The production of drinking water through reverse osmosis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to obtain drinking water from underground water through purification by reverse osmosis. In preliminary analyses, different combinations of rapid sand filtration, adsorption, ion-exchange, and reverse osmosis were tested and the purified water analyzed according to the parameters defined in Turkish Standard TS 266. Each method yielded water of a quality that complied with the TS 266 criteria. The purification methods were then evaluated with respect to costs. The results showed that a treatment unit consisting of a rapid sand filter (10 m/h filtration speed), a filtration cartridge, and reverse osmosis offers the most cost-effective approach to water purification.