R&D 100 of the day: Brine Concentration with FilmTec Fortilife XC120 membranes

Systems using the new innovative FilmTec Fortilife XC120, a spiral-wound reverse osmosis element from from DuPont Water Solutions, achieve water concentrations beyond 80,000 ppm to ~120,000 ppm of total dissolved solids while operating within the pressure limits of standard available reverse osmosis equipment. Reaching these concentrations pushes the overall water recovery up from 90% to 93.5%, reducing the amount of water needing thermal treatment by 35%. This provides an additional ~$0.08/m3 of wastewater treatment savings. Unlike treating wastewater to discharge, MLD-ZLD hybrid systems have the benefit of wastewater valorization. The treated wastewater from a textile mill in India has ~$1.06/m3 of circular economy benefits from the recovered fresh water and salts that can be reused in the dyeing process. These benefits together with the reduced cost of MLD-ZLD operation, and the overall textile wastewater management becomes competitive with the standard treat-for-discharge type operations practiced in other parts of the world. Moreover, the process provides the environmental benefits of lowering the water and salt footprint of the textile factory.