Treated Sewage Effluent

TSE water is typically purified wastewater that has been traditionally discharged into the environment. However, there are large-scale re-use projects that are utilizing this water, the main applications are irrigation, cooling water and indirect re-use (i.e. recharging aquifers).

The required quality of the water is relatively low; the main concern is public health protection and not exposing humans to water containing pathogens. The best treatment of TSE is ultra filtration. UF is a pressure driven membrane separation process that removes suspended or particulate matter (including colloids & silt) from water. The technology is far more reliable than a conventional multimedia filter that removes approximately 10-20+ micron or larger matter where a UF membrane pore size ranges from 0.01 to 0.10 micron. In addition to superior turbidity removal, UF membranes efficiently remove bacteria and most viruses.

The ability of UF systems to remove bacteria and most viruses makes the technology ideal for tertiary treatment of sewage. The membrane provides an absolute barrier, protecting the public from pathogens. Furthermore, disinfection requirements are greatly reduced as dosing rates of chlorine; UV and/or ozone are much lower since there is essentially no suspended solids left in the filtered water. Note: turbid water allows for pathogens to hide, as such, higher dosing rates are required to ensure proper disinfection.