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Membrane Technologies: A Clear Choice for Water Reuse
Author(s) -
Biagini Brad,
Gilbert Emily,
Mack Bernie,
Cappelle Malynda,
Davis Thomas A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
opflow
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1551-8701
pISSN - 0149-8029
DOI - 10.5991/opf.2013.39.0006
Subject(s) - reverse osmosis , reuse , brackish water , membrane technology , environmental science , membrane , population , water treatment , environmental engineering , water quality , process engineering , waste management , engineering , chemistry , biology , demography , sociology , ecology , biochemistry , salinity
Population growth, decreasing supply volumes and quality, and droughts are drivers for maximizing product water yield from brackish sources and minimizing adverse environmental impacts caused by waste disposal. Some membrane‐based treatment options can achieve water recoveries > 90 percent with proper selection of pretreatment and/or membrane technology combinations. This article discusses some of the most common membrane‐based technologies as well as electrically driven membrane processes, chemical softening prior to reverse osmosis (RO) to reduce concentrations of scaling salts, the use of low‐pressure membranes as pretreatment to an RO system, and criteria for evaluating and selecting the most suitable technology.