Development of a Treatment Process for Electrodialysis Reversal Concentrate with Intermediate Softening and Secondary Reverse Osmosis to Approach 98-Percent Water Recovery
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 7
Abstract
The United States Army is constructing a new water-treatment facility for Fort Irwin/National Training Center in the Mojave Desert region of southern California to address existing regulatory requirements and to account for anticipated expansion at the installation. The proposed treatment, electrodialysis reversal (EDR), is anticipated to recover 92% of the influent water. The ultimate goal was to achieve 99% recovery, which required additional recovery of the EDR concentrate. This paper describes laboratory testing of conventional water-treatment methods to achieve water recovery beyond standard practice. The effectiveness of lime softening followed by secondary reverse osmosis (RO) was evaluated to treat the concentrate stream and recover additional water to approach 98%. Partial lime softening at dosages of of hydrated lime was capable of removing hardness from simulated EDR concentrate. Adding magnesium chloride to the lime softening step increased silica removal, bringing concentrations in the simulated EDR concentrate from 110 to at room temperature. The resulting treated water was suitable for effective reverse osmosis with a standard seawater polyamide membrane. Rejection for all of the dissolved constituents was well above 90% with the exception of arsenic, which was reduced from to levels on the order of . To achieve 99% recovery, mechanical vapor recompression is being considered to further recover the concentrate from the RO unit, although this unit process was not evaluated in the research reported in this paper.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like acknowledge that funding for the research reported in this paper came from the U.S. Army Military Construction (MILCON) program. The water-treatment plant project was managed by Debra Ford and LTC Joseph Seybold of the Los Angeles District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Permission was granted by the Chief of Engineers to publish this information. The views expressed in this paper are those of the writers and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. The use of trade, product, or firm names in this paper is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 7 • July 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 11, 2014
Accepted: Nov 20, 2014
Published online: Jan 7, 2015
Discussion open until: Jun 7, 2015
Published in print: Jul 1, 2015
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