AWWA MTC61232

Large-scale desalination facilities in North America are limited to open waterintakes by economic and environmental considerations. Although open waterintakes have been widely applied in the Middle East, Caribbean and otherregions, there have been a limited number of full-scale facilities using open waterintakes constructed in North America. Open water intakes are often associatedwith increased fouling loads resulting from phytoplankton, algae, marine flora andother particulates present in the raw water. Recent pilot studies performed usinglow-pressure membranes (microfiltration, ultrafiltration) to filter seawater fromopen water intakes have experienced operational challenges, including increasedmembrane fouling and particulate induced membrane damage. To mitigatethese operational challenges, the authors have studied the application of discfiltration in lieu of fine-mesh strainers prior to the membrane systems. Thispaper outlines how operational challenges were mitigated at two pilot studiesusing disc filtration. It further reports on the results of controlled studiesexamining the benefits of disc filtration in enhancing the critical flux of low pressuremembrane systems. A brief economic analysis on the benefits of discfiltration is presented. Includes 4 references, tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. - No.

Published:

03/01/2005

Number of Pages:

12

File Size:

1 file , 670 KB