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Copyright of International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management is the property of International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The use of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for desalination has gained popularity in generating drinking water from seawater sources. This study assesses the performance of a single-module feed-forward reverse osmosis (RO) system, representing the membrane module as a tubular module with feed flow on the tube side. A superstructure for the single-module feed-forward RO system forms the basis for a comprehensive mathematical model of the RO system. Mass, materials, and energy balances are meticulously applied to all system components. The study also explores external factors' influence, such as feed parameters, utility costs, and product costs, on RO system performance and optimal design. It delves into parameters affecting unit performance, including feed characteristics and operational conditions. Additionally, the impact of feed specifications and operating conditions on concentration polarization within each module is investigated. The obtained results showed that the total permeate from the unit decreases with higher salt concentration on the membrane wall as the feed concentration increases, while the unit cost remains constant. In addition, the rise in feed flow rate and feed temperature led to a decrease in wall concentration. Finally, a substantial 20% reduction in wall concentration was generated with approaching the upper limits endorsed by module manufacturers for feed temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green hydrogen, produced by water electrolysis using renewable energy sources (RES), is an emerging technology that aligns with sustainable development goals and efforts to address climate change. In addition to energy, electrolyzers require ultrapure water to operate. Although seawater is abundant on the Earth, it must be desalinated and further purified to meet the electrolyzer's feeding water quality requirements. This paper reviews seawater purification processes for electrolysis. Three mature and commercially available desalination technologies (reverse osmosis, multiple-effect distillation, and multi-stage flash) were examined in terms of working principles, performance parameters, produced water quality, footprint, and capital and operating expenditures. Additionally, pretreatment and post-treatment techniques were explored, and the brine management methods were investigated. The findings of this study can help guide the selection and design of water treatment systems for electrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current state of the hydrosphere is largely determined by human anthropogenic activities. Discharge of polluted waste waters into surface water bodies significantly worsens their quality and limits the possibility of safe consumption. One of the biggest sources of increasing surface waters mineralization and hardness is the discharge of spent regeneration solutions of natural waters ion-exchange softening processes, which creates a closed circulation cycle of sodium, calcium and magnesium chlorides. The necessity to reduce the intensity of this cycle and decrease environmental pollution is very actually today. The research of traditional soda-sodium softening technology has shown its low suitability for low and medium capacity systems due to necessity of water heating and subsequently pH adjusting. More acceptable solution was found in using phosphate anions as a precipitant, which ensures high efficiency in removing calcium and magnesium ions at a wide range of temperatures and pH levels. It was found that the solid phase formed during such treatment was difficult to separate from the liquid phase. Using of anionic flocculants was proposed as one of the solutions of this problem, which ensure high efficiency in separating the formed solid particles from water. Proposed technological scheme was designed for implementation as a pre-treatment stage in reverse osmosis systems of low and medium capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater scarcity, intensified by global population growth and climate change, poses a significant challenge to sustainable development by increasing the demand for clean water. Advancements in water purification technologies are therefore essential. Reverse-osmosis systems are widely used for drinking water purification, but their core component, the reverse-osmosis membrane, is prone to contamination. This contamination reduces system efficiency and shortens membrane lifespan, creating operational challenges. This study introduces a smart wastewater valve designed to optimize the cleaning cycles of reverse-osmosis membranes, enhancing both system performance and sustainability. The valve integrates a total dissolved solid sensor and a microcontroller, enabling real-time cleaning strategies based on wastewater solid levels and the duration of purification cycles. Testing on a water purification system demonstrates that the smart valve increases desalination rates, reduces membrane fouling, and extends membrane lifespan by approximately 33%. As a result, it significantly reduces water waste while maintaining high water quality, offering a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution. These findings contribute to the advancement of efficient water purification technologies, addressing critical economic and environmental challenges associated with water resource management. By enhancing the sustainability and performance of reverse-osmosis systems, the smart wastewater valve presents a viable approach to mitigating freshwater scarcity and supporting sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incidents of mining dam failure have compromised the water quality, threatening the water supply. Different strategies are sought to restore the impacted area and to guarantee the water supply. One example is water treatment plants that treat high-polluted waters within the required limits for their multiple usages. The current study assesses the integration of reverse osmosis (RO) to a river water treatment plant (RWTP) installed in Brumadinho (Minas Gerais, Brazil) to treat the water from the Ferro-Carvão stream impacted by the B1 dam rupture in 2019. The RWTP started eleven months after the mining dam rupture and is equipped with eight coagulation-flocculation tanks followed by eight pressurised filters. A pilot RO plant was installed to polish the water treated by the RWTP. Water samples were collected at different points of the water treatment plant and were characterised by their physical, chemical, and biological parameters (160 in total). The results were compared with the historical data (1997–2022) to reveal the alterations in the water quality after the rupture event. The compliance with both parameters was only achieved after the RO treatment, which acted as an additional barrier to 30 contaminants. The water quality indexes (WQI) suggested that the raw surface water, even eleven months after the incident, was unfit for consumption (WQI: 133.9) whereas the reverse osmosis permeate was ranked as excellent in the rating grid (WQI: 23.7). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium was included in the fifth Unregulated Contaminants Monitoring Rule, signaling the Environmental Protection Agency's interest in regulating lithium. Many questions regarding occurrence, health effects, and treatability of lithium exist. This review primarily focuses on the relationship between lithium chemistry and treatability. Sampling indicates nationwide lithium occurrence in drinking water. Yet, lithium is not included in the Integrated Risk Information System, reflecting a lack of censuses regarding its health effects. Aqueous lithium is a monovalent cation with size, charge density, and solubility properties that present treatment challenges. Lithium's growing economic value is stimulating new extraction and isolation technologies, but these may not be transferable to drinking water treatment. Currently, reverse osmosis is the only full‐scale drinking water treatment technology that can reliably remove significant levels (>50%) of lithium. Focusing future research efforts on electrodialysis and inorganic ion sieves may yield significant gains in effectiveness and readiness for the drinking water industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semiconductor manufacturing requires a substantial amount of high-purity water generated through a complex series of treatment processes. Reverse Osmosis (RO) as the most crucial water treatment process contributes the majority of energy consumption and carbon emission in Ultra-Pure Water (UPW) preparation for semiconductor manufacturing. However, there is an opportunity to drive innovation around the current design of feed flow channel in spiral wound RO elements to promote energy efficiency and cost savings. In this study, a novel design of feed channel with 3D printed spacers was compared with conventional design of feed channel with mesh spacers regarding energy consumption. The average head pressure of 3D printed spacer was found to be 20 psi lower than mesh spacer with same permeate flow rate, which achieved a lower specific power of 0.449 kWh/m3, resulting in a 20% energy saving compared with mesh spacer. This study demonstrated that this novel channel construction with 3D printed spacer significantly improves the overall energy efficiency in RO through reduced pressure loss and increased active area, with a potential merit of decreasing the anti-scalant usage and membrane cleaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes have been widely used in seawater desalination and drinking water preparation due to their outstanding ability to retain low valence salt ions and large organic molecules. Small neutral molecules (SNMs) are widely present in water, typically represented by boric acid in seawater and urea in wastewater. Reducing SNMs to meet drinking water standards is a new challenge for RO membranes. In this study, we developed a thin-film composite RO membrane tailored for seawater desalination, demonstrating exceptional selectivity against SNMs and heightened permeability. Specifically, a nonionic surfactant, flexible polyisobutylene succinimide (PIBSI), was added into the organic phase to react with trimesoyl chloride (TMC). The results showed that the new product, PIBSI–TMC, effectively exhibited the dual function of surfactant and co-monomer changed the physicochemical structure of PA formation during the interfacial polymerization process based on the detailed characterization. PIBSI integrated into the PA matrix significantly enhanced the hydrophobicity of the membrane surface and increased the specific surface area. Simultaneously, the pore size within the layer was reduced, and defects on the RO membrane surface were filled. The objectives were achieved by enhancing the size exclusion mechanisms effect, reducing SNMs diffusion rate, and ultimately improving selectivity. Experimental results demonstrated that the novel membrane achieved excellent desalination performance and a maximum boron removal efficiency of up to 90.40% in simulated seawater (32000 ppm NaCl, 5 ppm boron) compared to virgin membrane. The produced freshwater meets drinking water standards in various regions. Additionally, it exhibited higher flux (48.0 L m−2 h−1, 55.0 bar, approximately 26.4% permeate flux decline) compared to similar membranes. In addition, the rejection of SNMs in wastewater represented by urea was also effective. Therefore, it is favorable for application in resource recovery and pollutant removal. In conclusion, this novel RO membrane holds broad prospects for applications in seawater desalination and potable water production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main objective of the present investigation is to develop a novel efficient stochastic model for availability optimization of reverse osmosis machine system (ROMS) for water purification under the concepts of exponentially distributed decision variables and various redundancy strategies at the component level. Design/methodology/approach: ROMS is a complex framework configured in a series structure using six subsystems. Initially, a state transition diagram is developed and Chapman–Kolmogorov differential-difference equations are derived using Markov birth death process. The steady-state availability of the ROMS is derived for a particular case. The impact of variation in failure and repair rates measured on availability. Furthermore, an effort is made to predict the optimal availability of the ROMS system using the metaheuristic algorithms, namely, dragonfly algorithm (DA), grasshopper optimization algorithm (GOA) and whale optimization algorithm (WOA). Findings: It is observed that the ROMS system predicts optimal availability of 0.999926 after five iterations with a population size of 300 by the WOA. The findings of this study are significant for reliability engineers as well as for maintenance engineers to ensure the availability of ROMS for water purification. Originality/value: In the present investigation, a novel stochastic model is developed for ROMS, and metaheuristics algorithms are applied to predict the optimal availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, due to the lack of drinking water and the increase in global demand, desalination by reverse osmosis (RO) has been developed. In this regard, activities have been carried out to increase water flux and salt removal, which are important indicators in this process, including membrane modification by loading nanoparticles (NPs). Process simulation plays an important role in reducing laboratory costs, improving efficiency, and investigating operational parameters in more detail. This is an important factor that leads us to process simulation. The simulation of the RO process by thin‐film composite membranes modified with nanoporous titanate (mNTs) NPs has been conducted using COMSOL software. The performance of this process was checked by loading different amounts of mNTs with the desired membrane. The results revealed that by adding 0.01 w % of mNTs to the membrane composition, the performance of the process was improved in that the initial water flux through the membrane increased by about 95.4 %, while the salt rejection remained nearby 98 % and did not decrease much. Finally, to validate and expand the simulation results, the model outcomes were compared with experimental data, and the mean relative error for water flux and salt removal percentage was 1.15 % and 0.83 %, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a novel control algorithm for a standalone Photovoltaic Reverse-Osmosis (PV-RO) system without a battery. It highlights the importance of tracking the maximum power tracking points in the photovoltaic panels. The development of new methods has become more urgent than before. The PV-RO system combines solar energy and reverse osmosis technology to provide reliable and sustainable access to clean drinking water in remote areas. Traditional PV-RO systems often require energy storage solutions such as batteries to maintain a constant water supply during periods of low solar irradiation. However, the integration of batteries adds complexity, cost, and environmental impact to the system. The paper presents the development of different MPPT techniques, which are better than traditional techniques (more accurate and faster). The paper also provides a comparison with the studied methods (P&O and Incremental Conductance) and the proposed one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Drainage & Irrigation Machinery Engineering / Paiguan Jixie Gongcheng Xuebao is the property of Editorial Department of Drainage & Irrigation Machinery Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Freshwater scarcity is becoming increasingly widespread, particularly in coastal countries and territories. Many advanced technologies have been introduced to desalinate seawater into potable water, including multi-effect distillation (MED), multi-stage flash distillation (MSF), vapor compression distillation (MVC), and membrane filtration technologies, such as reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), and electrolysis (ED), which allow water to pass through while retaining salt and other minerals. RO filtration technology is commonly used owing to its advantages, such as high salt removal ability, wide application range, and high-purity output water. The different water qualities and operating conditions cause the filtration performance and lifespan of RO membranes to decrease gradually over time. This mini review provides an overview of the different methods for modifying RO membrane surfaces for various purposes, including fouling resistance, chlorine resistance, improved separation performance, and microbial resistance, to prolong the lifespan and separation performance of RO membranes. The technical advantages and limitations, as well as the feasibility of RO membrane surface modification methods that can be scaled up on an industrial scale, are clarified. Finally, prospects and research gaps in RO membrane surface modification methods are discussed to guide further research on RO membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic ozone oxidation, which is characterized by strong oxidizing properties and environmental friendliness, has been widely used in organic wastewater treatments. However, problems such as a low organic pollutant removal efficiency and unstable operation during the catalytic ozone treatment process for wastewater remain. To address these disadvantages, in this study, the treatment efficacy of catalytic ozone oxidation on a coal chemical reverse osmosis concentrate was investigated. The basic water quality indicators of the chemical reverse osmosis concentrate were analyzed. The effects of initial pollutant concentration, pH, ozone concentration, and catalyst concentration on the COD removal rate from the coal chemical reverse osmosis concentrate were explored. Water quality indicators of the chemical reverse osmosis concentrate before and after the catalytic ozone treatment were studied using spectroscopic analysis methods. The RO concentrate demonstrated large water quality fluctuations, and the catalytic ozonation process removed most of the pollutants from the treated wastewater. A possible deactivation mechanism of the ozone catalyst was also proposed. This study provides a theoretical reference and technical support for the long-term, efficient, and stable removal of organic pollutants from coal chemical reverse osmosis concentrate using a catalytic ozone oxidation process in practical engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the performance of a Reverse Osmosis (RO) process using different types of reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes is evaluated for brackish water desalination for producing irrigation-grade water. The proposed desalination system is a single-stage system, where three types of RO and two NF membranes were examined. The different desalination systems were simulated using ROSA72 software. In order to validate the theoretical model, the results obtained from the simulation were compared to those obtained from the experiment conducted in this work. The El-Moghra aquifer of Egypt is considered the test bed due to a considerable amount of data being available for this aquifer. The El-Moghra aquifer has 79 wells, and the available water data, when checked against several quality parameters, show that none of the investigated wells are suitable for direct irrigation without treatment due to problems of salinity, the sodium adsorption ratio, and low water quality according to the irrigation water quality index values. The obtained results show that nanofiltration membranes exhibited superior energy efficiency compared to reverse osmosis membranes. However, what sets the nanofiltration membranes apart is their ability to elevate water quality in 89.9% of the total investigated wells to an acceptable level for agricultural purposes. This underscores the nanofiltration membranes as a highly effective alternative to reverse osmosis membranes, demonstrating the capability to produce water suitable for irrigation while concurrently reducing operational costs due to the lower energy consumption in nanofiltration-based systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Pure Water Project Las Virgenes–Triunfo in Southern California, where water agencies are collaborating on water reuse programs to create drought-resilient water supplies. By incorporating potable reuse into its water supply portfolio, the Las Virgenes–Triunfo Joint Powers Authority aims to address regulatory requirements, augment water supplies, and promote a valuable resource in a drought-prone region. The project involves building an advanced water purification facility to treat disinfected tertiary effluent for indirect potable reuse, ultimately creating a new local source of potable water and offsetting potable water demand through conservation and source water augmentation. [Extracted from the article]

The current waste management system within the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) consists of a disposable diaper—the Maximum Absorbency Garment (MAG)—that collects urine and feces during extravehicular activities (EVAs) that last up to 8 h. Such exposure to waste for prolonged periods of time contributes to hygiene-related medical events, including urinary tract infections and gastrointestinal distress. Historically, prior to using the MAG, astronauts have limited their food intake or eaten a low-residue diet before embarking on physically demanding spacewalks, reducing their work performance index (WPI) and posing a health risk. Furthermore, the current 0.95 L In-suit Drink Bag (IDB) does not provide sufficient water for more frequent, longer-range spacewalks, which carry greater potential for contingency scenarios requiring extended time away from a vehicle. High transport costs per pound to space and resource scarcity exacerbate these challenges, underscoring the need for water efficient waste management. This paper introduces a novel in-suit urine collection and filtration system developed in the Mason Lab at Weill Cornell Medical College that could address these hygiene and hydration concerns. The device would collect astronaut urine via an external catheter and filter it using forward and reverse osmosis (FO-RO) into potable water, creating a sustainable and hygienic circular water economy, enhancing astronaut wellbeing. This research aims to achieve an 85% urine collection rate using a modified MAG. The modified MAG will be made of a flexible compression material lined with antimicrobial fabric, and urine is collected through a silicone urine collection cup, which differs for male and female astronauts to conform to anatomy. Urine collection via a vacuum pump is triggered by a humidity sensor that detects the presence of urine in the cup. The FO-RO filtration system targets a minimum of 75% water recovery, while consuming less than 10% of EMU energy. To meet health standards, the filtrate maintains low salt levels (<250 ppm NaCl) and effectively removes major urine solutes (urea, uric acid, ammonia, calcium). However, further research and testing are warranted to refine and implement these innovations for future space missions, contributing to the advancement of deep space exploration technologies and astronaut health and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Kazakhstan, the issue of providing the population with quality drinking water remains one of the topical and important issues. Despite significant efforts in the field of infrastructure and water treatment technologies, many regions of Kazakhstan still face problems of pollution and insufficient water resources. In this regard, the development of effective water treatment methods is of particular importance. This study considers the issue of wastewater treatment by the combined method of forward and reverse osmosis, which is a key direction in modern water treatment. The relevance of the work is the use of integration of forward osmosis methods with the process of adsorption by powdered activated carbon in wastewater treatment. The use of powdered activated carbon in the process of wastewater treatment leads to a reduction in the content of organic matter, which are water pollutants. As a result of the experiment with pretreatment of wastewater with powdered activated carbon, a decrease in the level of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in wastewater from 538 mg O/dm3 to 256 mg O/dm3 was observed, as well as a relative decrease in the concentration of other indicators. The draw solution in the form of 1.5 M NaCl gradually drawing water molecules from the feed solution pretreated with activated carbon on the tenth day had a concentration of 0.425 M absorbing 2.529 liters of water entering through the membrane that is 27.6% more than the control version of the experiment. The effectiveness of integrated methods lies in the successful combination of different technologies to improve water treatment processes and ensure the availability of clean water not only in Kazakhstan, but also in different parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clean water is a necessity for many organisms, especially human life. Due to many factors, there is a significant shortage of potable water. This has led to efforts involving recovering water from wastewater or the sea through different technologies. Recently, the desalination of seawater via the reverse osmosis system has shown to be a promising method for drinking water treatment and recovery. Such a technique relies on mathematical models based on many parameters, resulting in special PDEs to model the reverse osmosis system. This paper develops a numerical method to solve a reverse osmosis model. The governing PDE is converted into a Sylvester equation that is proved to be uniquely solvable, stable, consistent, and convergent. The numerical scheme developed is validated with experimental data from the literature, and some numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different approaches have been suggested for the waste heat recovery of high-temperature exhausted gas of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). In such systems, mostly gas turbine (GT) and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) are added as bottoming systems to the SOFC (Configuration 1). However, the SOFC-GT-ORC has a considerable amount of waste energy which can be recovered. In the present research, the waste energy of ORC in the heat rejection stage and the residual exhausted gas of the system were recovered by a thermoelectric generator (TEG) and a hot water unit, respectively. Then, the extra produced power in the TEG was directed to a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer and a reverse osmosis desalination unit (RODU) for hydrogen and potable water outputs. The performance of SOFC-GT, Configuration 1, and Configuration 2 was compared through a 4E (energy, exergy, exergy-economic, and environmental) analysis. In the best performance point, the exergy efficiency and unit cost of product (UCOP) of SOFC-GT were obtained as 69.41% and USD 26.53/GJ. The exergy efficiency increased by 2.56% and 2.86%, and the UCOP rose by 0.45% and 12.25% in Configurations 1 and 2. So, the overall performance of Configuration 1 was acceptable and Configuration 2 led to the highest exergy efficiency, while its economic performance was not competitive because of the high investment cost of RODU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a comprehensive product guide for water purification and treatment equipment. It lists various companies and their offerings in categories such as filters, pumps, meters, and more. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Anbar Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua is the property of Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua (IMTA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the impact of particulate matter in water on clinical chemistry test results, highlighting how impurities in water can lead to inaccurate results and compromised patient care. The study conducted by the clinical laboratory identified white plastic particulates in the water container as the root cause of unexpectedly low test results across multiple modules. The authors recommend implementing particulate sensors in water containers to ensure high-quality water enters the instrument, emphasizing the importance of water quality in maintaining testing accuracy and patient safety. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the Advanced Purified Water Facility (APWF) project in northern Nevada, which aims to implement advanced water treatment technologies for water reuse. The project is a joint effort by the City of Reno and Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) and is part of OneWater Nevada's water sustainability initiative. The APWF will utilize ozone oxidation and biological filtration to produce high-quality drinking water that meets or exceeds state and federal standards. The project is expected to enhance water resilience and sustainability in the region and serve as a model for other noncoastal reclamation facilities. [Extracted from the article]

Water softening is a crucial process in various industrial applications, and the selection of an appropriate system involves balancing technical efficiency, environmental impact, and economic considerations. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of two prominent industrial water softening systems, Nanofiltration (NF) and Ion Exchanger (IX), through a multidimensional lens. The system's design and sizing were simulated with computer assistance, using the DuPont's WAVE Water Treatment Design Software version 1.82. The technical evaluation, based on simulations, revealed that IX outperformed NF in total hardness removal (> 99%) at the expense of a slight increase in Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). In contrast, NF demonstrated a superior ability to reduce TDS, albeit with lesser total hardness removal. Environmental considerations highlighted trade-offs, with NF generating higher wastewater volumes and IX producing wastewater with highly concentrated TDS, necessitating complex treatment processes. Economically, NF generally incurred higher Total Annual Costs (TAC) at lower total hardness concentrations, while IX became costlier at higher concentrations. A selection chart is introduced to aid decision-making based on economic considerations. This research offers valuable insights for industries seeking an optimal water softening solution, balancing technical efficiency, environmental impact, and economic considerations. The findings provide a nuanced understanding to guide system selection based on specific water quality requirements and economic constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article to tackle the main concerns of today's world as fossil fuel shortage, environmental impacts of fossil fuels like global warming and atmosphere pollution as well as water scarcity, a novel power plant is designed. In this regard, the proposed plant comprises of biomass gasification unit, photovoltaic thermal collectors, a proton exchange membrane hydrogen production unit, as well as a reverse osmosis water purification plant. The plant is named as (biomass-fired combined cycle with photovoltaic, thermal collectors, hydrogen production, and reverse osmosis) BCPVHR and to assess its performance, energy, exergy, exergoeconomic, and environmental analyses are performed. The varying parameters are compressor pressure ratio and gas turbine inlet temperature. These two parameters' impact on energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, net generated power, fresh water production, total unit product cost as well and environmental index are assessed. The results are useful for adjusting the compressor pressure ratio and gas turbine inlet temperature. Please note that this plant is designed to be used completely or partially in sports facilities and can be a valuable endeavor for managing sports facilities to use renewable energy in their construction. Meanwhile, based on the priories of products different values of parameters can be used. Increasing the compressor pressure ratio raises the total unit product cost and the environmental index until 11.5 decreases and later increases. Increasing the gas turbine inlet temperature decreases the both total unit product cost and environmental index which reach 65 $/GJ and 65 kg/kWh, respectively. • A novel power plant is designed. • Plant comprises of biomass gasification unit and photovoltaic. • Plant uses proton exchange membrane for hydrogen production. • System uses reverse osmosis for water purification. • Energy, exergy, exergoeconomic, and environmental analyses are performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes are widely used to remove ions from water, but the interdependencies among active layer pore size, thickness, surface charge, and membrane porosity and their influence on performance are not clear. In this study, we evaluated these parameters for two commercial RO and eight commercial NF membranes and demonstrated that membrane porosity can serve as a critical linkage between these membrane characteristics and membrane performance. Porosity was mainly determined by pore size (as opposed to permeability or thickness), and thicker, more porous membranes with smaller pores (including RO) had higher sodium chloride removal and less permeability. Membrane volume charge density increased with increasing porosity. Higher porosity membranes have greater inner pore surface area available to support a greater number of functional groups, which increases counterions and reduces co-ions in the membrane, thereby reducing ion flux and increasing ion removal. The Donnan Steric Pore Model was used to determine that the contribution of diffusion and electromigration flux to the total counterion flux declined with increasing porosity, whereas the contribution of convection flux increased. Co-ion flux was dominated by diffusion flux, with electromigration and convection flux contributing about 3% and 2% of the total co-ion flux, respectively. Accordingly, calculation of just the diffusion flux for the co-ion can yield a good rough estimate of ion flux using high-porosity (small pore) membranes. Controlling membrane porosity through pore size and thickness can help to tune permeate water flux and ion removal to targeted water treatment goals using the trends reported in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse osmosis (RO) filter systems have emerged as an effective solution to address concerns about water quality and safety. A 2023 study found that only 52 percent of filter owners trust their tap water, highlighting the desire for trusted solutions. RO systems use a semipermeable membrane to remove impurities from water, and they commonly incorporate a remineralization process. Third-party certification is important for verifying the claims of RO systems, and recent advancements have been made in reducing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) contaminants. The industry is continuously working to reduce harmful contaminants and safeguard public health. [Extracted from the article]

One of the most important applied technologies in water treatment is reverse osmosis (RO). However, membrane fouling and flux reduction pose significant challenges. The electric field, as an effective preventive measure, has received limited attention in RO applications. In this study, we added electric fields to finished rolled RO membranes to investigate their effect on membrane fouling and desalination performance. Experimental results indicated that higher electric fields were associated with higher concentrations of treated brine, resulting in a more significant effect. Permeate flux ratios increased with increasing voltage, with peaks of 1.02% (1000 mg/L, 25 V), 1.23% (2000 mg/L, 25 V), and 1.37% (3000 mg/L, 25 V), respectively. Additionally, the maximum reduction in the specific energy consumption (SEC) was 31% (2000 mg/L, 25 V) and 59% (3000 mg/L, 25 V), respectively. Notably, electric fields had a retarding effect on Ca2+ and humic acid (HA) fouling, with a stronger effect on HA, and higher permeate flux was maintained even after 120 h of operation. While this study visually demonstrates the direct effect of electric fields on RO, further quantification of the economic benefits of this method and a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms behind how the electric field enhances permeate flux and mitigates membrane fouling are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A water pretreatment plant for hemodialysis through clarification and dechlorination does not offer the expected flow with the required quality, in terms of suspended solids and residual free chlorine, affecting the useful life of reverse osmosis membranes and microfilters. In this work, operational problems are identified and improvements are proposed to guarantee greater efficiency of the installation. Objective: To propose improvements that guarantee the efficiency of water pretreatment for hemodialysis. Materials and Methods: The water flows supplied to the settler and the filter, and water characteristics were determined and compared with those of drinking water and for reverse osmosis. The effects of removal of suspended solids, turbidity, color, residual chorine and required dose of coagulant were established. The load applied to the double layer filter was checked. Results and Discussion: The inlet pressure to the plant does not allow the design flow to be achieved. The applied dose of coagulant is not adequate and alkali should not be added. It was found that the clarification and dechlorination processes are inefficient. Conclusions: Neither the service demand nor the design flow rate is always guaranteed. The required dose of coagulant is 18 mg/L and there is no need to alkalinize the water. The turbidity and color removal efficiencies are 70% and 60.53% respectively, and the suspended solids removal efficiency in the settler is 45.2%. The output turbidity and free chlorine concentration exceed those required for reverse osmosis membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: "Carbon footprint" (CF) is a direct measure of greenhouse gas emissions caused by a defined activity and can demonstrate global warming effects. The emissions of Greenhouse gases (GHGs) in water projects start from the primary water sources, followed by transportation, construction, and operation phases in the final treatment plants. Due to their possible environmental impacts, the water treatment plants equipped with Reverse Osmosis (RO) units will be investigated for their carbon footprint. Methods: The research question is "What is the carbon footprint of reverse osmosis in water treatment plants?". The literature search in this study will be divided into two sequential sections; in the first section, the search will be limited to Scopus, Science Direct, EMBASE, and PubMed databases. The keywords of water, "water treatment plants", "water purification", desalination, "reverse osmosis", RO, "carbon emission", "carbon dioxide/CO2 emission", "carbon footprint", "Life Cycle Assessment" and, LCA will be used. The carbon footprint of RO will be expressed based on the direct and indirect effects based on RO capacity. In the second section, the internet and specialist search will be done, and the search will be updated. No date limitation will be considered, and the main search will be done in English. When the search is completed, the screening will be performed. After removing duplicates, the title and abstract will be examined. The full text will be read if the title and abstract are not helpful for decision-making. In addition, the bibliography and references will proceed after the full-text screening. The Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) Critical Appraisal Tool will be used for risk of bias checking and study validity assessment. After full-text evaluation, data will be collected and categorized by two authors. If there is enough data, meta-analysis will be performed. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42022327572. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constraint optimization redundancy allocation problem (CoRAP) is a real-world, complex integer programming problem. Many researchers have used a variety of techniques to solve CoRAP. In the last two decades, evolutionary algorithms have been used by researchers to handle a variety of complex problems. Among these, the spider monkey optimization algorithm (SMO), which focuses on the behavior of monkeys, is one of the most promising and recent developments by researchers. In addition, no work has been undertaken in the context of solving CoRAP for water treatment plants so far. This paper proposed an integer programming problem, CoRAP for water treatment reverse osmosis (RO) plants subject to a cost constraint. The spider monkey optimization technique is applied to optimize the redundant units of the components of the plant, due to which the overall system reliability is maximized. A review of spider monkey optimization applications and modifications are also presented to investigate its performance. The same problem is solved by the heuristic algorithm, the branch and bound method and student psychology-based optimization technique to compare performance. The simulation work of spider monkey optimization, heuristic algorithms and student psychology-based optimization is implemented using MATLAB and the results for the branch and bound method are obtained using LINGO software. The findings demonstrate the better performance of spider monkey optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study's objectives were to evaluate the possibility of S. aureus contamination in bottled drinking water and to determine the elements that affect the level of S. aureus in raw water. In two drinking water treatment facilities, samples of raw water, soft water, reverse osmosis (R.O.) water, and finished water were collected at various stages. In addition, raw water samples and risk indicators like pH, temperature, and residual chlorine were gathered at the packaging facility during the washing process. For Factory A (small scale), the pH values for the raw water, soft water, R.O. water, and finished water samples were 7.17, 7.24, 6.69, and 5.92, respectively. For Factory B (medium scale), the pH values were 7.9, 7.44, 6.97, and 6.8. All water samples from Factory A (2 CFU/mL) and Factory B (1 CFU/mL) had S. aureus concentrations that were within the acceptable range for human consumption. All water samples from Factory A (2–26 CFU/mL) and Factory B (11–316 CFU/mL) contained total coliforms as well. Our study revealed that S. aureus contamination in water is mostly caused by pH and processing times. To prevent pathogen contamination in bottled drinking water, it is recommended that raw and finished water be kept at a pH level between 6.5 and 7.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common difficulty with water purification processes using reverse osmosis membranes is biofouling, a phenomenon in which bacteria grow within the apparatus, sometimes as biofilm inside the membrane element. Biofouling reduces the membrane permeability and generates a larger than desirable pressure drop across the membrane, which could also eventually mechanically compromise the membrane element integrity. In industrial scale systems, it is not possible to completely remove the grown biofilm from within the reverse osmosis membrane, even using harsh cleaning conditions. This paper highlights the performance of the FilmTec™ SW30XFR-400/34, the new generation seawater fouling resistant membrane elements. The elements were operated using Red Sea seawater, known for its high biofouling potential. The operational results highlighted the improvement obtained when replacing the heritage FilmTec™ SW30HRLE-400 with the improved SW30XFR-400/34. The results complied over more than 2 y of operation demonstrate that the pressure drop was reduced up to 40% while keeping a stable normalized permeate flow and increased salt rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse osmosis is one of the most prevalent methods of generating potable water owing to its low power usage, excellent rates of contaminant removal, simple design, large output capacity, and much cheaper initial and maintenance costs than comparable alternatives. In this review, the most important published research related to the reverse osmosis process was reviewed. It was found that the majority of reported studies were related to using the reverse osmosis process for water desalination and wastewater treatment. Research has proven that the reverse osmosis process is a very effective method for desalinating water and treating industrial effluent containing heavy metals, organics, and other pollutants. Fouling was found to be one of the greatest obstacles encountered by the reverse osmosis method in water treatment, which raises operating costs due to the need for frequent cleaning, reduces the membrane's lifespan, and reduces the permeate flux. In general, microfiltration/ultrafiltration pretreatment and backwashing were among the most effective strategies suggested by researchers to reduce fouling and ensure the longevity and proper operation of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important challenges of drinking water production using reverse osmosis (RO) is the management of the concentrated brine because of its large volume. Electrodialysis reversal (EDR) technology has the potential to be integrated with RO process to treat the RO brine stream and increase the water recovery of the hybrid treatment process. In this study, we treated brine wastewater from brackish water RO plant using an EDR stack with tortuous flow path. We designed the experiments utilizing the Box--Behnken method which was applied for modeling and optimization. We modeled the EDR energy consumption, desalination efficiency, ion flux as a function of voltage, feed flow rate, and initial feed electrical conductivity as main factors. The obtained correlations between the input and output variables were evaluated by different statistics tools. We also maximized the ion flux and desalination efficiency while minimizing the energy consumption using multi-response optimization methodology. The optimum values for applied voltage, flow rate, and initial conductivity were founded to be 7.7 V, 25 mL/min, and 13,000 µS/cm, respectively. At the optimal conditions, the desalination efficiency, ion flux and energy consumption were 8.69%, 15.25 mg/m²·s, and 0.81 Wh/L, respectively, which were very close to the predicted values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]