CDM Inc. announces WERF report on membrane treatment project

CAMBRIDGE, MA, Sept. 6, 2005 -- CDM and its partners -- the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the city of Greensboro, N.C. -- are pleased to announce a new report on Phase 1 of the firm's Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) membrane treatment of secondary effluent for subsequent use project. The endeavor, which began in December of 2001, addresses using membrane treated wastewater for a variety of applications with differing quality needs.

As part of WERF's Report Series, the publication of the project's first phase documents CDM's review of the state of knowledge and experience in membrane applications in wastewater treatment and, more specifically, in water reuse. After providing an overview of water reuse and membrane processes, this report covers state regulations and guidelines on water reuse, membrane fouling, methods of testing membranes at bench- and pilot-scales, removal of microbial contaminants, and management of concentrates. Detailed findings from a literature review and a survey of full-scale facilities employing membrane processes for wastewater treatment are provided. The report concludes with an evaluation of the potential role of membrane treatment for each of the major categories of water reuse.

Going forward, phase 2 pilot studies will focus on comparing the performance of ultrafiltration versus microfiltration as pretreatment for reverse osmosis -- a topic that should improve our understanding of reverse osmosis membrane fouling, and lead to improvements in the use of high-pressure membrane systems for water reclamation. Funded by WERF, the North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute, and the city of Greensboro, the report is available for purchase via IWA Publishing at "Membrane Treatment of Secondary Effluents for Subsequent Use".

CDM Inc. (www.cdm.com) is a consulting, engineering, construction, and operations firm delivering exceptional service to public and private clients worldwide.

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