picture of water contaminants emitting aromatic amino acid, fulvic and humic like fluorescence. It is suggested that the specificity of CFS can be enhanced by coupling it with SFS or use of multiple excitation wavelengths to target different fluorophores for water quality analysis.

A New Modeled Equation of the Water Quality Index for Examination of the Water Quality of Treatment Plants in Basra City (Iraq)

Monitoring the pollution degree of water treatment plants (WTPs) or any water sources requires routine and continuous water quality measurements, which is considered a challenging task. For this reason, applying a statistical tool to deal with a single value instead of a huge number of water quality values is very useful for a decision maker in this field. This work aimed to evaluate the characteristics of the purified water that is supplied from the most important water purification stations in Basra governorate for drinking use. Additionally, the study aimed at using the water quality index (WQI) for examination of the water quality, and obtaining a new equation of the WQI for water treatment plants based on the weighted arithmetic index. In this consent, 96 treated water samples were collected, regularly, from eight water purification plants in Basra city over a period of 12 months in 2021, for measuring the main physicochemical properties. Results showed that the studied units supplied treated water with the WQI varying between 50 and 72, and only the water supplied from Al-Asmaee unit could be classified as good water for drinking. The new developed formula of the WQI was valuable and applicable to examine the water quality of any water treatment unit in Basra city. It is recommended to use ridge linear regression (RLR) as the best statistic approach. The coefficient of R2 founded by RLR method was 96.1369. This method is helpful to be applied for a decision maker for monitoring different resources of water in case of the availability of enough data.

Active damping of LCL-Filtered Grid-Connected inverter based on parallel feedforward compensation strategy

Resonance related to the LCL-filter grid-connected inverter (GCI) is one of the most challenging issues in power electronics. Active damping is a widely used methodology to damp the resonance problem due to its effective control structure. In capacitor current feedback active damping methodologies, a compensator is primarily required in the feedback loop where the damping efficiency depends on the imitated features of the compensator. Such capacitor current feedback damping techniques encounter restrictions in their layout at the critical resonance frequency and may need extra amendment in the delay to assure stability. This paper proposes a different design method called parallel feedforward compensation method, which designs an almost strictly real positive plant and achieved damping with enhanced stability features. In the proposed alternative, a first-order high pass filter is used as a compensator across the LCL filter plant and filter capacitor current feedback loop. The resultant output of this augmented plant is then transmitted back at the reference point of a GCI system to attenuate the undesirable resonance peak. The key benefits of the proposed method are efficient damping without any limitation of critical resonance frequency region, better control characteristics, improved damping area, and better robustness under variations in filter parameters. The simulation and experimental outcomes based on transient response and steady-state analysis are demonstrated to validate the efficacy of the suggested method.

Determine the Impact of Bacterial Contents on the Quality of Tap Water in Hawija District Desalination Station.

Polluted tap water with coliform and fecal bacteria produced from the desalination plant of Hawija district/Kirkuk governorate was studied from November 2021 Until April 2022. Ten sites located on Hawija district named 1-10 were selected in this study on the feeding channel, the desalination stages plant and the distribution grid in the district. Total bacterial count and values of coliform cells per 100 ml of water sample was examined. The results of the study indicated that the filtration plant was operating with high efficiency in removing bacterial contaminants in most sites after desalination plant. Sites 5,6 recorded undictable average values and site 9 recorded lower average values (8.33 cell/100ml) respectively. The study also showed that the distribution grid is weak because the obsolescence of the pipes in some residential neighborhoods with average coliform values 17cell/100ml and 17.17 cell/100 ml in sites 8 and 7 respectively as contamination was recorded in some selected water samples. In reference to the results of the station operates with high efficiency and the tap water produced from it was within the Iraqi and international standards for drinking water.

Optimisation of Reverse-Osmosis Water Purification Plant Powered by Hydro-Generators at the Dead Sea

With the Jordan River as its main tributary, the Dead Sea is a hyper-saline lake, which was formed around 140 centuries ago. Climate change used to be the principal driver of water level changes. However, anthropogenic activities have recently emerged as a prominent source of excessive depletion. This study provides a realistic strategy for desalinating the Red Sea water whilst generating electrical power for the Dead Sea conveyance project. Seawater from the Gulf of Aqaba is transformed into highly concentrated saline water flowing to the Dead Sea whilst delivering purified drinking water to nearby regions using reverse osmosis plants. Being an energy-intensive process, a series of hydro-generators with efficient energy recovery devices will minimise the running cost by half.

Feasibility of Solar-Powered Groundwater Pumping Systems in Rural Areas of Greater Giyani Municipality (Limpopo, South Africa)

Rural areas in Limpopo Province (South Africa) are in urgent need of interventions for safe and secure water supply to adapt to climatic changes and the increased frequency of droughts. A feasibility study was conducted for the adoption of solar-powered groundwater pumping systems and Multiple Water Use Services (MUS) in Greater Giyani Municipality (Limpopo). Stakeholder engagement, geotechnical data and socio-economic information were used in the feasibility study. The Solar Powered Irrigation Systems (SPIS) tool (GIZ and FAO, 2021) was used to design solar-powered shallow groundwater pumping systems at nine case study sites: four villages (water supply for domestic use) and five small-scale farms. Given the technical design configurations, peak water requirements ranged from 28.8 to 58.9 m3/d, peak power requirements from 1.2 to 3.4 kWp and required solar panel surface areas from 8.0 to 22.3 m2. Viable financial mechanisms for the operation and maintenance of MUS are leasing, cooperatives, informal saving groups and pay-per-use. The adoption of the technology appears to be financially and technically viable to augment the water supply. However, groundwater levels will have to be monitored and water purification plants for drinking water will have to be established to ensure long-term sustainability.

Membrane Fabrication and Modification by Atomic Layer Deposition: Processes and Applications in Water Treatment and Gas Separation.

Membrane-based separation processes are part of most water purification plants worldwide. Industrial separation applications, primarily water purification and gas separation, can be improved with novel membranes or modification to existing ones. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is an emerging technique that is proposed to upgrade certain kinds of membranes independent of their chemistry and morphology. ALD deposits thin, defect-free, angstrom-scale, and uniform coating layers on a substrate's surface by reacting with gaseous precursors. The surface-modifying effects of ALD are described in the present review, followed by a description of various types of inorganic and organic barrier films and how these can be used in combination with ALD. The role of ALD in membrane fabrication and modification is categorized into different membrane-based groups according to the treated medium, i.e., water or gas. In all membrane types, the ALD-based direct deposition of inorganic materials, mainly metal oxides, on the membrane surface can improve antifouling, selectivity, permeability, and hydrophilicity. Therefore, the ALD technique can broaden the applications of membranes to the treatment of emerging contaminants in water and air. Finally, the advancement, limitations, and challenges of ALD-based membrane fabrication and modification are compared to provide a comprehensive guideline for developing next-generation membranes with improved filtration and separation performance.

Potential of Integrated Semi‐Continuous Enzymatic Synthesis and Filtration Processes for Efficiency Enhancement

AbstractGalacto‐oligosaccharides (GOS), increasingly popular prebiotics, are synthesized by enzymatic conversion of lactose. Among others, the total production costs are significantly influenced by the costly enzyme. Therefore, it was investigated if the reuse and full recovery of the enzyme is feasible, followed by the development of a semi‐continuous process in order to maintain a consistent high GOS yield. As a preliminary step, the enzyme‐catalyzed reaction was recorded within the permissible operating parameters. It was successfully shown that steady high GOS yields can be synthesized semi‐continuously within a filtration plant functioning as an enzymatic membrane reactor.

국가핵심기반 기능연속성체계의 최대허용중단기간 산정 연구

In this study, we tried to suggest a method for calculating the maximum tolerable period of disruption (MTPD) in water supply facilities among national core infrastructure facilities. Currently, the method for estimating the MTPD of national core infrastructure includes the amount of resources available and the recovery time of functions, but there is no specific standard or methodology. By analyzing previous studies and case studies, the framework for determining MTPD using added value among economic factors was confirmed and verified. Based on the framework, it was possible to determine the applicability by deriving estimates in Gongchon. Water Purification Plant in Incheon among domestic water supply facilities. In future research, we intend to conduct verification research on the possibility of actual utilization by identifying the reduction rate of added value targeting national core infrastructure in other fields and applying the framework derived through case study.

Is fluorinating polyethylene a health threat?

Kyla Bennett is fed up with the pollution flowing into her house through its water pipes. “I can’t drink my water. I’m not supposed to shower in my water. And we’ve been waiting now 2 years for this filtration plant to come on line. It’s costing us, the taxpayers, $9 million,” says Bennett, director of science policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), an advocacy group. Bennett lives in North Easton, Massachusetts, a small town just south of Boston. In 2019, she investigated drinking water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the use of firefighting foam on Fort Devens, a former military base northwest of Boston. She then tested her own water. “I thought our water would be clean,” she says, noting that the town has no industry or firefighting training facilities. She also tested water from Sudbury, a town west of Boston next to a firefighter

Construction Measures for Defect Reinforcement of Concrete Structures in Nanshan Water Purification Plant

The concrete material due to conveniently, price is low wait for a reason, is currently the mainstream architecture materials, concrete is subject to corrosion in the process of serving, however, especially in wastewater treatment, water purification and other service of concrete structures under complicated environment, especially the strength degradation, the service life of the structure and the structure of security is extremely unfavorable. In this paper, the structural defects of the primary sedimentation tank of a set of system in Shenzhen Nanshan Water purification Plant are detected, the geological survey results and related construction experience are analyzed, and the anti-seepage reinforcement construction measures are put forward.

Numerical investigations to identify environmental factors for field-scale reactive transport of pathogens at riverbank filtration sites

While induced bank filtration is a proven method for facilitating sustainable drinking water production, it is at risk from surface water contaminations (e.g., pathogens). Induced bank filtration and pathogen transport in groundwater have been studied extensively. However, long-term studies that consider real-world conditions are missing. These conditions include seasonal changes to environmental conditions and waterworks operations. Therefore, to analyze the effect of seasonal changes on the transport of human pathogenic viruses and their indicators in induced bank filtration, concentrations of adenoviruses and pathogen indicators were monitored over 16 months at an active bank filtration plant at the Rhine River, in Düsseldorf (Germany). Based on this data, a 2D groundwater model was created in PFLOTRAN that simulated flow, heat transport, conservative transport of chloride and the resulting electrical conductivity, reactive transport of oxygen and nitrate, and colloid-based transport of coliforms, somatic coliphages, and adenoviruses. The results show that reduced travel time was the key factor determining periods with a low removal of coliforms and somatic coliphages in the aquifer. Travel time was controlled by river level variations during rainy seasons, and the waterworks extraction rates during dry seasons. For adenovirus transport, travel distance in the subsurface appeared to be the key factor, while travel time had no significant impact. Coliform removal increased when the colmation layer permeability decreased, while coliphage and adenovirus removal was unaffected by the colmation layer permeability. Seasonal changes in temperature and oxygen content did not significantly impact the removal of coliphages and adenoviruses in groundwater. Denitrifying conditions correlated with a lowered coliform removal, but the modelling could not establish a connection between denitrifying conditions and coliform removal. Our study showed that removal of pathogens and pathogen indicators at induced bank filtration plants varies greatly in time and space (e.g., for coliforms from 1 to 4 log-levels at 20 m travel distance), and that adenovirus transport differs considerably from transport of coliforms and somatic coliphages

WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT USING WATER QUALITY INDEX: A CASE STUDY OF HIGH ALTITUDE AREA, GILGIT CITY, GILGIT BALTISTAN, PAKISTAN

The research aimed to evaluate the surface water quality of Gilgit city by comparingthe actual values of physio-chemical and microbiological parameters with that of the national standardsfor drinking water quality of Pakistan. A total of Sixteen surface water samples were gathered from thestudy area to analyze their quality. Multiple parameters including fluoride, hardness, pH, nitrite,nitrate, chloride, and TDS were mapped spatially using inverse distance weighting. To compute waterquality index, ArcGIS Model Builder and ArcPy were employed. The key informants interviews andfocus group discussions were also conducted to list the water-related problems. The findings of thewater quality index ensured the good quality of collected surface water samples using physicochemicalparameters but the occurrence of microbiological contamination in both rivers declared water unfit fordrinking. It showed that the water of the city is being contaminated due to anthropogenic activities.The mixing of wastewater into drinking water sources was also reported by the respective authoritiesand community. The residents also suggested to repair filtration plants as well as cover the waterstorage structures on an urgent basis. The study will be helpful to concerned departments of the studyarea to plan their resources and provide their services to the residents efficiently.