LAUSR

This study was carried out to evaluate the performance of nano-filtration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) technology for reducing the total salt concentration from waste water. The nano-filtration proved very effective in removing the polyvalent cations and anions, such as SO4, whereas the removal efficiency was 97.22 %. It is well known that a RO water-treatment process removes all the cations and anions from waste water or brine or sea water, especially removing the monovalent ions such as Cl where the removal efficiency was 94.4 %. The performance efficiency of RO and NF water-treatment processes declined significantly during the first 3 years of operation due to fouling and biofouling of the membrane. The research findings provided a concrete clue for the important issue of water treatment as an alternative to existing water use methods on a cost-effective basis. The research also highlighted the potential to replace the NF and RO membranes used in these two water-treatment techniques.