MEMBRANE TREATMENT IS VERSATILE - A SINGLE TREATMENT FACILITY PRODUCING BOILER FEED, FOOD-PROCESSING WATER, AND DRINKING-WATER

Membrane treatment is gaining a reputation for consistent and stable p erformance, which might lead some to the impression that treatment sys tems utilizing membranes are not versatile. On the contrary, there is a recently completed facility operating in the agricultural area of So utheast Florida which provides boiler feed water, food processing wate r, and drinking water from a single facility. The versatility required by this facility is increased by the need to seasonally vary the quan tity of each of these flows. This paper examines this facility and dem onstrates that the quality of water produced by a membrane treatment p lant can be varied to suit many requirements, without expanding the fa cility. The plant is designed to produce 750,000 gpd and it provides t hree different qualities of water. This facility was built to provide process quality water to a sugar refinery on a year-round basis and bo iler feed water during the six month period each year when the sugar m illing process is not in operation. The consistently high quality of w ater will improve the quality of refined sugar and allow the refinery to operate all year. Tn addition, the treatment plant provides potable water for use and consumption by the employees. Potable water was pre viously trucked to the site on a daily basis.