With many options for water treatment, engineers are realizing that multiple membrane systems are more efficient and provide stable product flows. The number of municipalities that are converting their conventional water plants to membrane systems is growing. Membranes are a viable solution to many problems. This example represents how we are getting closer to ideal situations, where we can reclaim and reuse all of our water and reduce the amount of natural resources that have to be used. By reducing the amount of water that is being pumped from the Guadalupe River down to zero, we are helping the environment conserve. Membranes are constantly improving. The development of membrane bioreactors (MBR) is an example of this, where high BOD industrial and municipal wastewaters have been reclaimed. Different combinations of membranes systems are not just limited to the example shown. We can have combinations such as: UF-seawater RO, MBR-RO, RO-EDI, and UF-RO-EDI as seen in this project. In this case ultrapure water is required for the power plant. In municipal water systems, the purity of the water can be of lower quality. For industrial ultrapure applications, product water must be less than 1 mg/1 TDS. For potable water applications, the WHO and the EPA requires less than 500 mg/1 TDS.
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