Dear Saravanamuttu,

Thanks for your question but this is not my field of research subject.

Dear Saravanamuttu Subramaniam Sivakumar,

The answer is unacceptable. Alternative methods should be utilized

This is the main drawback when using membranes in general. The alternative is to use photocatalysis methods to degrade all pollutants to CO2 and H2O.

Hoping this will be helpful,

Rafik

It (RO plant) is very expensive .. Even though it is very difficult to manage groundwater resources, it is more prudent to develop a groundwater quality monitoring program into order to protect water resources in Northern Areas (incl. Jaffna) and other arid parts of the island. Actually water resources every where need to be protected via efficient water quality and quantity monitoring and forecasting projects.   The Solids (mostly salts) removed from the salty (High TDS water) will need to be transported out of the peninsula, otherwise the runoff (from rains & precipitation) will dissolve the salts resulting from the TDS and leach back into the Karst - type aquifer in Jaffna ..   

Is it possible to treat the effluent of a Reverse Osmosis plant to minimise the damage of the disposing grounds ?

Solutions are provided without appropriate full picture planning.  Treating groundwater by RO removes not only TDS (particularly calcium), but also micro-oroganisms (it is critical as the fecal contaminants. Then, there are signatures of fertilisers and oil/fats. It is surprising why one would choose ground disposal for release the concentrate! Compared to deep groundwater sources in other places, Jaffna groundwater is relatively safe in terms of metals and other nasties. There are no flowing rivers in Jaffna to dilute this concentrate. Unfortunately, the technical questions are overly emotionalised in Jaffna probably due to lack of leadership, poor communication, vested interests and personal issues. Disposal of concentrate in the open sea is a proven and safe method. But, the proposed large RO plant in Maruthenkerny is on the rocks due to poor people management.  

The main technical question is the scale. If it is a small package plant for a household or a small office, ground disposal might not be a serious concern. 

The other question is the logistics. Treated water could be supplied to houses and other locations where reticulation system is in place or can be installed. Jaffna Peniinsula is equipped for a piped water supply. Then, the user should pay for water, and illegal tapping should be carefully monitored.

Transition of first world solutions to third world problems is not going to bean easy step.

Dear sir,

It is possible but it is high cost when we think to implement in Sri Lanka like developing country. Initial implementation cost may be low but you may need to spend a lot to change the reverse osmosis filter frequently.