RO Reject?
For years, numerous businesses have employed reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment technology to extract dissolved particles from water by forcing the water through a semi-permeable membrane. Purification of drinking water and desalination of seawater to produce potable water are both typical uses for RO reject water disposal. Water and other molecules of lower molecular weight pass through the membrane's micropores, resulting in a filtered water stream known as the permeate. Larger molecules, as well as a portion of the water that does not pass through the membrane, are trapped by the membrane. While RO is a good way to handle wastewater, what to do with the concentrate or reject water (which can account for up to 20% of the RO feed water volume) might be a problem.
The high salinity of RO reject/RO concentrate, in particular, can make disposal to a local sewer infrastructure impossible. It might also be excessively expensive to transport wastewater to a treatment plant. Evaporators, if used properly can extract good water from the reject RO water. The evaporator transforms the water portion of water-based waste to water vapour while leaving the impurities with higher boiling points behind. This significantly reduces the amount of garbage that must be transported off-site. Evaporation technique has always been more "hands off" than other wastewater treatment methods, resulting in a significant labour cost savings. In comparison to membranes and traditional physical/chemical treatment methods, evaporation technology can manage a significantly larger spectrum of waste streams. Finally, when compared to other processes, evaporation does a far better job of concentrating waste streams, resulting in a lower disposal volume and expense.
Drought: A Slow-Moving Catastrophe
Drought may not garner the same amount of attention, but it is a slow-moving calamity that impacts more people worldwide than any other natural disaster, and climate change is hastening its effects. Droughts are not a new phenomenon, they have existed for thousands of years. When the rains return, they come and go, and the threat may be forgotten. However, scientists anticipate that we are entering a new normal, with rising temperatures leading to long-term megadroughts that last decades, or a Day Zero drought like the one that hit Cape Town, South Africa in 2018.
Drought has a wide range of consequences since a lack of water has an impact on practically every element of existence. Climate change is impacting the availability, quality, and amount of water available to billions of people throughout the world, creating hazards to energy production, food security, human health, economic development, and poverty reduction, according to the UN World Water Development Report 2020. Farmers may lose their harvests, cattle, and even their land in some cases. It causes malnutrition, huge migrations, and civil upheaval in poor countries. As high heat and dry conditions transform forests into tinderboxes, wildfires have surged in size and power. Water has a complex, yet crucial, link with energy generation. We require energy systems to power our water, as well as water to power our energy systems. Drought, unsurprisingly, has an impact on energy output because plants that require cooling, demand water. While it may not be top of mind right now, we all need to raise awareness about water scarcity and take proactive measures to manage our resources. The theme for this year's World Water Day, which took place on March 22, was "Valuing Water," with stories highlighting the environmental, social, and cultural worth, people place on water.
RO Reject Water_ Helping hand in draughts!
If RO reject water treated properly, it can prove a good alternative/source for water and can be used for various activities, be irrigation or domestic purposes during draughts.
