Nitrate removal of groundwater by reverse osmosis, nanofiltration and electrodialysis: performances and cost comparison
Sakina Belhamidi, Soufian El-Ghzizel, Mohamed Taky, Azzeddine Elmidaoui
Abstract
ABSTRACT The study was conducted to evaluate the comparison of the three technologies, electrodialysis (ED), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) in nitrate removal from groundwater on the basis of performances, capital expenditure (Capex) and operating cost (Opex). The comparison was estimated for an industrial plant having a capacity of 2,200 m 3 /d (100 m 3 /h) corresponding to a water consumption for 50,000 capita following the Moroccan considerations in rural medium (consumption for domestic use of 50 L/d and per capita). The first part of the study was carried out for the comparison of the performances in terms of nitrate removal and recovery rate of the three membrane-based technologies in nitrate removal from Moroccan groundwater. This study confirms the performances of ED, NF and RO in nitrate removal and shows that these performances are comparable. The second-part is dedicated to estimating and calculating Capex, Opex and the specific energy consumption for the three technologies. The cost assessment shows that ED appears to be slightly cost effective for nitrate removal from groundwater than RO and NF.