IDE Technologies, a world leader in water treatment solutions, has been awarded the Cherokee Metropolitan District wastewater Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Reduction Project, commissioned to begin in 2021. IDE’s MAXH2O-PFRO technology – an advanced high-recovery Reverse Osmosis (RO) solution – will be part of the Cherokee Metropolitan District’s Water Reuse project. The main goal is to comply with a Colorado court order for the district to lower its TDS discharge to under 400 mg/L.
Until recently, the Cherokee Metropolitan District’s wastewater treatment plant used a traditional secondary process. However, in order to meet the new discharge limits for TDS, a membrane bioreactor and RO have been added. The new plant design uses a 9 MGD MBR and a 1.9 MGD high-recovery RO, designed to enable the RO permeate to be mixed with the MBR filtrate, which will help dilute the final effluent below the 400 mg/L permit level. With brine management being a critical factor in the RO design, currently being addressed using evaporation ponds with a substantial footprint, it became evident that high recovery of 90-95% was needed in order to minimize the volume of produced RO brine.
IDE’s MAXH2O-PFRO technology, developed and tested by IDE specifically for reuse applications and high recovery needs, offers a single stage RO-based ultra-high recovery solution of up to 95%. The solution incorporates unique and advanced biofouling reduction capabilities, eliminating the need for chlorination of the feed water, a compact design of 3x0.6 MGD trains and a single stage of PFRO, replacing the current two to three stages of RO.
“IDE truly stood out from competitors with its MAXH2O-PFRO technology and high-recovery RO solution,” said Karla Kinser of Burns & McDonnell. “Not only did IDE bring a solution that would resolve our pain points and comply with regulation, the company has unmatched experience in handling challenging water chemistry and offers the ability to install faster at lower rates.”
“We are excited to have been selected by the Cherokee Metropolitan District out of a strong group of competitors in our industry,” said Gilad Cohen, CEO, IDE Americas. “We look forward to 2021 and installing more advanced, high-recovery RO reuse solutions on a global scale, and are confident that our leading solution will meet, and exceed, the district’s high recovery requirements.”
