Journal of Water Process Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

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Journal of Water Process Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jwpe

Integration of MBR with NF/RO processes for industrial wastewater

reclamation and water reuse-effect of membrane type on product water
quality
⁎
Merve Gündoğdua, Yakubu A. Jarmaa, Nalan Kabaya, , Taylan Ö. Pekb, Mithat Yüksela
a
Ege University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Izmir, Turkey
b
ITOB-OSB Tekeli-Menderes, Izmir, Turkey

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In this study, some field tests were conducted at ITOB Organized Industrial Zone Wastewater Treatment Plant
Nanofiltration (NF) where membrane bioreactor (MBR) process has been used for wastewater treatment. The MBR treatment process
Membrane bioreactor (MBR) provides stable and high quality product water but product water still contains high salinity in this case.
Reverse osmosis (RO) Therefore, a mini-pilot scale membrane test system having three different nanofiltration (NF) which are NF90,
Wastewater reclamation and reuse
NF270 and TR60 and two different reverse osmosis (RO) membranes which are BW30 and AG with spiral wound
Industrial wastewater
configurations was employed for demineralization of MBR effluent. The system was operated with 10 bar of
operating pressure for NF membranes and at 20 bar for RO membranes. The average water recoveries of NF
membranes were 50.2%, 56.0% and 51.8% for NF90, NF270 and TR60 membranes, respectively while average
water recoveries of RO membranes were 64.0% for BW30 membrane and 62.3% for AG membrane. The qualities
of product waters were analyzed and compared with standards to reuse them for agricultural irrigation and as
process water. The permeates of NF270 and TR60 membranes agreed well with the third class water quality for
salinity and the second class quality for the rest of parameters. On the other hand, the permeates of NF90, BW30
and AG membranes provided with the first class water for all parameters except for infiltration. Mixing the
permeates of NF and RO membranes with MBR effluent in appropriate ratios was considered to be helpful to get
acceptable quality values for product water and a good permeability for agricultural irrigation. Therefore, an
optimum theoretical mixture of MBR effluent to permeates was determined. When qualities of product water
obtained by NF and RO membranes were compared with the standards of cooling and boiling feedwaters for
industrial usage and with the process water characteristics for pulp and paper, textile industries, it was con-
sidered that the permeates of NF90, BW30 and AG membranes obeyed well the quality standards required.

1. Introduction
Continuous population growth and industrialization are causing
increased water demand and contamination. One way to increase water
resources in water-scarce regions is using reclaimed and desalinated
water. Therefore, the treated wastewater effluents have been reused as
an alternative water source recently [1].
Water shortage is not a problem only for human and industrial ac-
tivities, it also affects the sustainable food production. Properly treated
wastewaters which do not have the same requirements as that of
drinking water can be used for irrigation [2].
The use of reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation is the most
common application around the world. Globally about 20 million
hectares of agricultural land is irrigated with polluted water [3]. In
many semi-arid regions, water recycling provides a major portion of the
irrigation water. However, water reuse programs are still faced with a
number of technical, economic, social, regulatory, and institutional
challenges [4,5].
The treated wastewater should have some requirements to be used
for irrigation purposes. In order to reuse the treated wastewater in
landscape irrigation, general characteristics of treated water including
nutrient content, specific ion toxicity, permeability, salinity and mi-
crobiological parameters have to be compared with suitable standards
[2].
The main criteria for assessing the quality of water irrigation are
salinity, sodicity hazards and specific ion effects [6]. Another aspect of
agricultural concern is the effect of dissolved solids (TDS) in the irri-
gation water on the growth of plants. Dissolved salts increase the

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: nalan.kabay@ege.edu.tr (N. Kabay).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2018.02.009
Received 2 September 2017; Received in revised form 3 February 2018; Accepted 4 February 2018
2214-7144/ © 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Please cite this article as: Gündoğdu, M., Journal of Water Process Engineering (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2018.02.009
M. Gündoğdu et al. Journal of Water Process Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

osmotic potential of soil water and an increase in osmotic pressure of Table 1

the soil solution increases the amount of energy which plants must The characteristics of MBR treated wastewater.
expend to take up water from the soil [7]. In addition to total salinity,
Parameters Max–Min Values Parameters Max–Min Values
the tendency of irrigation water to generate excessive levels of ex-
changeable sodium, which adversely affect the soil physicochemical TDS (mg/L) 1832–1543 COD (mg/L) 11.9–9.4
properties, needs to be considered. The most reliable index of the so- EC (mS/cm) 3.55–3.01 Hardness (CaCO3 mg/L) 523–416
pH 7.55–7.77 SiO2 (mg/L) 7.2–6.1
dium hazard of irrigation water is the sodium adsorption ration so-
Salinity (ppt) 1.87–1.56 SO42− (mg/L) 585–556
called SAR [6]. TSS (mg/L) 8.1–6.0 Cl− (mg/L) 846–689
According to the data by General Directorate of State Hydraulic Turbidity (NTU) 1.46–0.73 Na+ (mg/L) 539–460
Works (DSI), Turkey, a 44 million m3 of water (from underground and HCO3− (mg/L) 215–197 K+ (mg/L) 55–44
surface sources) was consumed in Turkey in 2012. When the utilization NO3-N (mg/L) 7.4–2.4 Ca2+ (mg/L) 155–140
NO2-N (mg/L) 0.47–0.24 Mg2+ (mg/L) 26–18
of water source for different purposes was investigated, it was seen that
PO4-P (mg/L) 0.1–0.06 TOC (mg/L) 44–26
a 73% of the total water was consumed for agricultural irrigation and NH4-N (mg/L) 0.72–0.02
16% was used for industrial usage [8].
Reuse of wastewater in industry is also important application for
saving of water sources. Many industrial processes depend on the ready providing with feed water for NF and RO membranes. Feedwater was
availability of reliable sources of large quantities of water. passed through NF and RO membranes by the help a of high pressure
Thermoelectric power generation, pulp and paper manufacturing, tex- pump. As NF membranes NF90, NF270 and TR60 membranes were
tile production, food processing, chemical manufacturing processes, oil employed while AG and BW30 membranes as RO membranes. The
refineries, and mining are some examples of water-intensive industries properties of the membranes were summarized in Table 2 [18].
[9]. A mini pilot-scale NF/RO system was employed at 10 bar of oper-
According to water usage by different industries in Turkey, large ating pressure for NF membranes and at 20 bar for RO membranes. The
quantity of water (785,766 m3/year) was used by metal industry and duration of each membrane test was 6 h. During the studies, a batch
90.3% of these amount (710,062 m3/year) was used for the purpose of mode of operation was used. Both permeate and concentrate streams
cooling only in 2008. Also, paper and textile sectors were considered to indicated as P and C, respectively in the flow diagram were recirculated
be the industries that consume large quantities of water for their pro- back to the feed reservoir to remain feed composition steady. Feed,
sesses [10]. permeate and concentrate samples were taken for analysis periodically.
The reuse of wastewater has become an environmental and eco- Conductivity, TDS and salinity were measured by using a con-
nomically viable option for industry. The reasons for such selection are ductometer (Hach HQ40d) while silica, ammonium-N, nitrite-N, ni-
the restrictive parameters for wastewater discharge, imposition of trate-N, phosphate-P, chloride, sulphate and COD values were de-
charges both for the collection of water as well as for the discharge of termined with a colorimeter (Hach Lange DR3900). Some parameters
effluents, and the reduced availability and quality of water resources such as COD and phosphate need heating. For this purpose, a thermo
[11]. reactor (Hach Lange LT-200) was used. Sodium, magnesium, calcium,
Specific water quality requirements vary among industries, major and potassium ions concentrations were determined by using a AA-
water quality issues are associated with the prevention of corrosion, 7000 Shimadzu model atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Total
scaling, and biological fouling of equipment and distribution systems. organic carbon (TOC) measurements were carried out with a TOC-
Where there is a potential for human contact with the reclaimed water VCPH model TOC instrument. Carbonate and bicarbonate concentra-
from treated wastewater, control of pathogenic organisms is particu- tions were determined with an acid-base titration method. Turbidity
larly important [12]. was measured by a Micro TPI Field type portable turbidimeter.
The use of membrane processes such as MBR, MF, UF, NF, RO, and Permeate fluxes were calculated by measuring the permeate volume
integration of them for the reclamation and reuse of water has become a which is collected over a certain period in terms of liter per square
potential alternative for the reuse of reclaimed water because of their meter of membrane area per hour (L/m2 h) and using Eq. (1):
efficacies and economic viabilities [4,13,14]. These prosess are also
important for reducing chemical usage in wastewater treatment [15]. Qp
Jp =
The aim of this study is to carry out some field tests for the advanced A (1)
treatment for MBR effluent by using various NF and RO membranes.
Some preliminary tests on the performances of integrated MBR-NF and Jp = permeate flux (L/m2 h)
MBR-RO systems were published previously [16,17]. Here, the qualities Qp = permeate flowrate (L/h)
of product waters obtained by different membranes were compared A = effective membrane area (m2).
with irrigation standards. In addition, reuse of product water for in- Percent removal of various parameters was calculated using Eq. (2):
dustrial usage as cooling and boiling feed water as well as process water
Xp ⎞
in paper and textile industries was discussed. Rx (%) = 100*⎜⎛1 − ⎟
⎝ Xf ⎠ (2)
2. Materials and methods
Rx (%) = percentage rejection
Experiments were carried out at ITOB-OSB wastewater treatment xp = x properties in permeate
plant in Tekeli-Menderes, Izmir. In the wastewater treatment plant, xf = x properties in feed.
MBR process has been employed for treatment of wastewater in the Water recovery of the system for the each working pressure and
industrial zone since 2008. The flat sheet MBR membranes (Kubota) membrane are calculated by using Eq. (3):
have a nominal pore size of 0.4 μm. The characteristics of MBR treated
wastewater were given in Table 1. Qp
Recovery (%) = *100
During the experiments, MBR effluents was treated by using a mini Qf (3)
pilot-scale membrane test unit having different NF and RO membranes
in spiral wound configurations. The flow diagram of the system was Qp = permeate flow rate (L/h)
given in Fig. 1. The MBR treated wastewater was first passed through Qf = feed flowrate (L/h)
the pre-filters and then pumped to the storage tank of MBR effluent Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) was defined by using Eq. (4):

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M. Gündoğdu et al. Journal of Water Process Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Fig. 1. Flow diagram of mini pilot scale NF/RO test system (P: Permeate stream, C: Concentrate stream).

Table 2
Characteristic properties of NF and RO membranes [18].

Membrane Type Trade name Polymer Active Membrane Area Salt Rejectiona,b (%) Max. Temperature (°C) Max. Pressure pH Rangec
(m2) (Bar)

AG RO GE-Osmonics Thin-Film Polyamide 2.6 99.5a 50 31 4–11

BW30 RO Dow- Filmtech Polyamide Thin-Film 2.6 99.5a 50 41 2–11
Composite
NF90 NF Dow- Filmtech Polyamide Thin-Film 2.6 > 97.0b 45 41 2–11
Composite
b
NF270 NF Dow- Filmtech Polyamide Thin-Film 2.6 > 97.0 45 41 2–11
Composite
TR60 NF Ropur Cross Linked Polyamide 2.6 55.0a 35 20 2–8
Composite

a
NaCl salt rejection.
b
MgSO4 salt rejection.
c
Continuous operation.

[Na+]
SAR =
[Ca2 +] + [Mg 2 +]
2 (4)
Concentrations of sodium, magnesium and calcium, in the above
formula are expressed in milliequivalent per liter (meq/L).
3. Result and discussion
MBR systems seem to be good alternatives for reusing the treated
wastewater as they provided a good quality of product water. However,
decreasing the salinity of product water is needed in some cases if the
product water will be recovered and reused as irrigation water and
process water. Obviously, water quality refers to the characteristics of a
water supply that will influence its suitability for a specific use.
In this study, advanced membrane treatment processes such as NF
and RO were employed for demineralization of the MBR effluent. The
NF membranes usually provide with a good retention of small organic
molecules and inorganic salts, especially if multivalent ions are in-
volved [19]. The NF method is much the same as RO method and the
only difference is the degree of removal of monovalent ions such as
sodium and chloride with both processes. The RO membranes remove
monovalent ions with a 98–99% of rejection while removals with the
NF membranes vary in a range 50–90% of rejection depending on the
material and manufacture of the membrane. The NF membranes have
the ability to reject uncharged, dissolved materials and charged ions
according the size and shape of the molecule. They usually provide with
a good rejection of small organic molecules and inorganic salts, espe-
cially multivalent ions [12].
In this study, the mini-pilot scale experiments were conducted at
ITOB Organized Industrial Zone, Menderes, Izmir. This is the mixed
organized industry zone, where a wastewater treatment plant based on
MBR process was first installed in Turkey. The wastewater coming to
the treatment plant is a mixture of wastewaters that have both muni-
cipal and industrial origins. The applicability of NF and RO processes of
mini-pilot scale was investigated to reuse MBR treated wastewater as
irrigation water and process water.
The characteristics of MBR effluent were listed in Table 1. A mini-
pilot scale membrane test system containing three different NF (NF90,
NF270 and TR60) and two different RO membranes (BW30 and AG)
with spiral wound configurations was employed for advanced treatment
of MBR effluent. The basic properties of NF/RO membranes were
summarized in Table 2.
The average permeate fluxes of NF and RO membranes vs. time
plots were shown in Fig. 2. The average permeate fluxes of NF90,
NF270 and TR60 NF membranes were measured as 50.4, 64.0 and
54.6 L/m2h, respectively at 10 bar of operating pressure. Due to its
larger pore size, NF270 membrane gave a maximum permeate flux. The
average water recoveries of NF membranes were 50.2%, 56.0% and
51.8% for NF90, NF270 and TR60 membranes, respectively. The BW30

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the diversities in the properties such as pore size, surface charge, hy-
drophobic or hydrophilic characteristics and the structure or composi-
tion of the active layer for the membranes employed.
The qualities of product water obtained by NF and RO membranes
were compared to the water qualities required for boiler feedwater and
cooling water applications which are given in Table 4. The permeate of
NF90 was suitable as cooling water according to all parameters except
for pH value. In addition to this, NF90 permeate could be also used as
boiler feedwater after pH adjusment. The permeates of NF270 and
TR60 membranes did not satisfy cooling water requirements because of
the high TDS, magnesium and calcium values. They are also not sui-
table for steam generation and do not to meet many parameters of
Fig. 2. Permeate fluxes of various NF and RO membranes vs. time plots. boiler feedwater requirements. The RO permeates of BW30 and AG
membranes can be used as cooling water according to all parameters
except for pH value. In addition to this, the RO permeates could be
and AG membranes exhibited similar permeate fluxes at the same op-
employed as boiler feed water after pH adjustment. In addition, the
erating pressure of 20 bar. Permeate fluxes of these two membranes
operating pressure should be also taken into consideration because
slightly increased in the first three hours of studies. For the last three
boiler feedwater requirements are different according to operating
hours of studies, permeate fluxes reached the steady state. It was con-
pressure.
sidered that the pores of virgin membranes were enlarged by the ap-
The permeate qualities of NF and RO membranes were also com-
plied pressure during the first 3 h. The average permeate fluxes of
pared with the feed water characteristics requested by pulp and paper
BW30 and AG RO membranes were found as 65.9 and 62.7 L/m2h,
and textile industry. The feed water characteristics of those industries
respectively. The average water recoveries of RO membranes were
were also listed in Table 4. The permeate of NF90 membrane was sui-
64.0% for BW30 and 62.3% for AG membrane.
table for the production of paper of brown and white grades. The
Among the NF membranes, NF90 membrane showed the best re-
product water of NF270 was not suitable as process water of pulp and
moval efficiencies for conductivity, salinity and total dissolved solid
paper industry because of its high TDS and chloride concentration.
(TDS). The BW30 and AG membranes had similar removal perfor-
Also, the permeate of TR60 membrane was not suitable for reuse in the
mances in terms of conductivity, salinity and TDS. Especially for sali-
pulp and paper industry because of its high TDS, chloride and hardness
nity rejection, RO membranes were more efficient than NF membranes.
values. On the other hand, BW30 and AG membranes provided with the
According to ion rejections, NF90 membrane exhibited the highest
product water which is suitable for production of brown and white
performance among NF membranes while both RO membranes (BW30
grades paper.
and AG) showed good removal performances for almost all parameters
The quality of NF90 permeate was suitable as process water for
measured. The NF membranes exhibited a better removal for divalent
textile industry. On the other hand, the quality of NF270 permeate does
ions than monovalent ions. The quality of product waters obtained by
not meet the requirements for textile industry because of its high values
all membranes were listed in Table 3 by measuring average values of
of color, TDS and total hardness. The product water of TR60 membrane
each parameters.
is also not suitable to be used as process water of textile industry since
As reported in the published literatüre [20,21], the difference in
TSS, TDS and hardness values were higher than standards. The
performance of the membranes observed during this work can be due to
permeates obtained from BW30 and AG membranes satisfied all re-
quirements of feed water for typical textile industry. Our previous study
Table 3 confirmed also the results related with usage of NF90 permeates as a
Permeate qualities of NF and RO membranes. process water in different industries [22].
The water quality data collected in this study were also compared
Parameters NF Membranes RO Membranes
with National Irrigation Water Standards [23] as shown in Table 5.
NF90 NF270 TR60 BW30 AG Since high or changing salinity presents a challenge for bio-treatment
processes, MBR treatment system may not be enough if the treated
TDS (mg/L) 64.0 1037 1373 31.3 44.5
wastewater is considered to be reused again. However, both NF and RO
Conductivity (μS/cm) 138 2054 2693 66.8 94.8
pH 6.23 7.23 7.67 6.41 5.97 processes can remove salinity and various species in water. Bunani et al.
Salinity (ppt) 0.06 1.05 1.39 0.03 0.04 studied treatment of MBR effluent by three different NF (CK, NF270 and
TSS (mg/L) 1.8 2.5 5.7 1.0 1.2 NF90) membranes and two RO (AK-BWRO and AD-SWRO) membranes
Color (mg/L Pt-Co) 1.3 6.8 2.2 2.0 1.3 using a laboratory scale cross-flow and flat-sheet membrane test system.
Turbidity (NTU) 0.2 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.2
The product water reusability in agricultural irrigation was also as-
HCO3− (mg/L) 19.4 99.7 191 22.2 17.4
NO3-N (mg/L) 2.8 4.9 2.6 1.1 1.5 sessed. It was concluded that product water quality by NF90 was sui-
NO2-N (mg/L) 0.05 0.51 0.42 < 0.02 < 0.02 table for irrigation [24]. Later on, Sert et al. used NF90 and BW30
PO4-P (mg/L) < 0.05 < 0.05 < 0.05 < 0.05 < 0.05 membranes in a mini-pilot scale for preliminary field tests using MBR
NH4-N (mg/L) 0.03 0.06 0.044 0.02 0.015
treated wastewater [25]. Both results fit well with water quality re-
COD (mg/L) <5 6.87 6.51 <5 <5
Hardness-CaCO3 (mg/L) < 18 120 268 < 18 < 18 quired for agricultural irrigation.
SiO2 (mg/L) 1.94 5.93 6.03 1.1 1.08 Comparison of NF and RO permates with national irrigation water
SO42− (mg/L) < 40 < 40 112.3 < 40 < 40 standards was summarized in Table 6. Salinity is referred to electrical
Cl− (mg/L) 36 677 824 15 23 conductivity and water infiltration problem is referred to SAR (sodium
TN (mg/L) < 20 < 20 < 20 < 20 < 20
adsorption ratio) with the respect to electrical conductivity (ECw).
Na+ (mg/L) 29 363 434 19 24
K+ (mg/L) 1.5 24 32 0.9 1.3 Other toxicity effects or miscellaneous water constituents were eval-
Ca2+ (mg/L) 6.7 41 72 8.8 6.5 uated based on ion contents such as sodium and chloride [26,27].
Mg2+ (mg/L) 0.03 4.0 14 0.0 0.0 The permeates of NF270 and TR60 membranes agreed well with the
TOC (mg/L) 0.6 1.4 26 1.4 0.7
third class water quality for salinity and second class water quality for
other parameters. On the other hand, the permeates of NF90, BW30 and
AG membranes obeyed well with the first class water quality for all

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Table 4
Water qualities required by various industries.

Water quality parameter (all as Boiler feedwater and cooling water [9] Pulp and paper Industry [12] Textile Industry [12]
mg/L unless otherwise stated)
Cooling Boiler feedwater (range is Brown grades White grades Typical feedwater
water based on operating characteristics
presssures) Ground wood Soda and sulfate Kraft paper, Bleached
paper (kraft) pulps bleached paper

Hardness, mg/L as CaCO3 600 0.07–350 100–200 100–200 100 100 0–50
pH 6.9–9.0 7–10 N.S N.S N.S N.S 6–8
TDS 500 200–700 250–1000 250–1000 300 75–650 100–200
TSS 100 0.5–10 40 10 10 10–30 0–5
Turbidity, NTU 50 70 35 40 14–56 0–5
Color N.S N.S 30 5 25 5–25
Carbonaceus Biochemical 25 1–50 N.S N.S N.S N.S N.S
Oxygen Demand (C-BOD5)
COD 75 1–5 N.S N.S N.S N.S N.S
NH4-N 1 0.1 N.S N.S N.S N.S N.S
PO4-P 4 N.S N.S N.S N.S N.S
Al 0.1 0.01–5 N.S N.S N.S N.S 8
HCO3− 24 48–170 N.S N.S N.S N.S N.S
Cl− 500 Variable 75 75 200 200 N.S
Cu N.S N.S N.S N.S N.S N.S 0.01–5
Fe 0.5 0.05–1 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1–0.3
Mn 0.5 0.01–0.3 0.1 0.05 0.1 0.03 0.01–0.05
SiO2 50 0.7–30 50 20 50 9–20 N.S
SO4 200 Variable Trace N.S N.S 100–300 100

N.S: not specified.

Table 5 Table 6
Agricultural irrigation standards by Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation, Turkish Comparison of NF and RO permeates with national irrigation water standards.
Republica [23].
Parameters NF Membranes RO Membranes
Degree of restriction on use
NF90 NF270 TR60 BW30 AG
Parameters Units None Slight to Severe
(First class moderate (Third class Conductivity (μS/cm) 137.8 2054.3 2693.3 66.75 94.8
water) (Second class water) TDS (mg/L) 64.0 1037 1373 31.3 44.5
water) SAR 3.04 14.4 12.3 1.8 2.6
EC (dS/m) 0.14 2.05 2.65 0.07 0.09
Salinity Sodium (mg/L) 28.7 363 434 19.2 23.7
Conductivity μS/cm < 700 700–3000 > 3000 Chloride (mg/L) 36.1 677.3 823.7 15.1 22.67
TDS mg/L < 500 500–2000 > 2000 Boron (mg/L) – – – – –
Salinity 1st 3rd class 3rd class 1st class 1st class
Permeability
class
SAR 0–3 EC ≥0.7 0.7–0.2 < 0.2
Infiltration 3rd 2nd class 2nd class 3rd class 3rd
3–6 ≥1.2 1.2–0.3 < 0.3
class class
6–12 ≥1.9 1.9–0.5 < 0.5
Specific ion Na 1st 2nd class D 2nd class D 1st class 1st class
12–20 ≥2.9 2.9–1.3 < 1.3
toxicity class D D D
20–40 ≥5.0 5.0–2.9 < 2.9
Cl 1st 2nd class D 2nd class D 1st class 1st class
Specific Ion Toxicity class Y, D
Sodium (Na) Y, D Y, D
Surface Irrigation SAR <3 3–9 >9 B – – – – –
Drip Irrigation mg/L < 70 > 70
Chloride (Cl) (Y: surface irrigation D: sprinkler irrigation; –: not determined).
Surface Irrigation mg/L < 140 140–350 > 350
Drip Irrigation mg/L < 100 > 100
Boron (B) mg/L < 0.7 0.7–3.0 > 3.0
irrigation purposes. Irrigation water in Class II can be used in irrigation
with some caution. For the determination of optimum theoretical
mixture to overcome the infiltration problem, salinity and specific ion
toxicity were also taken into consideration. Since mixing MBR effluent
parameters except for infiltration. Infiltration problem was caused by with NF/RO permeates can cause an adverse effect for salinity and
unbalanced removal of Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ ions affecting SAR va- specific ion toxicity, optimum mixing ratios should be determined for
lues. Bearing this in mind, mixing RO and NF permeates with MBR agricultural irrigation.
effluent in appropriate ranges may have suitable composition values According to all these considerations, optimum theoretical mixtures
and good permeability for agricultural irrigation. Therefore, the theo- of MBR effluent and permeates of NF membranes were 0.2:0.8 for
retical values of SAR and ECw for different mixtures were calculated TR60, 0.6:0.4 for NF270 and 0.3:0.7 for NF90 membranes. For the case
and summarized in Table 7. The plots of SAR versus ECw for each NF of RO membranes, optimum theoretical mixture of MBR effluent and
and RO membranes were shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The area of Class I permeates was 0.4:0.6 for BW30 and AG membranes. When the ratios of
represents that the irrigation water will have no or insignificant optimum theoretical mixtures were determined, comparison of the
harmful effects on soil infiltration while Class III represents a serious water qualities of these mixtures with national irrigation standards was
decrease in infiltration explaining that this water may not be used for presented in Table 8.

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M. Gündoğdu et al. Journal of Water Process Engineering xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 7
SAR and EC values for the theoretical mixtured of MBR effluent and NF/RO permeates.

MBR effluent ratio 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Permeate ratio 1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0
NF90 SAR 3.0 3.7 4.4 5.1 5.8 6.5 7.16 7.8 8.5 9.2 9.9
ECw (dS/m) 0.14 0.48 0.82 1.16 1.50 1.84 2.19 2.53 2.87 3.21 3.55
NF270 SAR 14.4 14.0 13.6 13.1 12.7 12.3 11.8 11.4 11.0 10.6 10.1
ECw (dS/m) 2.05 2.19 2.33 2.47 2.61 2.75 2.89 3.02 3.16 3.30 3.44
TR60 SAR 12.3 12.0 11.7 11.5 11.2 10.9 10.6 10.4 10.1 9.8 9.5
ECw (dS/m) 2.69 2.75 2.82 2.88 2.94 3.00 3.06 3.12 3.19 3.25 3.31
BW30 SAR 1.8 2.7 3.6 4.6 5.5 6.4 7.4 8.3 9.2 10.2 11.1
ECw (dS/m) 0.07 0.38 0.69 0.99 1.30 1.61 1.92 2.23 2.54 2.85 3.16
AG SAR 2.6 3.4 4.2 5.1 5.9 6.7 7.6 8.4 9.2 10.1 10.9
ECw (dS/m) 0.09 0.39 0.68 0.97 1.26 1.55 1.84 2.14 2.43 2.72 3.01

Fig. 3. SAR and conductivity values of theoretical MBR effluent and NF permate mixtures.

Fig. 4. SAR and conductivity values of theoretical MBR effluent and RO permate mixtures.

4. Conclusions permeates of NF and RO membranes could be a good strategy to in-

crease the volume of water reclaimed and to eliminate infiltration
The type of the membrane affected the water recovery and quality problem in agricultural irrigation. The field tests to put this strategy
issues for reclamation of MBR treated wastewater and its reuse for ir- into practice are still going on and will be reported elsewhere.
rigation and industrial purposes. Mixing MBR effluent with the

6
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