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Download Software The IX plant considered was a packed bed counter-flow regenerated design consisting of 2 x 100%
streams with cation-degasser-layered bed anion-mixed bed polishers containing uniform particle
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sized resins. Regeneration with both H2SO 4 and HCl were evaluated, although it was found that the
Product Selection cost per unit of treated water were similar for both acid regenerants, as the increased chemical
Guide via the Periodic efficiency of HCl and lower resin inventories are off-set by the higher cost of the chemical. Only the
Table economics using H2SO 4 are therefore reported.
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Certifications / MSDS The RO system consists of 1 x 100% line with RO-degasser-mixed bed polisher for 50 m /hour
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(220 gpm) and 2 x 50% lines for 200 m /hour (880 gpm). A system recovery of 80% was used. The
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mixed bed design was the same as for the IX system.
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The results of the calculation indicate that the cost to produce water using only ion exchange
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increases with feed TDS as expected, principally due to regenerant chemical costs. Although the
regenerant costs increase proportionately, the effect of increasing plant size lowers the cost to
produce water, since the capital, raw water, labor and maintenance costs are relatively lower for the
Dow Water Solutions larger plant.
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The costs for IX vary between $0.5-0.7/m3 ($1.9-2.6/1000 gal) at 50 m3 /hour (220 gpm) and
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$0.25-0.45/m ($1.0-1.7/1000 gals) at 200 m /hour (880 gpm). At the lower flow rate, operating
costs account for ~70% of the total cost with regenerants, raw water, labor and maintenance making
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the most significant contributions. At 200 m /hour (880 gpm), operating costs increase to ~80%.
The cost of producing water using RO/IX is also dependent on feed TDS, but much less so than for
the IX system, due to the fact that the main cost contributors (power, water, labor, maintenance and
capital) are relatively constant over a range of water salinities.
RO/IX costs are $0.6 and 0.4/m3 ($2.3 and $1.5/1000 gals) for the 50 m3 /hour (220 gpm) and 200
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m /hour (880 gpm) plants respectively. Operating costs are 72-80% of the total cost for the two
plant sizes.
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The salinity break-even point for the two technologies was found to be between 7 and 8 eq/m
(350-400 ppm as CaCO3 ) TDS for the two flow rates. It should be emphasized that these
break-even points are derived from one set of assumptions, so sensitivity studies were also made to
assess the effect of the changes in the cost of power, chemicals and water on the economics.
Sensitivity Studies
Varying power costs over the range of $0.05-0.16/kWh resulted in a change in the cost to produce
water of ±$0.04/m3 ($0.15/1000 gals) for the RO/IX system compared to the base case above,
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thereby affecting the break-even point with IX by ±1.5 eq/m (± 75 ppm as CaCO3 ).
The sensitivity of caustic regenerant price over the range $200-400/ton on IX economics yields a
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break-even point change of ± 1.2 eq/m (± 60 ppm as CaCO3 ).
Finally the effect of varying low cost raw water/effluent (e.g. surface water) was considered and this
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had a marginal influence on the breakeven point of ± 0.6 eq/m (± 30 ppm as CaCO 3 ). If, however,
mains water is taken or the cost of effluent treatment is expensive, the cost of RO/IX vs IX increases
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and the break-even point is above 10 eq/m (500 ppm as CaCO3 ).
Conclusions
This economic evaluation considers the major factors contributing to the total cost of treated water
by RO/IX and IX. The effect of system size and the latest technology in both resins and membranes
has been included. The main conclusions from this study are summarized below:
The break-even point above which it is more economical to use RO/IX versus IX alone is 7-8
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eq/m (350-400 ppm as CaCO3 ). This is higher than earlier studies and reflects
developments in packed bed counter-flow regenerated IX systems compared to co-flow systems
and also regional differences in power costs.
Chemical costs for IX and electrical power costs for RO are the most important operating
expenses and those that need to be carefully considered in the decision for a new plant.
Although capital has a significant effect on the total cost of water for all options considered,
operating costs represent the major portion at 70-80% of the total.
This study considers mainly surface water and low cost discharge of effluent from the water
treatment plant into a river. More expensive water sources (e.g. mains) will have a higher
impact on RO costs, unless the concentrate from the RO plant can be used elsewhere on site.
References
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