Tag: Research
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Solar membrane distillation ideal for remote areas
Fraunhofer ISE develops solar thermally driven compact desalination systems based on membrane distillation for a capacity range between 100 and 500 L/d and larger system capacities up to 10 m³/d. A modular design of systems is important in order to resize them to a wide range of user profiles. Membrane distillation (MD) is a separation…
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Ozone improves ceramic membrane use for wastewater reclamation
Ceramic membranes have been used in the industrial production of beer, wine and cheese. One of the reasons for this use is the narrow pore size distribution, where careful separation of different size compounds can be achieved. Outside of Japan, the use of ceramic membranes has been almost non-existent for municipal drinking-water systems. The slow…
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Experience helps boost production and stability at Ras Abu Jarjur
Improving production with reduced expenditure could be the main targets of any desalination facility around the world. Such feats are being methodically achieved at Ras Abu Jarjur reverse-osmosis (RO) plant in Bahrain as a result of a series of improvements. Of the many available desalination techniques, RO was seen from the earliest days as a…
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New recovery technologies can minimize concentrate volumes
Several emerging technologies show potential to enhance recovery rates during desalination of brackish water. These processes include emerging approaches for concentrate treatment and new desalination technologies. Emerging concentrate treatment technologies that aim to enhance recovery and thus minimize concentrate include physical-chemical or biological treatment of concentrate followed by further reverse-osmosis (RO) treatment; new RO methods…
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Low-Biofouling Polypropylene Feedspacers for Reverse Osmosis Applications
Polypropylene (PP) is a commercial polymer that is ubiquitous in membrane filtration as feedspacer due to its high chemical stability, low cost and versatile properties. The goal of this project was to develop low-biofouling polypropylene reverse-osmosis (RO) feed spacers, which can be used for desalination, through the functionalization of PP with copper ions since copper…
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Solar pond and membrane distillation merger in Nevada University
Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermally driven membrane separation process that involves evaporation of volatile constituents (water in desalination applications) through a hydrophobic, microporous membrane. The vacuum-enhanced MD process recently patented by researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno in the United States has now been coupled with some equally interesting research at the university…
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Industry Interview – Dan McCarthy – From research to commissioning: how B&V has it all covered
With another prestigious water project opened in May in the shape of the 228,000 m /d Sembcorp NEWater Plant in Singapore, the list of references for major desalination and water reuse projects involving global engineers Black & Veatch in various capacities grows ever more quickly. John Gould, chairman of Faversham House Group and the publisher…
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Small-scale desalination approach to a big water problem
A research project recently undertaken at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has revealed a new mechanism for desalination/purification of water, employing a microfluidic channel-network system, which could lead to the development of small and portable units. The authors have started to build a prototype device in the laboratory in order to demonstrate the necessary scale-up…
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Korea puts $170m into desalination SWRO and water reuse
The Republic of Korea has recently funded a six-year US$ 170 million research initiative in seawater desalination. Over 500 researchers from 16 universities will contribute to the work of the 50-member core team. Government leaders funded the research initiative in part due to the success of South Korean multinational firms in the desalination export sector.…
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San Francisco study proves impaired source still feasible
The Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD), near San Francisco, USA, has been exploring seawater desalination to provide a drought-proof supplement to its over-extended water supply. Desalination of San Francisco Bay water presents challenges for pretreatment due to the frequent changes in water quality from the ebb and flow of the tides and winds, seasonal changes…