Use of the reverse osmosis method for the preparation of concentrated sodium chloride solutions for the production of sodium hypochlorite

Summary

The use of membrane reverse osmosis and nanofiltration plants for the production of drinking water is described. It is noted that using hypochlorite obtained by the electrolysis of concentrated solutions of table salt is an effective method of disinfection in drinking water supply systems. A new area of application of reverse osmosis systems is considered, i. e., the preparation, in addition to clean water, of concentrated solutions of sodium chloride used for the production of sodium hypochlorite to reduce the operating costs of a drinking water treatment plant eliminating the purchase of the chemical, i. e., table salt. A process flow scheme of the proposed technology is presented, that involves cascade processing of the source water using nanofiltration membranes of low selectivity to provide for separating the concentrate into the solutions of monovalent and divalent ions. The experimental procedure is described and experimental dependencies are presented to determine the efficiency of the concentrate separation. Based on the results of the experiments, an economic calculation of the costs of designing an additional system for producing concentrated solutions was performed proving the economic efficiency of the proposed process compared to the use of table salt.

Key words

disinfection , sodium hypochlorite , reverse osmosis , reverse osmosis unit , nanofiltration , concentrate utilization , water treatment , electrolysis method