RO Training Course

Introduction

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 Introduce yourselves and tell us what

you do in life

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Beach wells
Open Intake sea water
High , Medium, low Brakish water
Surface water
Municipal water
 Water Sources
 Several sources of water employed in RO/NF
 Very low salinity waters <50 mg/l TDS
 Low salinity tap water <500 mg/l TDS
 Med salinity groundwater <5000mg/l TDS with high
natural organic matter (NOM)
 Med salinity brackish waters <5000 mg/l TDS
 Med salinity tertiary effluent <5000 mg/l TDS High
TOC, High BOC
 High Brackish waters 5,000 – 15,000mg/l TD
 Sea Water 35,000 – 45,000mg/l TDS
Water Sources
 Water Sources
Standard Seawater IAPSO- 35000 mg/l
 Water Sources
Seawater
 Largest amount of water world wide
 Composition ratios nearly the same everywhere
 However TDS contents varies
 Baltic Sea 7,000mg/l
 Gran Canary 37,600mg/l
 Aqaba (Red Sea) 44,000mg/l
 Dead Sea 340,000mg/l – Same ratios?
 Water Sources
Brackish Waters
 Extremely wide variation
 Lakes
 River Estuaries
 Groundwater
 Water Sources
Intake System
 Critical part of plant design
 What do we want to achieve with intake System?
 Get feed water to plant
 Get best possible feed water
 Get most constant water to plant
 Water Sources
 Sea Water Intake Systems
 Open Ocean Intake Systems
 Shoreline borehole
 Ranney Collectors
 Under Ocean Collectors
 Co-siting with Power plant
Water Make up
Interpreting water analysis
Water biology
Suspended Solids, Turbidity and SDI
Special situations
Eg Iron, Manganese and Aluminum
 Water Basics
Dissolved solids – TDS
Suspended Solids
Colloids
 Water Basics
 Water Basics - Measurement
 mg/l and ppm
 μg/l and ppb
 ng/l and ppt
 Water Basics – Conductivity
 Electrical Conductivity
 Indication of TDS
 Typical conductivity of waters:
 Ultra pure water 5.5 x 10-2 µS/cm
 Drinking water 50 - 500 µS/cm
 Sea water 35 – 55 mS/cm
 Typically for drinking water
 TDS (mg/l) = 0.5 EC (mS/cm)
 At high TDS values
 ratio TDS/EC increases and tends toward TDS = 0.9 x EC.
 Water Basics – PH
 pH
 pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a
solution
 The reciprocal of the logarithm of the hydrogen
 pH scale ranges from 0 to 14
 0 is extreme acid point, 7 is neutral and 14 is
extreme alkalinity point
 Water Basics
 Redox potential – OPR
 Shorthand for reduction/oxidation reaction

 Reduction potential is measured in millivolts (mV)

 Can be used to indicate presence of chlorine
 Water Basics
 Cations are positively charged ions.
 Cations are the opposite of anions, since cations have
fewer electrons than protons

 Anions are negatively charged ions.

 Anions are negatively charged because there are more
electrons associated with them then there are protons
in their nuclei
 Water Basics
Common Cations & Anions
 Water Basics
Organics
 Compounds that have the element carbon as a principal
constituent
 Several types
 Can be caused by the decay of naturally occurring vegetation
 Magnitude of man-made compounds.
1. Industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride;
2. Hydrocarbons, such as benzene, xylene, toluene;
3. Pesticides, such as aldicarb and chlordane; and
4. Herbicides, such as alachor and silvex.
 Trihalomethanes
 By-products of the chemical reaction between chlorine and the
natural occurring organics in drinking water eg chloroform and
bromoform
 Water Basics
Silica
 Silica - silicon dioxide a compound of silicon and
oxygen (Si02)
 It is found in surface and well water in the range of 1 -
100 mg/l.
 Silica is considered to be colloidal in nature because
of the way it reacts with adsorbents.
 A colloid is a gelatinous substance made up of non-
diffusible particles that remain suspended in a fluid
medium.
 Water Basics
Hardness
 Temporary hardness
 Ca and Mg BICARBONATES (precipitate minerals
upon heating)
 Permanent hardness
 Ca and Mg SULFATES OR CHLORIDES (dissolve
with sodium)
 Water Basics
COD
 Chemical oxygen demand (COD) test is commonly used to
indirectly measure the amount of organic compounds in water
 Used as a measure of pollution
 Expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/L), which indicates the
mass of oxygen consumed per liter of solution
 Basis for the COD test is that nearly all organic compounds can
be fully oxidized to carbon dioxide with a strong oxidizing agent
under acidic conditions
 Water Basics
BOD
 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a chemical procedure
for determining how fast biological organisms use up oxygen in
a body of water.
 Usually performed over a 5-day period at 20° C. BOD is not an
accurate quantitative test, although it could be considered as an
indication of the quality of a water source
 BOD measures the rate of oxygen uptake by microorganisms in
a sample of water at a fixed temperature (20°C) and over a given
period of time in the dark
 Used as a measure of pollution
 Water Basics
Suspended Solids
 Total suspended solids is a water quality
measurement usually abbreviated TSS.
 Measures the dry-weight of particles trapped by a
filter, of a specified pore size
 Water Basics
Turbidity
 Turbidity is a cloudiness or haziness of a fluid – water caused
by individual particles (suspended solids) that are generally
invisible to the naked eye
 Common Units
 FTU Formazin Turbidity Unit
 JTU Jackson Turbidity Unit (Jackson Candle Unit)
 NTU Nephelometric Turbidity Units
 Measurement based on light
 Light source on one side and detector on other side
 Particles scatter light
 Measure of light reaching detector used to determine turbidity
 NTU is based on amount of light reflected by particles
 Depends on particle size, quantity and color
 Water Basics
SDI & SDI
Equipment
 What is SDI – Silting density
Index?
 Millipore® Filter Pad
 Holder with a 0.45 micron
filter disc.
 500 ml. Graduated cylinder
 Stopwatch
 Dull Tweezers
 Water Basics
SDI vs Turbidity
Is SDI the same as Turbidity?
 SDI is a measurement of the fouling potential of suspended solids.
 Turbidity is a measurement of the amount of suspended solids.
 They are not the same and there is no direct correlation between
the two.
 In practical terms, however, the membranes show very little
fouling when the feed water has a turbidity of less than 1 NTU.
 Correspondingly the membranes show very low fouling at a feed
SDI of less than 3.
Reveres Osmosis.
Distillation.
Ion exchange.
Electro dialysis.
Membranes
Cross flow vs. Depth Flow
Normal Filtration
Cross Filtration
Membrane Separation
Membranes Types
 Membranes pore size
 Microfiltration (0.02 – 10 micrometer)
 Ultra-filtration (0.005 – 0.02
micrometer)
 Nano-filtration (< 0.001 micrometer)
 Reverse osmosis (< 0.001 micrometer)
Microfiltration
 Microfiltration
xxx
Ultrafiltration
Ultrafiltration
Nanofiltration
Osmotic Pressure Phenomena
Reverse
Osmosis Osmosis
Applied Pressure

Flow Flow

Concentrated
Solution Membrane Dilute Solution
Reverse Osmosis
Substances separation through
membranes
 Membranes pore size
oPores in reverse osmosis
membranes are smaller than in
Nano-filtration membranes.
Membranes with smaller pores
require higher pressure and
consequently more energy.
 Particle Size
Yeast Cell =
3.00 microns

Bacteria =
0.45 microns

Ferric Iron
Molecule =
0.001 microns

Human Hair ~
75 microns
 Relative Sizes of Particles
Substance Microns Inches

Grain of table salt 100 xxx 0.0039

Human hair 80 0.0032

Lower limit of visibility 40 0.0016

Milled flour 25 0.0010

Red blood cells 8 0.0003

Bacteria 2 0.0001
 Typical Osmotic Pressures (25oC)
Osmotic
Conc. Conc. Pressure
Compound (mg/L) (mol/L) (psi)

NaCl 35,000 0.6 398

NaCl 1,000 0.0171 11.4
NaHCO3 1,000 0.0119 12.8
Na2SO4 1,000 0.00705 6
MgSO4 1,000 0.00831 3.6
MgCl2 1,000 0.0105 9.7
CaCl2 1,000 0.009 8.3
Sucrose 1,000 0.00292 1.05
Dextrose 1,000 0.00555 2.0
 Membrane Technology Comparison Chart
Feature Microfiltration Ultrafiltration Nanofiltration Reverse Osmosis

Polymers Ceramics, sintered metals, Ceramics, sintered Thin film Thin film composites,
polypropylene, polysulfone, metals, cellulosics, composites, cellulosics
polyethersulfone, polyvinylidene polysulfone, cellulosics
fluoride, polytetrafluoroethy-liene polyethersulfone,
polyvinylidene fluoride

Pore Size Range 0.01 - 1.0 0.001 - 0.01 0.0001 - 0.001 <0.0001
(micrometers)

Molecular Weight Cutoff >100,000 2,000 - 100,000 300 - 1,000 100 - 200
Range (Daltons)

Operating Pressure Range <30 20 - 100 50 - 300 225 - 1,000

Suspended Solids Removal Yes Yes Yes Yes

Dissolved Organics None Yes Yes Yes

Removal

Dissolved Inorganics None None 20-85% 95-99%

Removal

Microorganism Removal Protozoan cysts, algae, bacteria* Protozoan cysts, algae, All* All*
bacteria*

Osmotic Pressure Effects None Slight Moderate High

Concentration Capabilities High High Moderate Moderate

Permeate Purity High High Moderate-high High

Energy Usage Low Low Low-moderate Moderate

Membrane Stability High High Moderate Moderate

Membranes Materials & Structure
 Several materials and blends are used e.g.
 Cellulose acetate
 Aromatic polyamide
 Aromatic polyamide urea
 Polyvinyl alcohol
 Cellulose acetate membranes consists of
one polymer
Membranes Structure
Membrane Comparisons
Parameter Cellulosic Thin Film Composite

Effect of Bacteria Some bacteria will Very bacteria resistant

attack
pH Range 4.0 – 8.5 2.0 – 11.0

Chlorine Tolerance Excellent Resistance Poor Resistance 200 -

1000 ppm hrs.

% Rejection 92% 95%

Nominal TDS Decreases as TDS Constant
dependence Increases
Nitrate Rejection 0% - 65% 40% - 90%

Temperature Limit 87oF (31oC) 112oF (45oC)

Reverse Osmosis Process
 Definitions
Permeate:
Fraction of the feed solution that passes
through the membrane
Concentrate:
Fraction of the feed solution retained by the
Membrane
Rejection
The percent of dissolved material which does
not pass through the membrane
Rejection = 1 - Cp/C avg
 Definitions
 Salt Passage
 The percentage of dissolved material that passes
through the membrane
 Recovery or Conversion
 The percent of feed solution that passes through
the membrane
 Recovery = Qp/Qf
 Definitions
 Primary Pressure (Inlet) - PI
 Pressure of the feed stream prior to the
membrane elements
 Final Pressure (outlet) - PO
 Pressure of the concentrate stream after the
membranes
 Back Pressure (Permeate Pressure) - PB
 Pressure of the permeate stream after the
membranes
 Definitions
Osmotic Pressure - Pπ
 Natural energy present as a result of
difference in concentration across a “semi-
permeable” membrane:
 π=ixCxRxT
 i = # ions/molecule in the chemistry (CaCl2, i = 3)
 C = of ions/molecule in mol/l
 R = 0.082 l.atm.gmol-1.K-1
 T = Temperature in K
 1000ppm NaCl (TDS) = 0.8bar Osmotic Pressure
Rule of thumb every 100ppm has an osmotic
pressure of 1 psi
 Definitions
 Average Operating Pressure
 PAVG = (PI + PO)/2
 Effective Pressure (Trans-membrane)
 PEFF = PAVG - PB - Pπ
 PEFF = PI – ½ ΔP - PB - Pπ
 The effective pressure is the net pressure
after permeate back pressure and osmotic
pressure losses , i.e. the pressure difference
across the membrane
Factors Affecting RO performance