Limitation of hardness from thermal water by means of nanofiltration

Geothermal conditions are extremely favourable in Hungary. Thermal water is accessible in 70% of the territory of the country, with a lowest temperature of 30°C. For energetic purposes, it can be utilized in two different ways: for supplying heat or generating electricity. In relation to utilization, one of the most serious problems derives from the chemical composition of thermal water. The present paper investigates the opportunities of preventing scaling by nanofiltration. Experiments were performed on a Thin Film NF DK membrane, thermostated at 50°C and at a pressure of 3.5 MPa with four different samples (from four Hungarian cities - Eger, Mezőkövesd, Bogács, Miskolc-Tapolca) using batch plant. Reproducibility of experiments was also investigated using water samples from Komárom at 50 and 60°C. The results showed that NF DK could achieve high retention of divalent ions. The results of the second phase of the experiments proved that water flux and rejections were very stable. After filtration, the scaling properties of thermal water were simulated with the help of chemical equilibrium modelling software, called Visual MINTEQ 3.0. The results of the permeate samples prove that nanofiltration is a successful process in preventing scaling of thermal water for further use.