A reverse osmosis (RO) bench-scale test and feasibility study wasrncompleted for the city of Hutchinson, Kansas, to evaluate the technical feasibility and costrnof various RO pretreatment options and to recommend an approach to pilot testing forrnconverting remediation groundwater into beneficial reuse as a drinking water supply. Usernof RO in the remediation treatment process presents a novel approach to solving waterrnsupply and groundwater contamination issues faced by many cities in the Midwest.rnHowever, selecting the appropriate RO pretreatment method is considered critical tornachieving long-term, reliable, and cost-effective RO operations with minimal membranernThe groundwater, which was contaminated by various industrial activities, containsrnlow levels of chlorinated solvents and relatively high concentrations of total dissolvedrnsolids, chloride, and inorganic membrane foulants. The most common and widely usedrnmethod for removing chlorinated solvents from contaminated groundwater is air stripping.rnHowever, use of an air stripper ahead of RO enhances the potential for iron and biologicalrnfouling of the membranes. As an alternative, an air stripper could be placed after the ROrnsystem. In this case, the primary concern is the compatibility of chlorinated solvents onrnthe membrane surface.rnTo assess RO fouling concerns and assist with pilot test planning, a detailedrnevaluation and comparison of various RO pretreatment methods and water chemistries forrnsystems that incorporate air stripping for VOC-removal as both a pre-RO and post-ROrntreatment step was completed. The results of this side-by-side comparison of cost andrnperformance issues, as well as the results of a RO bench-scale test, are presented tornshow that RO can be cost-effectively applied in the remediation process for beneficialrnreuse of contaminated groundwater for drinking water supply.
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