캘리포니아의 극심한 가뭄으로 캘리포니아 농장은 수자원을 분배받지 못하고 있다. 샌트럴밸리의 한 농장은 San Joaquin Valley의 염분이 있는 대수층에서 관개하기 위해 고효율 물 솔루션 제공자인 Desalitech와 협력했다. 이 대수층은 크고 접근성이 쉽지만 10년동안의 가뭄과 펌프작용으로 염도 수준이 증가했다. 그래서 농업을 위해 대수층의 물은 사용할 수 없었다.

Fabbri Ag Services는 관개용수를 제공하고 최소한의 폐기물 생성과 에너지 소비를 위해 개선된 Closed Circuit 담수화 기술을 포함하는 Desalitech ReFlex™ 역삼투압 시스템을 사용했다. 휴면기의 염분기있는 대수층을 활용해서 Fabbri는 국가의 이미 사용된 저수지 체계없이 지역 수자원을 효율적으로 사용할 수 있게 만들었다. 설치된 역삼투압 시스템은 매 분마다 300 갤런의 관개용수를 베이커즈필드 근처 농장에 제공한다. 제공되는 물은 농장 생산물에 이용할 수 있을 정도로 깨끗하다.

Water purification system strengthens CA central valley farm's brackish aquifer, water sources
 
As California farmers face zero water allocations following one of the worst droughts on record in California, one central valley farm is partnering with Desalitech, a supplier of high-efficiency water solutions, to irrigate farmland from a brackish aquifer in the San Joaquin Valley. This aquifer is large and easily accessible, but due to increasing salinity levels after decades of pumping and drought, it has been rendered unusable for many kinds of agriculture.

Fabbri Ag Services is using a Desalitech ReFlex™ reverse osmosis (RO) system featuring advanced Closed Circuit Desalination (CCD™) technology to provide affordable irrigation water and minimize waste generation and energy consumption. By utilizing a dormant brackish aquifer, Fabbri is making efficient use of local water resources without burdening the state's already-strained reservoir system. The installed RO system provides Fabbri with 300 gallons per minute of irrigation water to supply about 40 acres of land at a farm near Bakersfield, Calif. The produced water is highly pure so that it can be used to support high-value crops like almonds and grapes.

Conventional RO processes are unmanageable for most inland applications because of the high costs of energy consumption and disposing residuals from the process. Desalitech's ReFlex RO system reduces the costs of RO treatment by efficiently managing the concentration of salts, thereby maximizing water utilization, and cutting energy consumption by 35 percent or more. This changes the economics of inland desalination, making it possible for Fabbri to affordably supplement irrigation supplies at its locations.

Desalitech's ReFlex system has three distinct advantages that make inland RO desalination possible and ideal:

High Water Use Efficiency: The Fabbri installation operates at a recovery rate of at least 87 percent and has already been demonstrated at 94 percent; this results in up to a four-fold reduction in concentrate volume compared to conventional RO systems that typically top out at 75-percent recovery.

High Reliability: Brackish groundwater is notorious for changing composition and temperature on a seasonal or sometimes daily basis. Desalitech's system automatically adapts to feedwater variations, producing consistent product water quality with reduced operating costs.

Low Energy Consumption: The ReFlex system delivers superior performance while consuming 35 percent less energy than conventional RO systems that would require multiple stages to achieve similar recovery rates. Compared to thermal or solar desalination systems, energy requirements can be divided by a factor of 20.

[출처 = Water World/ 2014년 4월 29일]