water Clean.
watts Green.
waste Lean.
SEAWATER
In coastal regions, seawater is increasingly viewed by localities as a supplemental source to their feed water supply. w3Synergy custom fabricates seawater desalination systems from 100 gallons per day (GPD) to 1 million GPD – sizes small enough to fit on a yacht to systems installed inside 40-ft shipping containers.
A packaged desalination system engineered by w3Synergy can be defined as a treatment train comprised of an array of separation technologies. The process steps specifically used for desalination are categorized as follows:
Media Filtration
Seawater often contains suspended solids (TSS) in the form of algae, colloids, silts, and inorganic and organic matter that affect the clarity of the water. The range of TSS found in seawater is seasonally-influenced and varies based on the location of intake.
This turbidity can be measured with a turbidimeter and is expressed in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU). Silt density index (SDI) is a common measurement of the fouling potential of suspended solids found in seawater. Sand filtration and multimedia filtration (anthracite) are common methods of removing TSS. W3Synergy also offers zeolite filtration as a more efficient means of media filtration providing 50 to 100% higher solids loading capacity.
Microfiltration
w3Synergy supplies automatic self-cleaning filtration with screen sizes ranging from 5 micron to 1000 microns to capture silt, fine sand, and particles that could still be contained in the pre-treated seawater following media filtration.
Membrane Filtration
W3Synergy fabricates a broad range of membrane filtration equipment including ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis.
Ultrafiltration is used to remove suspended solids (TSS), colloidal material, and log removal of microorganisms and pathogens including giardia, crypto, viruses and e. coli.
Nanofiltration membranes are tighter than UF membranes but looser than RO membranes. NF is used to remove color due to dissolved organics and soften water by removing hardness ions (calcium & magnesium). Nanofiltration is also used to remove other divalent ions such as sulfate. In addition, nanofiltration (as well as reverse osmosis) has been extremely effective at removing PFAS.
Reverse osmosis is used to lower the level of total dissolved solids (TDS) in surface water due to the presence of ions, salts, and minerals found in the water. Waters containing TDS levels higher than 500 ppm are generally considered to be brackish. Conductivity expressed as microsiemens per centimeter (uS/cm) is another method of monitoring the presence of these dissolved solids.
w3Synergy seawater RO systems utilize the latest energy-saving seawater RO membranes along with energy recovery devices (ERDs) for the high pressure feed pumps.
In applications where boron is a concern, w3Synergy uses membranes with high boron rejection and, when necessary, a second pass is included to further purify the product water.
Disinfection
After the water has been filtered, disinfection is an additional method used to kill any remaining pathogens including parasites, bacteria, or viruses.
w3Synergy supplies different alternatives for disinfection including UV, ozone, and chemical (i.e.chlorine) to meet the log removal requirements for giardia, crypto, viruses, and e. coli.
Remineralization
When the RO permeate is below pH < 6 units, the product water is buffered using limestone or calcite bed to protect distribution piping from corrosion.
Clean-In-Place
w3Synergy fabricates both pre-engineered and custom-designed CIP skids for periodic cleaning of RO membrane systems, process & storage tanks, piping, and/or fermentation reactors. The chemical tanks and pumps on the skid are sized consistent with the application.
Automation
w3Synergy ingredient water treatment systems are fully automated with the option of either Allen Bradley, Siemens or Idec PLC. Automation allows for remote continuous online monitoring & control.
Contact Us
w3Synergy is ready to help you with your next water purification or water reuse project.
Contact our engineering team to learn more:
858.215.4122