Indika Suresh, Wei Yuansong, Hu Dazhou, Ketharani Jegetheeswaran, Ritigala Tharindu, Cooray Titus, Hansima M A C K, Makehelwala Madhubashini, Jinadasa K B S N, Weragoda Sujithra K, Weerasooriya Rohan
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
Laboratory of Water Pollution Control Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
Membranes (Basel). 2021 May 24;11(6):383. doi: 10.3390/membranes11060383.
Reverse osmosis (RO) drinking water stations have been introduced to provide safe drinking water for areas with prevailing chronic kidney disease with unknown (CKDu) etiology in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. In this investigation, RO drinking water stations established by community-based organizations (CBO) in the North Central Province (NCP) were examined. Water samples were collected from source, permeate, and concentrate in each station to determine water quality and performance. Furthermore, the operators of the systems were interviewed to evaluate operational and maintenance practices to identify major issues related to the RO systems. Results show that the majority (>93%) of RO systems had higher salt rejection rates (>92%), while water recovery varied from 19.4% to 64%. The removal efficiencies of hardness and alkalinity were averaged at 95.8% and 86.6%, respectively. Most dominant ions such as Ca, Mg, K, Na, Ba, Sr Cl, F, and SO showed higher rejections at averaged values of 93.5%, 97.4%, 86.6%, 90.8%, 95.4%, 96.3%, 95.7%, 96.6%, and 99.0%, respectively. Low recovery rates, lower fluoride levels in product water, and membrane fouling were the main challenges. Lack of knowledge and training were the major issues that could shorten the lifespan of RO systems.
反渗透（RO）饮用水站已被引入，为斯里兰卡干旱地区慢性肾脏病病因不明（CKDu）盛行的地区提供安全饮用水。在这项调查中，对北中央省（NCP）由社区组织（CBO）建立的RO饮用水站进行了检查。从每个站点的水源、渗透液和浓缩液中采集水样，以确定水质和性能。此外，还对系统操作人员进行了访谈，以评估运行和维护做法，从而确定与RO系统相关的主要问题。结果表明，大多数（>93%）RO系统具有较高的脱盐率（>92%），而水回收率在19.4%至64%之间变化。硬度和碱度的去除效率平均分别为95.8%和86.6%。大多数主要离子，如Ca、Mg、K、Na、Ba、Sr、Cl、F和SO的去除率较高，平均值分别为93.5%、97.4%、86.6%、90.8%、95.4%、96.3%、95.7%、96.6%和99.0%。回收率低、产水中氟含量低以及膜污染是主要挑战。缺乏知识和培训是可能缩短RO系统使用寿命的主要问题。
