Aria Filtra retrofit a Delaware water treatment plant with an Aria FLEX custom system. Robust membrane technology met drinking water standards despite high turbidity.
Originally constructed in 1917 and then renovated in 1933, the Brandywine Water Treatment Plant in Wilmington, Delaware, required a retrofit into the mixed media filter basins to meet stringent drinking water standards. Furthermore, the facility needed a robust system, as it previously experienced significant turbidity occurrences due to heavy rainfall. The raw water from the Brandywine Creek is coagulated with PAX-XL 19 and aluminum chlorohydrate and settled in a sedimentation basin after pretreatment before reaching the membranes for filtration.
The Brandywine Water Treatment Plant conducted a side-by-side pilot evaluation over a 6-month period, where ferric chloride was used as the coagulant, and actual flux rates were between 75 and 93 gallons per square foot per day. A turbidity spike of 60 NTU, which lasted 4 days, was experienced during the pilot program. During that timeframe, the coagulant feed was discontinued resulting in high transmembrane pressure that caused excessive fouling of the membranes.
The Aria FLEX filtration system from Aria Filtra® was the only unit capable of achieving a recovery rate greater than 98% of the original permeability. Additionally, the system had a quick turnaround time when placed back into service, resulting in minimal downtime. Following the pilot study, the City of Wilmington chose to upgrade its water treatment plant with a custom-built Aria FLEX filtration system that retrofits into the allotted footprint.
The completed deployment of the Aria FLEX system allowed Brandywine Water Treatment Plant to instantaneously reach a peak capacity of 14 mgd. Overall, the project resulted in the facility’s ability to increase its average capacity to 7 mgd, with peak instantaneous capacity of 14 mgd. The plant upgraded from existing conventional treatment to a new advanced system within the existing footprint.
Case Study: Retrofit Membrane System Treats High-Turbidity Water
“The quality of water that the Aria Filtra racks produce is very good. This is a great system that is superb at removing impurities in water.”
- George Flowers, water production supervisor, Brandywine Water Treatment Plant
Flexible, customizable solutions
Custom Water Systems offer flexible designs for a wide range of capacities and applications. Our modular membrane-based systems are completely customizable, making them the perfect solution for new plants, replacements or facility upgrades.
