• Hydranautics' ESPA2 membrane elements provide reverse osmosis for world's largest groundwater replenishment system
OCEANSIDE, CA, July 1, 2008 -- Nitto Denko-Hydranautics congratulates the Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District (California) -- recipients of the 2008 Stockholm Industry Water Award. This prestigious distinction will be presented in August during World Water Week 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Orange County Water District and the Orange County Sanitation District developed the Groundwater Replenishment (GWR) system, a water purification project providing a drought-proof, locally controlled and reliable water supply meeting the needs of 500,000 of the district's 2.3 million residents. The GWR System, the largest of its kind, takes highly treated sewer water (dumped pre-GWR into the Pacific Ocean) and purifies it through microfiltration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet disinfection and hydrogen peroxide. Hydranautics ESPA2 (Energy Saving Polyamide) membrane elements provide the reverse osmosis step.
ESPA (Energy Saving Polyamide) reverse osmosis membrane elements have high productivity and low salt passage -- factors crucial to the success of OCWD's new facility. The ESPA2 membrane elements reclaim microfiltered secondary effluent from the Orange County Sanitation District; the RO system produces either 64 MGD at 80% recovery or 70 MGD at 87.5% recovery. This flexible system design can treat varying feed water quality conditions, with the resultant RO permeate sent to the barrier wells and recharge basins.
Hydranautics' ESPA2 membrane elements operate at significantly lower pressures than most spiral wound elements when operating on difficult to treat wastewaters. The unique properties of the ESPA2 membrane chemistry allow the system to start at very low operation pressures and also undergo minimal fouling during operation, while still maintaining high rejection. The result is that the ESPA2 membrane saves energy and produces a product with very low salinity and organic contaminants.
Hydranautics, together with parent company Nitto Denko, is industry leader in membrane development with a focus on unique surface coatings.
Also see: -- "Orange County Water District recognized with SIWI Industry Water Award"
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