Water reuse · Case study

99.6% recovery – without an evaporator.

1.4 MGDDesign flow

99.6%Target overall recovery

200,000 mg/LTarget final brine TDS

<1,000 psiDesign operating pressure

Process flow diagram: wastewater feed passes through media filtration and NF to RO 1. RO 1 concentrate goes through hardness and silica removal and UF to RO 2, whose concentrate feeds OARO; OARO diluate returns to the RO 2 feed. Permeate from RO 1 and RO 2 is recovered for reuse, and OARO produces a final brine of about 200,000 mg/L TDS

The challenge

A municipal utility needed to remove chlorides from treated wastewater while achieving zero liquid discharge.

The solution

Rick’s team designed a 1.4 MGD membrane desalination and brine-concentration process combining high-recovery brackish-water RO, physicochemical softening, seawater RO, and OARO.

The result

The design targeted 99.6% overall recovery and a final brine concentration of 200,000 mg/L TDS – an endpoint traditionally associated with expensive evaporative concentration.

Status: Rick Stover’s prior professional experience. Design only, not built; all figures are design targets. The process-flow diagram is conceptual.

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