The treatment of brackish water for use as drinking water is difficult and expensive because certain contaminants found in the source water cause fouling on membranes used in desalination. To reduce the fouling on membranes in the reverse osmosis (RO) and electrodialysis reversal (EDR), pretreatment is needed for the brackish water. The goal of this project is to design and produce a system (bench-scale model and full-scale design) that will reduce the amounts of aluminum, manganese, and iron down to acceptable levels to make RO and EDR processes more feasible and efficient.
• Remove all contaminants (particulates, Al, Fe, and Mn) at or below levels required for desalination
• Meet state and federal regulations
• Be reasonably easy to use and reliable
• Be applicable to the Tularosa Basin, but flexible for other rural locations (of various sizes)
• Be affordable, maintainable, and cost effective
• Be energy efficient (e.g. use renewable energy sources)
• Address disposal of concentrates and provide a viable disposal pathway (e.g. by minimizing reject water)