Explore QILEE's Integrated Modular Systems: From Deamination to Desalination

Treating water may present a very different set of problems. An industrial facility may need to remove ammonia nitrogen from wastewater, or a facility may need to reduce hardness, produce high purity water, or remove salt from seawater. While the applications are varied, these can be treated using distinct treatment modules in an integrated treatment system.

Integrated modular systems can offer a flexible means of combining these treatment technologies. Targeted wastewater treatment, like ammonia-nitrogen removal, can be used as the first step, followed by filtration and membrane treatment and then desalination. This yields a treatment system that can be tailored to the water quality and desired treatment output.

What Are Integrated Modular Water Treatment Systems?

The different treatment functions are integrated into self-contained units in an integrated modular system. Construction of each process individually at the treatment site is not required, but it can be done as a prefabricated skid or container and connected to the full treatment system.

QILEE's modular systems include standardized interfaces and plug-and-play. Simply speaking, plug-and-play implies that the equipment was ready to go before it reached the construction site, and most of the task involved in installing the system is merely the positioning, connection and commissioning of the modules.

This method may be helpful for individual projects and for facilities that must be expanded to include treatment equipment.

From Deamination: Removing Ammonia Nitrogen From Wastewater

Wastewater treatment is the first step towards deamination and desalination.

Ammonia nitrogen may be present in industrial wastewater in a quantity that must be reduced prior to discharge or to meet treatment standards for the water. The containerized integrated membrane deamination equipment developed by QILEE is specially used for ammonia-nitrogen removal.

The system offers a very integrated and containerized treatment solution.
Ammonia is just one of the wastewater problems. Depending on the contaminants, other treatment stages may be necessary.

Treating Suspended Solids, Oils, and Other Contaminants

Wastewater can require physical and chemical treatment prior to membrane treatment and other downstream processes.

A containerized DAF system can combine:

• Chemical dosing
• Dissolved air flotation
• Multimedia filtration

Dissolved suspended solids, colloidal particles, fats, oils and grease (FOG) are removed from industrial wastewater.

Where chemical-physical separation is necessary, a single containerized sedimentation system integrates chemical dosing, flocculation and lamella sedimentation into a single system.

The processes can be useful as part of a treatment train prior to other processes, depending on the nature of the feed wastewater.

Moving Into Membrane Treatment

Membrane technologies can be used after the initial wastewater pretreatment to achieve another level of separation.

MBR for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems are a combination of biological and membrane separation treatment. They are appropriate for processing municipal sewage and reuse in industry.

There are MBR systems available, both flat and hollow fiber. The hollow-fiber MBR membranes are made of PVDF with a separation layer supported by PET and can be used for municipal sewage and industrial wastewater.

One can then integrate MBR into a larger modular treatment scheme where biological treatment and membrane separation are both needed.

Ultrafiltration for High-Clarity Water

Another membrane is called ultrafiltration. An integrated ultrafiltration module can be equipped with a hollow-fiber membrane of 0.01 μm pore size and has the pre-filtration, backwashing, and air-scouring functions.

It can be used for municipal water treatment and as a pretreatment before reverse osmosis.

This provides a natural bridge to more intensive membrane processes, from wastewater clarification to the production of better water quality.

Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis for Higher-Quality Water

All water sources do not require the same type of membrane treatment.

Water softening, color removal, and high purity water production are some of the applications that can utilize nanofiltration systems. Reverse osmosis is more advanced and used in such applications as the demineralization of city water for boiler feeding and the production of high purity water.

Containerized RO skid systems may be configured for brackish water, which can include high hardness water, high sulfates and specific contaminants like fluoride and arsenic.

The treatment journey has shifted from getting rid of a particular pollutant in wastewater to controlling the levels of dissolved contaminants in water that will be used for more valuable applications.

From Brackish Water to Seawater Desalination

Another widely used membrane treatment application is desalination.

Brackish water is half as salty as seawater but more than freshwater. If the source of water is seawater or seawater in contact with food products, a dedicated seawater reverse osmosis system should be used.

QILEE provides small size seawater desalination plants and trailer mounted seawater reverse osmosis systems. These solutions take the modular treatment approach to applications where the main objective is to generate freshwater from saline sources.

What Makes the Modular Approach Useful?

While the various technologies listed above are used for various treatment problems, the modular approach offers a number of common benefits.

Faster Deployment

QILEE's modular systems are prefabricated, tested and ready to be installed. This minimizes the work at the project site, the company writes, with construction time reduced as much as 60% when it is done on site.

Easy Integration

Prefabricated modules can be incorporated into existing facilities or incorporated into a stand-alone system. Standardization of interfaces facilitates the use of different treatment functions as a single installation.

Scalability

As crop growth or water use increases, so do treatment needs. The treatment system may be as small as a single module or be expanded to a multiple-module treatment system as needs dictate.

Quality Control

In a factory test, every skid is tested in a controlled environment prior to installation. This assists in setting up equipment prior to the arrival at the operating location.

Don't Forget Sludge Treatment

Wastewater treatment also generates sludge, which must be dealt with following wastewater treatment.

Sludge management solutions can be integrated with dosing of polymer flocculants, sludge thickening, and sludge dewatering. These functions may be integrated into modular apparatus which can be set up and operated automatically.

The sludge handling is an integral part of the treatment plan, and not just the liquid stream, to form a more balanced wastewater treatment.

Where Can Integrated Modular Systems Be Used?

The applications are in various fields such as:

• Oil and gas
• Chemical and petroleum processing.
• Power generation
• Food and beverage
• Pharmaceuticals
• Wastewater treatment, wastewater generation, water supply, wastewater storage, and water resources management.

The specifications required will vary depending on the source of the water, the type of contaminants, the amount of water, and how it will be used after treatment.

For instance, an industrial wastewater project could involve DAF, membrane treatment, and sludge management, and a high purity water project could involve ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis.

Conclusion

Water treatment and water purification have a wide variety of technologies for various challenges ranging from removal of ammonia nitrogen in industrial wastewater to freshwater production from seawater. Integrated Modular Systems combine these water treatment stages in a flexible manner and can be tailored to match the water source, water treatment capacity and desired water quality.

QILEE integrates all these technologies into modules, including deamination, DAF, MBR, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, desalination and sludge management.

That's why a modular approach is feasible—whether dealing with deamination or desalination, it can be a different treatment solution to very different water problems.