Friday, May 31, 2013

Creating a Personalized Membrane System


Reverse osmosis system in New Mexico
Membrane technology is just one of many options AdEdge offers to decontaminate water supplies. Whether you require high quality drinking water for a municipal water utility or consistently pure water for bottling and drinking, AdEdge can design and build a customized membrane solution to meet your site’s treatment needs.

AdEdge offers ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane systems for a variety of industrial, municipal and mining applications. For reducing total dissolved solids (TDS), RO is the perfect choice.

When designing a RO system, we begin with the basics. AdEdge’s team of experts first analyzes the water’s quality and temperature to determine the system’s operating pressure and other elements of the design.

“The RO projection will dictate the operating pressure required by the high pressure RO pump, how many membranes are required, chemical feed requirements and the system array, which is the membrane layout,” said Doug Craver, AdEdge’s Western Region Sales Manager.

Sometimes the water is contaminated with minerals that can harm the surface of the membrane. RO pretreatment is often necessary to treat these contaminants before they have a chance to cause any damage.

Chlorine is one such mineral that can be trouble for an RO system.

“Chlorine is an oxidizer and present in most potable water supplies and, if not removed, this will actually oxidize the membrane surface creating ‘micro-holes’ in the membrane surface,” Craver said. “Where other contaminants plug the membranes, this will actually do the opposite and will ultimately allow more TDS and contaminants to pass through the membranes.”

For effective pretreatment, our RO systems can be integrated with our other treatment technologies to ensure successful removal of harmful contaminants in one convenient system. AdEdge also offers antiscalants to curb buildup on the membrane and soften the water.

Much like our other treatment systems, RO systems are skid-mounted and pre-plumbed, pre-wired and tested before they are shipped to your site. Using a forklift or other heavy lifting equipment, the contractor can simply consult the supplied AutoCAD drawings of the system, making installation a breeze.

Membrane technology is an ideal solution for treating tap, well or surface water applications to produce highly purified water across all industries. Contact AdEdge and let one of our experienced engineers design a custom solution that fits your needs.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Understanding Membrane Treatment


Ultrafiltration system
When it comes to water treatment, there is never a shortage of options available for consumers. Membrane filtration is one item on AdEdge’s long list of treatment solutions designed to produce clean, safe water. But what exactly is membrane treatment and how can it benefit your water supply?

Simply put, in a membrane system, water is forced through a material that is designed to only allow pure water to pass through, leaving the contaminants behind.

No matter the industry, if highly purified water is needed, membrane treatment is an ideal solution. From car washes seeking a spot-free rinse, to the pristine irrigation systems on the green lawns of golf courses, a membrane system can deliver water that is free of fluoride, nitrates, arsenic and total dissolved solids (TDS).

Looking for water that is good enough to drink? Membrane treatment is also great for potable water applications such as restaurants, hotels, schools and resorts.

Reverse osmosis (RO) and ultrafiltration (UF) are the two most common methods of membrane treatment.
“Many products fabricated require high purity water for various aspects of the process, so RO is the most cost effective technology available for reduction of TDS from well and or potable water supplies,” said Doug Craver, Western Region Sales Manager for AdEdge.

An RO system can also help water utilities stay in line with federal regulations when certain contaminants are present at levels higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant levels. And multiple contaminants are no problem, according to Craver, as RO technology can be combined with other treatment methods into one system for decontamination.

“Depending on the contaminants present, RO can be used by itself to reduce several contaminants at one time or can be used in conjunction with filtration systems to meet the required parameters,” Craver explained.

Ultrafiltration membrane systems, on the other hand, reduce organics and turbidity to bring surface water supplies up to drinking water quality. They are also used to reclaim wastewater for reuse or groundwater recharge. Large particles won’t pass through UF membranes, but ions and small organics will flow through with ease.

AdEdge designs custom membrane treatment solutions that are effective under a variety of conditions and can be combined with other AdEdge treatment technologies for complete contaminant removal. Let us design a membrane system that is right for your water supply.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Taking the Reins


White Horse Youth Ranch in Las Vegas
AdEdge offers numerous custom membrane treatment solutions for reducing total dissolved solids (TDS) in a variety of applications. In 2011, AdEdge was contacted to design a solution for a Las Vegas ranch.

The White Horse Youth Ranch offers underprivileged youth in the area an opportunity to develop respect, trust, responsibility and discipline through learning how to care for and ride a horse.

When some of the horses began getting sick and not eating, they were moved off the ranch and treated. Upon returning to the ranch, they became sick again.

After testing the groundwater, high concentrations of TDS, arsenic and sulfates were found on the property.

The raw water at the ranch has a TDS concentration of 3,680 mg/L. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) for TDS is 500 mg/L. The arsenic concentration of 0.028 mg/L and the sulfate level of 1,800 mg/L were also well above the MCL of 0.01 mg/L and 250 mg/L, respectively.

“Prior to treating the groundwater supply, they had taken their horses off the ranch’s property and were housing them elsewhere,” said Chad Miller, applications engineer for AdEdge. “Essentially the ranch was shut down until an alternative water source could be identified or treatment of their existing water supply could bring the water to quality.”

The ranch’s owners contacted AdEdge for a treatment solution. By implementing a skid-mounted AdEdge reverse osmosis (RO) unit, AdEdge was able to reduce the facility’s arsenic, sulfate and TDS levels to well below the EPA standards.

AdEdge designed a unit sized for 28 gallons per minute—the size of the existing well’s distribution system. From the well, water is pumped into a 120-gallon hyponeumatic tank that controls pressure.
To eliminate any materials that could potentially clog the membrane, an anti-scalant is injected into the water. From there, it flows into a sediment filter to remove any organics before reaching the RO system, which is made of six 5-inch by 40-inch membranes stacked on top of each other. 

Since the system was started up in October 2011, it has reduced the arsenic concentration to an undetectable level, and the TDS and sulfates have been reduced to well below the EPA’s standard. Today, the White Horse Youth Ranch can continue to its mission to teach important life skills to underprivileged youth with healthy horses.

Contact AdEdge to design a custom membrane treatment system for your site.