The Barriers in NEWater Production

The first barrier in the production of NEWater is conventional wastewater treatment in compliance with global standards for water reclamation plants.

The first barrier in the production of NEWater is conventional wastewater treatment in compliance with global standards for water reclamation plants.

The second barrier is the first stage of microfiltration. Solids are filtered out by passing the treated, used water through fine membranes. These solids consist of bacteria, colloidal particles, viruses, protozoan cysts, and other suspended solids. After passing through these fine membranes, only dissolved salts and organic molecules remain in the water.

The third barrier, or the second stage of microfiltration, uses reverse osmosis. The water is passed through a semipermeable membrane with very small pores. Only small molecules, like those of water, can pass through this membrane. Contaminants with large molecules like aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, nitrate, sulphate, chloride, disinfection byproducts, pesticides, and various bacteria and viruses, cannot pass through this fine membrane. At this point, NEWater is already of high grade; it contains very low levels of salts and organic particles and is free of viruses and bacteria.

The fourth barrier, or third stage of purification, consists of ultraviolet light disinfection. A safety backup to the reverse osmosis process, ultraviolet radiation kills any remaining organisms and ensures the purity of the water. Last, alkaline chemicals are added to restore the pH balance, and NEWater is ready for distribution.

Reverse osmosis is an established and widely used technology in the production of bottled drinking water and ultra-clean water for manufacturing wafers in the electronics industry. It is also one of the two main technologies used in the desalination of seawater for human consumption. In the U.S., many households have water filtration systems that include a stage using reverse osmosis to improve water quality for drinking and cooking. Reverse osmosis is also used in space to recycle used water to produce clean drinking water for astronauts.

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