Aquifer Treatment of Sea Water to Remove Natural Organic Matter Before Desalination

Abdullah Dehwah; Samir Almashharawi; Kim Choon Ng; Thomas M. Missimer

doi:10.1111/gwat.12476

Aquifer Treatment of Sea Water to Remove Natural Organic Matter Before Desalination

Abdullah Dehwah, Samir Almashharawi, Kim Choon Ng, Thomas M. Missimer

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

An investigation of a sea water reverse osmosis desalination facility located in western Saudi Arabia has shown that aquifer treatment of the raw sea water provides a high degree of removal of natural organic matter (NOM) that causes membrane biofouling. The aquifer is a carbonate system that has a good hydraulic connection to the sea and 14 wells are used to induce sea water movement 400 to 450 m from the sea to the wells. During aquifer transport virtually all of the algae, over 90% of the bacteria, over 90% of the biopolymer fraction of NOM, and high percentages of the humic substance, building blocks, and some of the low molecular weight fractions of NOM are removed. Between 44 and over 90% of the transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) are removed with a corresponding significant reduction in concentration of the colloidal fraction of TEP. The removal rate for TEP appears to be greater in carbonate aquifers compared to siliciclastic systems. Although the production wells range in age from 4 months to 14 years, no significant difference in the degree of water treatment provided by the aquifer was found.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	316-326
Number of pages	11
Journal	Groundwater
Volume	55
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12476
State	Published - Oct 17 2016

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title = "Aquifer Treatment of Sea Water to Remove Natural Organic Matter Before Desalination",

abstract = "An investigation of a sea water reverse osmosis desalination facility located in western Saudi Arabia has shown that aquifer treatment of the raw sea water provides a high degree of removal of natural organic matter (NOM) that causes membrane biofouling. The aquifer is a carbonate system that has a good hydraulic connection to the sea and 14 wells are used to induce sea water movement 400 to 450 m from the sea to the wells. During aquifer transport virtually all of the algae, over 90% of the bacteria, over 90% of the biopolymer fraction of NOM, and high percentages of the humic substance, building blocks, and some of the low molecular weight fractions of NOM are removed. Between 44 and over 90% of the transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) are removed with a corresponding significant reduction in concentration of the colloidal fraction of TEP. The removal rate for TEP appears to be greater in carbonate aquifers compared to siliciclastic systems. Although the production wells range in age from 4 months to 14 years, no significant difference in the degree of water treatment provided by the aquifer was found.",

author = "Abdullah Dehwah and Samir Almashharawi and Ng, {Kim Choon} and Missimer, {Thomas M.}",

note = "KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01 Acknowledgements: Funding for this research was provided by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. The authors thank the Water Desalination and Reuse Center for the use of analytical equipment. The authors would like to thank Khaled Bin Bandar for field support, SAWACO company team, and Engineers Nizar Kammourie, Najm El-Jafery, and Firas Yaish for access to the facilities and on-site support.",

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N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01 Acknowledgements: Funding for this research was provided by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. The authors thank the Water Desalination and Reuse Center for the use of analytical equipment. The authors would like to thank Khaled Bin Bandar for field support, SAWACO company team, and Engineers Nizar Kammourie, Najm El-Jafery, and Firas Yaish for access to the facilities and on-site support.

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N2 - An investigation of a sea water reverse osmosis desalination facility located in western Saudi Arabia has shown that aquifer treatment of the raw sea water provides a high degree of removal of natural organic matter (NOM) that causes membrane biofouling. The aquifer is a carbonate system that has a good hydraulic connection to the sea and 14 wells are used to induce sea water movement 400 to 450 m from the sea to the wells. During aquifer transport virtually all of the algae, over 90% of the bacteria, over 90% of the biopolymer fraction of NOM, and high percentages of the humic substance, building blocks, and some of the low molecular weight fractions of NOM are removed. Between 44 and over 90% of the transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) are removed with a corresponding significant reduction in concentration of the colloidal fraction of TEP. The removal rate for TEP appears to be greater in carbonate aquifers compared to siliciclastic systems. Although the production wells range in age from 4 months to 14 years, no significant difference in the degree of water treatment provided by the aquifer was found.

AB - An investigation of a sea water reverse osmosis desalination facility located in western Saudi Arabia has shown that aquifer treatment of the raw sea water provides a high degree of removal of natural organic matter (NOM) that causes membrane biofouling. The aquifer is a carbonate system that has a good hydraulic connection to the sea and 14 wells are used to induce sea water movement 400 to 450 m from the sea to the wells. During aquifer transport virtually all of the algae, over 90% of the bacteria, over 90% of the biopolymer fraction of NOM, and high percentages of the humic substance, building blocks, and some of the low molecular weight fractions of NOM are removed. Between 44 and over 90% of the transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) are removed with a corresponding significant reduction in concentration of the colloidal fraction of TEP. The removal rate for TEP appears to be greater in carbonate aquifers compared to siliciclastic systems. Although the production wells range in age from 4 months to 14 years, no significant difference in the degree of water treatment provided by the aquifer was found.

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Aquifer Treatment of Sea Water to Remove Natural Organic Matter Before Desalination

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