Water quality assessment of solar-assisted adsorption desalination cycle

This study focuses on the water quality assessment (feed, product and brine) of the pilot adsorption desalination (AD) plant. Seawater from the Red Sea is used as feed to the AD plant. Water quality tests are evaluated by complying the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards with major primary and secondary inorganic drinking water pollutants and other commonly tested water quality parameters. Chemical testing of desalinated water at the post desalination stage confirms the high quality of produced fresh water. Test results have shown that the adsorption desalination process is very effective in eliminating all forms of salts, as evidenced by the significant reduction of the TDS levels from approximately 40,000 ppm in feed seawater to less than 10 ppm. Test results exhibit extremely low levels of parameters which are generally abundant in feed seawater. The compositions of seawater and process related parameters such as chloride, sodium, bromide, sulfate, calcium, magnesium, and silicate in desalinated water exhibit values of less than 0.1 ppm. Reported conductivity measurements of desalinated water are comparable to distilled water conductivity levels and ranged between 2 and 6 μS/cm while TOC and TIC levels are also extremely low and its value is less than 0.5 ppm.