DESALINATION ONLINE

Membrane Desalting Plants and Water Reuse in Florida

UNIVERSITIES

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Purdue University

Universities Water Information Network

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NASA

San Diego County Water Authority

USGS

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Water Quality Association

OTHER

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UNIVERSITIES

FSU Florida State University

Florida: Total and Per Capita Public Water Supply Withdrawal

http://www.fsu.edu/~cpm/safe/environ/wqn2.html
The state of Florida depends on its water resources as a source of drinking water, for agriculture, for industry, and to support wildlife habitat. Unfortunately, nearly all human activities have the potential to adversely affect Florida's water quality and quantity. In addition, the state is expected to grow at a rate of three percent annually, with most of the growth directed towards the coastal areas where water resources are already being threatened by over-consumption, contamination, and saltwater intrusion.

Nonpotable Water Treated by Reverse Osmosis in Florida--GIF image 442x332 pixels

http://www.fsu.edu/~cpm/safe/environment/wqn12.gif
Nonpotable Water Treated by Reverse Osmosis

---

See "Public Water Supply Treated with Reverse Osmosis and Number of Plants"

Public Water Supply Treated with Reverse Osmosis and Number of Plants

http://www.fsu.edu/~cpm/safe/environ/wqn12.html
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) provides periodic updates of its documents which deal with water withdrawals, use, and trends in Florida. Data for the USGS reports come from the water management district consumptive use permit files and the plants monthly operating reports. The current number of operating reverse osmosis plants is available from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Drinking Water and Ground Water Resources. The number of reverse osmosis plants within a given district or within the approved counties can be obtained from Kenna Study at 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400, or at (904) 487-1762.

Use of Saline Ground Water as a Source of Public Supply

http://www.fsu.edu/~cpm/safe/environ/wqn4.html
Salt water intrusion in coastal communities required the blending of water from differing sources, some with high salinity, to produce water which meets the chloride content standard for human consumption (250 mg/l).a Salt water intrusion is evident in certain areas of Florida and water which exceeds 1,000 mg/l dissolved solids content has significantly increased. In the five year period between 1980 and 1985, the use of saline ground water increased from 2.5 million gallons per day to 17.3 million gallons per day. Prior to 1970 the use of saline water was not measured. However, in 1985 the use of saline ground water as a source of public supply was 17.28 million gallons per day (MGD). When next reported in 1987, saline ground water utilization more than doubled to 37.4 MGD. The 20.12 MGD increase over the two year period represented a 116 percent increase. In 1990, about 47.96 MGD of saline ground water was utilized as a source of public water supply. This represents a 28 percent increase since 1987 and a 178 percent increase since 1985.

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Purdue University

Buying Home Water Treatment Equipment by Adel L. Pfeil, 1990

http://www.agcom.purdue.edu/AgCom/Pubs/WQ/WQ-6.html

Consumers can choose from a variety of home water treatment products. In response to recent public concern of water quality, the home water treatment industry now offers many products. When faced with so many choices, consumers wonder what, if any, water treatment system they need. The various methods for treating water and some of the advantages and disadvantages of those methods are described in this bulletin. This is not an endorsement of any particular method or product for treating water in the home.

Water treatment systems generally use one or a combination of these five basic categories:

• 1.Disinfection methods
  • chlorination
  • pasteurization
  • ultraviolet light
  • boiling
• 2.Filtration
  • mechanical filters (or microfiltration)
  • activated carbon filters
  • oxidizing filters
  • neutrlalizing filters
• 3.Reverse Osmosis
• 4.Distillation
• 5.Ion Exchange (water softeners)

The following table lists some of the more common treatment methods used to handle certain contaminants. This is a general guide and does not contain all of the potential treatment techniques or contaminants. The concentration of the contaminant and combination of various contaminants can have a major impact on the effectiveness of the treatment method.

________________________________________________________________________________
|                           TREATMENT OPTIONS                                  |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
|Contaminant | Chlori | UV | Mech | Act  | Oxi  |Neut |Rev  |Dist | Ion | Aer- |
|            | nation |    | Filt | Carb | Filt |Filt |Osmo |     | Exc | ation|
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|Bacteria    |   o    |  o |      |      |      |     |     |  o  |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|Calcium and |        |    |      |      |      |     |     |     |  o  |      |
|Magnesium   |        |    |      |      |      |     |     |     |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|Hydrogen    |        |    |      |   o  |   o  |     |     |     |     |   o  |
|Sulfide     |        |    |      |      |      |     |     |     |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|Iron and    |        |    |      |      |   o  |     |     |     |  o  |      |
|Manganese   |        |    |      |      |      |     |     |     |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|Lead        |        |    |      |      |      |     |  o  |  o  |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|Nitrate     |        |    |      |      |      |     | []  |  o  |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|pH-Acidity  |        |    |      |      |      |  o  |     |     |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|Radon in    |        |    |      |   o  |      |     |     |     |     |   o  |
|water       |        |    |      |      |      |     |     |     |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|Sediment    |        |    |   o  |      |      |     |     |     |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|Sodium      |        |    |      |      |      |     |     |     |     |      |
|Chloride    |        |    |      |      |      |     |  o  |  o  |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|Many        |        |    |      |      |      |     |     |     |     |      |
|Pesticides  |        |    |      |   o  |      |     |  o  |  o  |     |      |
|and Organics|        |    |      |      |      |     |     |     |     |      |
|____________|________|____|______|______|______|_____|_____|_____|_____|______|
|                                                                              |
|**  Activated carbon filters vary in their effectiveness to remove            |
|    contaminants depending upon the size of the unit and                      |
|    the type and amount of contamination.                                     |
|                                                                              |
|[]  Reverse Osmosis units generally remove less than half of the nitrates     |
|    in water.                                                                 |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
|                                                                              |
| Note:  Mech Filt    =  Mechanical Filter                                     |
|        Act Carb     =  Activated Carbon                                      |
|        Oxi Filt     =  Oxidizing Filters                                     |
|        Neut Filt    =  Neutralizing Filters                                  |
|        Rev Osmo     =  Reverse Osmosis                                       |
|        Distil       =  Distillation                                          |
|        Ion Exc      =  Ion Exchange                                          |
|______________________________________________________________________________|

Distillation For Home Water Treatment by Michael Kamrin, Nancy Hayden, Barry Christian, Dan Bennack and Frank D'Itri, March 1991

http://www.agcom.purdue.edu/AgCom/Pubs/WQ/WQ-12.html

Distillation is one of the oldest methods of water treatment and is still in use today, though not commonly as a home treatment method. It can effectively remove many contaminants from drinking water, including bacteria, inorganic and many organic compounds.

Distillation relies on evaporation to purify water. Contaminated water is heated to form steam. Inorganic compounds and large non-volatile organic molecules do not evaporate with the water and are left behind. The steam then cools and condenses to form purified water. Distillation effectively removes inorganic compounds such as metals (lead), nitrate, and other nuisance particles such as iron and hardness from a contaminated water supply. The boiling process also kills microorganisms such as bacteria and some viruses. Distillation removes oxygen and some trace metals from water. For this reason some people claim distilled water tastes flat.

Reverse Osmosis for Home Treatment of Drinking Water by Michael Kamrin, Nancy Hayden, Barry Christian, Dan Bennack and Frank D'Itri, March 1991

http://www.agcom.purdue.edu/AgCom/Pubs/WQ/WQ-14.html

Reverse osmosis (RO) is becoming a common home treatment method for contaminated drinking water. RO is probably best known for its use in desalination projects (turning seawater into drinking water). However, it is also effective for treating home water quality problems.

RO reduces the amounts of organics, inorganics, bacteria and particles found in contaminated drinking water. The efficiency of removal of various contaminants varies and should be evaluated when considering using RO for home treatment. Other home treatment methods may be better for a specific contaminant .

The first step toward solving a suspected water quality problem is to have your water analyzed by the local health department or a reputable laboratory. A water analysis not only verifies whether a water quality problem exists, but is also essential to determine the most appropriate solution to the problem. State or local health officials can interpret water analysis results. Some laboratories also provide this service.

UWIN -- Universities Water Information Network

Links to abstracts on desalination

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~nabil/uwindes3.htm

WRSIC Abstracts -- "Your search of 1993 for Desalination produced the following results"

"Potable Water Desalination in the U.S.: Capital Costs, Operating Costs and Water Selling Prices," by W. Leitner (Abstract)

http://www2.uwin.siu.edu:4001/usr/local/data/wrsic/1993.txt_9349727_1993

As the need for potable water supplies in the United States grows, one of the major constraints to realization of the potential for new desalination potable water plants is the absence of reliable capital and operating cost information.

"Press Release: Florida Water District Searches for Alternative Water Supplies," April 3, 1997

http://www.uwin.siu.edu/announce/press/1997/press0403a.html

Conventional approaches to beefing up water supplies in southwest Florida -- drilling additional wells or tapping increasing amounts of surface water -- are now causing more problems than they are solving, according to officials at the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The agency, which oversees water development for a 16-county district that includes the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, has recently launched a New Water Sources Initiative to establish sustainable yields of water in the district by 2020. ... Groundwater supplies, said Johnson, clearly need to be supplemented by alternative sources, such as conservation, aquifer recharge, desalination of ocean water and water resuse.

Quick Search

http://www.uwin.siu.edu/databases/qsearch/index.html

Link to UWIN search site.

Search Results--desalination and Florida

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~nabil/uwindes1.htm

WRSIC Abstracts: "Your search of 1993 for desalination AND Florida produced the following results"

Search Results--experts in desalination AND Florida

UWIN Experts Directory: "Your search for desalination AND Florida produced the following results"

Table of Contents

http://www.uwin.siu.edu/tocnoframes.html

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GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

NASA

Desalination: Archived Articles from NASA

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~nabil/nasatoc.htm

Articles on solar energy converter for desalination and peril of oil spills for coastal desalination plants.

NASA sends high tech inventions to Conference

http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/dx/basket/storiesetc/97_34AR.html

A system to treat wastes from metal plating, semi-conductor production, photographic laboratories, food processing and aircraft de-icing operations is one technology to be presented at the symposium by NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA. The system also can be used for seawater and brackish water desalination. Additional technologies developed at three other NASA Centers also are slated for presentation at the symposium.

Wide Acceptance Angle, High Concentration Ratio, Optical Collector

http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/patents/(27).html
This solar energy concentrator (mirrors) can be used in either a photovoltaic or photothermal concentrator system, or both. As an integral part of a photovoltaic system located on the roof of a building, it can assist in producing electricity, which can be used in parallel with the local utility providing electrical energy to augment and share the load. The photovoltaic cells, used with this concentrator and located at the focal point of the secondary mirror is likely to get hotter than is tolerable by the cells, requiring cooling. If cooling is required, the thermal energy removed from the solar cells during the cooling process can be used to augment the heating of a building during winter months. When used with a photothermal converter, the solar radiation is converted into heat, from which electric power can be generated, or used in heating and cooling the space in a building, as well as in desalination plants and other industrial applications which require heat or steam.

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San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego County Water Authority: DESALTING FOR GROUNDWATER REPLENISHMENT

http://www.sdcwa.org/text/desalt.htm

Many people point to the Pacific Ocean as the solutiont o the problem of future water shortages in San Diego County. The ocean offers a limitless drinking supply, they say. All we have to do is take the salt out of seawater. The San Diego County Water Authority agrees that desalted seawater is a future water source for San Diego County. But that future isn't here yet. For the present, the most promising applications of desalination technology involve brackish groundwater and, possibly, the repurification of reclaimed water. Both of these projects use the same reverse-osmosis technology as seawater desalination, but because the source water is much less salty than ocean water the process is less costly.

San Diego County Water Authority, Urban Water management Plan, December 1995

http://www.sdcwa.org/text/uwmp/s0toc.htm

Table of Contents

• 1.0 INTRODUCTION
• 2.0 WATER DEMANDS
• 3.0 DEMAND MANAGEMENT
• 4.0 WATER SUPPLIES

  4.1 Local Supplies
  4.1.1 Surface Water Supplies
  4.1.2 Groundwater Supplies
  4.1.3 Seawater Desalination
  4.1.4 Water Reclamation
  4.2 Imported Supplies
  4.2.1 Colorado River Aqueduct
  4.2.2 State Water Project
  4.2.3 Los Angeles Aqueduct
  4.2.4 Water Transfers
  4.2.5 Authority Facilities
  

• 5.0 PRICING AND RATE STRUCTURES
• 6.0 WATER MANAGEMENT ISSUES
• 7.0 DROUGHT MANAGEMENT

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USGS

Periodic Water Fact: Water Desalinization

http://h2o.usgs.gov/public/watuse/wuweeklyfact.html

Most of the United States has, or can gain access to, ample supplies of fresh water for drinking purposes. Of course, as the population continues to grow shortages of water for drinking will become more acute, if only in certain locations. In California, the towns of Santa Barbara and Avalon have begun using desalinization methods to remove the salt from seawater and make it suitable for drinking. A promising method to desalinate seawater is the "reverse osmosis" method.

South Florida Ecosystem Web Site

http://sflwww.er.usgs.gov/

The USGS Ecosystem Program was established to enable the USGS to enhance its scientific assistance to resource managers who require an improved scientific information base to resolve or prevent complex resource conflicts or environmental problems in specific ecosystem sites. Through multiyear efforts in each study area, USGS intensifies its provision of scientific information tailored to the specific management. The information is designed to have a direct, significant, and immediate impact on management and policy decisions. It addresses regional or subregional issues that involve environmental resources such as water, minerals, and land. The sites may have as their focus such issues as water quality or water supply, environmental effects of mineral or energy use or extraction, or effects of alterations in land use or land cover.

Total water use in the United States in 1990

http://h2o.usgs.gov/public/watuse/wuto.html

Total fresh and saline withdrawals during 1990 were an estimated 408,000 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) for all offstream water-use categories (public supply, domestic, commercial, irrigation, livestock, industrial, mining, thermoelectric power), or 2 percent more than the withdrawals estimated for 1985. Average per-capita use was 1,620 gallons per day (gal/d) of freshwater and saline water and 1,340 gal/d of freshwater

Total Water Withdrawals by State--GIF image 803x607 pixels

http://h2o.usgs.gov/public/watuse/graphics/wuto.fact.3d.gif

Total withdrawals by State:GIF image 800x550 pixels

http://h2o.usgs.gov/public/watuse/graphics/tomap.st1.gif

Water-Use Fact Sheet

http://h2o.usgs.gov/public/watuse/wufactsheet.html

The United States as a Nation possesses abundant water resources and has developed and used those resources extensively. The future health and economic welfare of the Nation's population are dependent upon a continuing supply of fresh uncontaminated water. Many existing sources of water are being stressed by withdrawals to meet offstream needs along with increasing instream-flow requirements to meet human and environmental needs. Recent drought in some areas has accentuated the need to balance water demand with available supply.

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PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Water Quality Association

Efficiencies of Distillation Equipment by John Schafler, 1991

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/distillation.html

Frequently, the basic hydrologic cycle is regarded as a water cleansing process similar to distillation. The sun is the thermal engine driving the cycle of evaporation on or near the earth's surface, followed by the water vapor rising to higher elevations where cooling causes the vapor to condense, forming clean water droplets. These droplets coalesce and fall back to earth. if the atmosphere is not significantly polluted, the fallen water droplets are similar to distilled water....

In conclusion, depending on the customer's need and purpose, there are many distiller designs available. The designs span a wide spectrum - from the inexpensive simple batch distiller with relatively low efficiency; to the highly efficient, more complex vapor compression designs.

Essentials of Ion Exchange by Francis J. DeSilva, 1995

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/essentials-of-ion-exchange.html

Natural water supplies contain dissolved salts which dissociate in water to form charged particles called ions. These ions are usually present in relatively low concentrations and permit the water to conduct electricity. They are sometimes referred to as electrolytes. These ionic impurities can lead to problems in cooling and heating systems, steam generation, and manufacturing. The common ions that are encountered in most waters include the positively charged cations; calcium and magnesium (hardness forming cations, which make a water "hard") and sodium. The negatively charged anions include alkalinity, sulfate, chloride, and silica.

There are suggestions found in the Bible, and in writings by the ancient Greeks, that suggest a knowledge of desalting brackish waters. It was not until the nineteenth century in England that the first official studies of the phenomenon of ion exchange were documented. In 1850 Harry Thompson and John Way, two agricultural chemists, passed a liquid fertilizer solution containing ammonia through a soil sample. It was noted that the ammonia was retained by the soil and that calcium was thrown off.

Improving the Quality of Water Through Disinfection, 1991

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/Improving-Water-Through-Disinfection.html

The most important water treatment process, from a health and safety point of view, is disinfection. Disinfection is necessary to destroy pathogenic (disease-producing) bacteria and other harmful organisms that may be present in water. There are several methods of disinfection, including chlorination, distillation, ultraviolet treatment, ozonation, and iodine or bromine feed.

National Primary Drinking Water Standards: Primary (Health Related) Inorganic Contaminants, 1997

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/Inorganic-Contaminants.html

Analysis of 25 Inorganic Contaminants, such as Antimony (shown below)

Contaminants	MCLG	MCL	WQA Recommended Treatment Methods	Potential Health Effects from Ingestion of Water	Sources of Contaminant in Drinking Water
Antimony	0.006 mg/L	0.006 mg/L	Coagulation/Filtration  Submicron Filtration  Reverse Osmosis  Ultrafiltration  Distillation	Cancer	Fire retardants Ceramics Electronics Fireworks Solder

MCLG = Maximum Contaminant Level Goal established at the level at which no known or anticipated adverse effects on the health of persons occur and which allows an adequate margin or safety; expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/L) unless otherwise specified.

MCL = Maximum Contaminant Level established as close to the MCLG as feasible, taking into consideration costs and treatment techniques applicable at public water systems; expressed in milligrams per liter unless otherwise specified.

Nitrate Awareness: A Health Issue, 1995

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/Nitrate-Awareness.html

In January 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the results of a sophisticated national survey (2) of nitrates and pesticides in drinking water wells. The National Pesticide Survey (NPS) tested water from 1,349 community and domestic rural wells. Samples were taken in every state. Nitrate detection was projected in 57 percent of the rural domestic wells (RDW's), and 52.1 percent of the community water system (CWS) wells in the United States. Approximately 22,500 infants younger than one year old consuming water from RDW's were projected to be exposed to nitrate-nitrogen exceeding the 10 milligram per liter safe drinking water limit. The CWS population is projected to be 43,500 infants.

Primary (Health Related) Biological Contaminants, 1997

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/Biological-Contaminants.html

Analysis of seven Biological Contaminants, such as Giardia lamblia (shown below):

Contaminants	MCLG	MCL	WQA Recommended Treatment Methods	Potential Health Effects from Ingestion of Water	Sources of Contaminant in Drinking Water
Giardia lamblia	zero	99.9% reduction or inactivation	Turbidity reduction to 1 NTU and then: Chemical oxidation/disinfection: Chlorination Ozone Iodine Absolute filtration of less than 3 microns sized particles Distillation	Gastro- enteric disease	Human and animal fecal waste

Softener Efficiencies for the Future by David W. Marshall and Jeff A. Zimmerman, 1993

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/softener-efficiencies.html

A water softener equipped with a demand-initiated regeneration contol can produce greater salt and water efficiencies than a water softener equipped with a timer control. To demonstrate this principle, our company engineers have developed a computer model which simulates the operating efficiencies of demand-initiated regeneration controls and timer controls over a one-year period. The model also compares methods of determining when and how to regenerate a softener most efficiently.

Soft Water: The Economical Solution, 1993

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/Soft-Water-Economics.html

The waste hard water creates each year can cost hundreds of dollars in extra detergent use, unnecessary rinse cycles and hot water use, fabrics that lose their usefulness, and washing machines that wear out before their time. Soft water greatly reduces this waste, and gets laundry cleaner as well. And these benefits are in laundry expenses alone. Many of softened water's benefits apply to other areas of the home or business. Bathroom and kitchen fixtures stay cleaner without the formation of soap curd, water heaters operate more efficiently and last longer, dishes get cleaner with less detergent and dishwashers last longer, and even bathing is free of hard water deposits which dry skin and dull hair. When it all adds up, hard water is a waste that can be done without.

Treating The Water We Drink, When and Where We Drink It, 1994

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/Treating-the-Water.html

This article is an overview of common Point-of-Use and Point-of-Entry water treatments, including Activated Alumina; Activated Carbon; Anion and Cation Exchange; Disinfection Technologies including Chlorination, Microfiltration, Ozone, and Ultratviolet Light; Distillation, and Reverse Osmosis.

What Is. . . Distillation, 1995

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/What-is-Distillation.html

Distillation is one of mankind's earliest forms of water treatment, and it is still a popular treatment solution throughout the world today. In ancient times, the Greeks used this process on their ships to convert sea water into drinking water. In far-eastern cultures, water was distilled for use in "Ranbiki" tea ceremonies. Today, distilled water is still used to convert sea water to drinking water on ships and in arid parts of the world, and to treat water in other areas that is fouled by natural and unnatural contaminants. Distillation is perhaps the one water treatment technology that most completely reduces the widest range of drinking water contaminants.

Typical household distillers cost between $300 and $1,000 and produce water for as low as $.25 a gallon, energy and filter costs included. Look for the WQA Gold Seal (S-400) to find products that have been successfully tested by WQA to industry performance standards.

Many commercial operations use multiple-effect distillers, to provide from 75 to millions of gallons per day. These units typically contain a number of boiling chambers, with the first chamber being under increased pressure, and successive chambers having progressively decreasing pressure. This takes advantage of the fact that the greater the steam pressure, the higher the boiling point and temperature of the steam produced. The steam created in the first high-pressure chamber is "superheated" to a point well above the temperature needed to create steam in the lower-pressure chambers. As this superheated steam moves through tubes surrounding each of the succeeding boiling chambers, it "flash" vaporizes some of the cooler, lower-pressure water in each chamber. The flash vapor is then condensed into distilled water, as is the superheated steam when all of its heat energy is exchanged. The self-sustaining nature of this process can be quite efficient for large quantities of water, since only an electric or gas heating element is required for the first boiling chamber as an energy source.

What Is. . . Reverse Osmosis, 1995

http://www.wqa.org/Technical/What-is-RO.html

Anyone who has been through a high school science class will likely be familiar with the term osmosis. The process was first described by a French Scientist in 1748, who noted that water spontaneously diffused through a pig bladder membrane into alcohol. Over 200 years later, a modification of this process known as reverse osmosis allows people throughout the world to affordably convert undesireable water into water that is virtually free of health or aesthetic contaminants. Reverse osmosis systems can be found providing treated water from the kitchen counter in a private residence to installations used in manned spacecraft.

OTHER

Articles

ABC's of Desalting by O. K. Buros*

*Manager, Water Resources Division, CH2M HILL, Gainesville, Florida, 32602 USA. Last updated September 22, 1997

http://www.ida.bm/html/abc.htm

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • Desalting: A Treatment Process
  • The Development of Desalting
  • Worldwide Acceptan
• Desalting Technologies
  • Thermal Processes
    • Multi-Stage Flash Distillation
    • Multiple Effect Distillation
    • Vapor Compression Distillation
  • Membrane Processes
    • Electrodialysis
    • Electrodialysis Reversal Process (EDR)
    • Reverse Osmosis
  • Other Processes
    • Freezing
    • Membrane Distillation
    • Solar Humidification
    • Other Solar and Wind-Driven Desalters
• Other Aspects of Desalting
  • Cogeneration
  • Concentrate Disposal
  • Hybrid Facilities
  • Economics

"Advanced Filtration Technology Market to Experience Growth," December 18, 1996

http://www.poweronline.com/times/industry-news/ind6111401.html

A new report from Frost & Sullivan, the international market research firm headquartered in Mountain View, California, projects that the market for specialized filtration equipment will come close to doubling by 2002. The report, entitled U.S. Ultra, Nano, and Reverse Osmosis Filter Element Markets, was based on research that, among other things, pointed to strong growth in the largest segment identified, namely potable water. The ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) segments of the total market recorded revenues of nearly $150 million in 1995, and a growth rate of 8.6 percent. Projections to 2002 show revenues reaching $275 million, especially if new applications for crossflow membrane technology are developed.

"Business opportunities in desalination,"by M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan. Arab News Staff

http://www.arab.net/saudi100/features/desalination.html

The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) of Saudi Arabia has targeted a massive expansion of its desalination capacity during the current Sixth Five Year Plan period, offering billions of riyals worth of business opportunities to local and foreign companies in the Kingdom. The move is intended to boost the production of desalinated water in the Kingdom.

"Combination of Refuse-Derived Fuel and Desalination Produces Fresh Water Economically," edited by Ian Lisk, October 7, 1997

http://www.poweronline.com/times/industry-news/19971007-72.html

A report from Japan describes how the engineering firm Chiyoda Corporation has developed a water production system that combines a power-generation unit that uses RDF (refuse-derived fuel) with seawater desalinition equipment. The facility is said to produce fresh water more cheaply than normal while at the same time generating electricity. The RDF is compressed refuse. In the system it is fed into fluidized-bed boilers which make high-pressure steam that drives turbines, and subsequently electric generators. Chiyoda engineers combined this system with desalinization equipment from France which collects and uses the waste steam from the power-generation system to desalinate seawater.

"Desalination Remains Water Option on Coast," by Stett Holbrook, August 28, 1996; Half Moon Bay Review (California)

http://www.montara.com/hmbreview/General/96.08.28.gen.desalination

As California's water supply is squeezed by drought and growing demand, an increasing number of coastal communities are tapping into the ocean to shore up shrinking water supplies. Desalination plants, which turn ocean water into drinking water, are beginning to dot the coast. According to the state Coastal Commission, there are now 20 plants either in operation, under construction or in the planning stage at various locations in central and southern California.

"Desalination Technology to be Tried in Drought-Threatened Part of U.K.," edited by Ian Lisk, December 30, 1996

http://www.poweronline.com/times/firms-and-faces/ff6092506.html

The United Kingdom is to get its first desalination plant to help one part of the country ward off water shortage problems. Southern Water will install a pilot plant in Sandwich, Kent, in the Southeast, which has experienced a 15-month drought. The feed will be an underground water source contaminated with salt, although it will be much less saline than sea water. This source has become contaminated as a result of old mine workings causing salt water intrusion from the coast.

"Metro Water District OKs Desalting Project For South County," by Bradley J. Fikes, San Diego Source, July 9, 1996

http://www.sddt.com/files/library/96headlines/07_96/DN96_07_09/DN96_07_09_13.html

A groundwater desalting project to substantially increase the local water supply for South County residents was approved Tuesday by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The desalting project will turn about 3,600 acre-feet of brackish water into potable water annually. The water will go to the Sweetwater Authority, an agency that supplies Chula Vista. National City. and Bonita...
. Another groundwater desalting project already in operation in Oceanside produces about 2,000 acre-feet a year, said Ken Weinberg, water resources supervisor for the San Diego County County Water Authority. Oceanside is considering increasing that output to 6,800 acre feet annually, he said, and water agencies in Fallbrook and the Rainbow Municipal Water District are preparing their own groundwater recovery plans. "We're projecting that these types of ground water resources could provide 30,000 acre-feet of new local water," by the early part of the next century, Weinberg said. That would represent 4 to 5 percent of the county's total water supply.

"New Desalination Technology Said to be Ready for the Marketplace," edited by Ian Lisk, January 24, 1997

http://www.poweronline.com/times/industry-news/ind7011404.html

The first licensing agreement to commercialize a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-developed desalination system has been signed by Lawrence Livermore officials and Far West Group, Inc., a water resources management company located in Tucson, Arizona. Known as capacitive deionization or CDI, the technology drew much interest two years ago when the laboratory announced early promising results.

"Partnership Will Bid on Tampa Desalination Project," edited by Ian Lisk, February 11, 1997

http://www.poweronline.com/times/firms-and-faces/ff7020102.html

Progress Energy Corporation and Ionics, Inc. have agreed to form a partnership which will submit a bid on the anticipated large sea water desalination project that is under consideration for the Tampa Bay, Florida, area. The state's largest water utility, the West Coast Regional Water Supply Authority, is expected to send out a Request for Proposals (RFP) later this year to initiate the undertaking. The project will comprise design, construction, ownership and operation of a desalination plant to be privately financed. This authority and its member water utilities currently deliver approximately 225 mgd of water to 1.8 million residents in the Tampa area.

http://www.uswaternews.com/archive/97/conserv/seades2.html

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The West Coast Regional Water Supply Authority has awarded a $275,000 contract to develop a request for proposals (RFP) for a 20 to 50 million gallon per day (mgd) seawater desalination plant. The contract was awarded to PB Water, a division of Parsons Brinckerhoff.

"Water-Short Cyprus Starts Up Big Desalination Plant," edited by Ian Lisk, April 22, 1997

http://www.poweronline.com/times/industry-news/ind7041103.html

The Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, where water shortage is one of the most serious issues facing its government and populace, recently put its first desalination plant into operation. The new water treatment facility, built near the Dhekelia electric generating station on the island's southeastern coast, was planned as a solution to the problems created by the increasing number of tourists in the Famagusta District, and the growing demands they are putting on existing water supplies. The plant is said to have a maximum production capacity of 40,000 cubic meters per day (10.5 mgd), converting sea water into a drinking water supply which meets European quality standards.

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Links

Copper-Nickel Alloys in Desalination Systems

http://marine.copper.org/4-references.html

Copper-Nickel Alloys in Desalination Systems: Bibliography

US Newspapers listed by State: Florida

http://www.webwombat.com.au/intercom/newsprs/usflorid.htm

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Products or Processes

By the Year 2000, Some Deserts Will Begin to Bloom solar/desert

http://www.globalaid.co.uk/technology/ewss/232.htm

Solar power for seawater desalination.

"Desalination - More Than Just a Good Idea," by Denise Tracey and Tom G. Temperley

http://www.globalaid.co.uk/technology/ewss/223.htm

Multi-stage flash distillation.

"Desalination - More Than Just a Good Idea," by Denise Tracey and Tom G. Temperley (Continued)

http://www.globalaid.co.uk/technology/ewss/223b.htm

Reverse osmosis.

Desalination: Solar Troughs Eliminate The Heat and Power Costs of Industrial Desalination Systems

http://chatlink.com/~soltherm/desal.htm

One ISC412-M Solar Trough, can produce 173MJ/164k BTU per hour of thermal, and the necessary electric energy, for Desalination of Sea Water. This is enough energy to produce 120 gallons a day of fresh, potable water, using the Multieffect Process (HTME).

Iodinated Resin Uses Expand: Technology has Third World Water Disinfection Applications," by Douglass E. Hughes, July 1995 (if the above link does not work, just go to http://www.waternet.com, do the free registration and then a search on the topic desalination).

http://www.waternet.com/WT/Issues/Past/95/July/Features/resin.shtml

A little more than 10 years ago, water treatment products featuring iodinated resins began to appear on international markets. These resins provide a unique and inexpensive method of disinfecting water of bacteria and most viruses, and can even destroy waterborne parasites such as Giardia lamblia cysts.

This disinfection technology features a food-grade anion exchange resin which has been rinsed and then processed with elemental iodine. Microbial contaminants in water which are exposed to these treated resins are struck with enough iodine to destroy them. Usually within a few seconds of initial contact, the iodine burns through the outer membrane of the contaminant, rendering it incapable of reproducing itself. So effective is this technology, the U.S.A.'s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) now uses it exclusively to provide residual disinfection on all manned space shuttles to protect astronauts from waterborne diseases. .
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Reverse osmosis (RO), often the only way of eliminating high total dissolved solids (TDS) and many obscure contaminants, does not guarantee the removal of all waterborne disease-causing microorganisms. In Third World applications, compact post-filters using iodinated resins have been successfully employed to guarantee disease-free water. One company routinely installs them on desalination equipment for oceangoing vessels, because E. coli is common in many Asian waters.

Modeling and Control of Desalination Processes

http://luxo.lfpt.rwth-aachen.de/Research/desalination.html

Desalination processes are indispensable to provide sufficient supply of potable water in arid regions of the earth. Modern, large-scale desalination plants are operating according to the multi-stage flash (MSF) principle in conjunction with a cogeneration plant. High installation costs, a stringent demand for high availability and low operating costs require a thorough understanding of the process and its operational limitations. A research project carried out for Wangnick Consulting, Bremen, Germany in representation of the Water and Electricity Department (WED) of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates aims at a more reliable, flexible, and more energy-efficient operation of MSF desalination plants located in Abu Dhabi.

"Nanofiltration Offers a Membrane Option: It can be less expensive than using RO," by David H. Paul, February 1995

http://www.waternet.com/WT/Issues/Past/95/February/Features/nanofilterb.shtml

Nanofiltration (NF) is a membrane technology on the rise, primarily because it's more cost-effective than reverse osmosis (RO) in some applications. In those situations, it can provide a specified degree of water quality at lower operating costs. Nanofiltration is a membrane filtration process which removes substances with an effective diameter of around a billionth of a meter (a nanometer) or greater. As a reference, a human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometers in diameter. A typical bacterial cell is around 1,000 nanometers in diameter, and a helium atom has a diameter of around 0.1 nanometer.
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The largest users of NF technology are municipal drinking water plants. Florida has, by far, the largest number of these plants. It's estimated that more than 100 million gallons per day (mgd) of NF permeate will soon be offered by these plants, some of which process more than 10 mgd (6,900 gpm). In Florida, new plants invariably use membrane softening or RO rather than conventional lime softening. By processing feedwater with NF and removing most of the THM precursors, water can usually be chlorinated without exceeding the regulated limit for THM concentration.

National Research Council - Water Research Institute--Development of Desalination Processes

http://irsa1.irsa.rm.cnr.it/20years/irsa20_10.html

The problems raised, particularly in southern and island Italy, by the lack of natural water resources and the deterioration in their quality caused by increasing domestic and industrial consumption led, in the early Sixties, to the start-up of studies on sea and brackish water desalination as a possible source of supplies.

" The Basics of RO Components: They provide the building blocks for a good working system," by Mike Faulkner, August 1995

http://www.waternet.com/WT/Issues/Past/95/August/Features/systemsb.shtml

Beginning with their introduction in 1967, under-the-counter (UTC) point-of-use (POU) reverse osmosis (RO) systems employed the following main components: pressurized storage tank; cellulose acetate membrane; pre- and postcarbon sediment filter and a brass, chrome-plated third faucet. For several years there were few variations.
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RO membranes can be divided into four categories: cellulose acetate/triacetate (CA/CTA), polyamide thin-films, sulfonated polysulfone (SPS) and thin-film nanofiltration (NF) membranes. Each membrane has distinct advantages and applications.

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