NEWater

1. NEWater Reverse Osmosis What is NEWater? History Process NEWater is the product from a multiple barrier water reclamation process. The first barrier is where used water is treated in the Water Reclamation Plants. The second barrier uses micro filtration to filter out suspended solids, colloidal particles, bacteria, viruses and protozoan cysts. The third barrier utilizes reverse osmosis. In reverse osmosis, a partially-permeable membrane filters out undesirable contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, nitrate, chloride, sulphate,disinfection,pesticides that cannot pass through the membrane. This makes NEWater anti-virus and bacteria and contains very low levels of salts and organic matter. The fourth barrier, which is also the last acts as a safety precaution. UV disinfection is used to ensure that all organisms are inactivated and the purity of the product water guaranteed. Its adds some alkaline chemicals to restore Ph balance. NEWater is now ready for use. NEWater is reclaimed water. It is treated wastewater that has been purified using advanced dual-membrane (micro filtration and reverse osmosis) and ultraviolet technologies. It is mixed and blended with reservoir water and then undergo conventional water treatment to produce drinking water (Planned Indirect Potable Use). There are 5 NEWater factories at Bedok, Kranji Water Reclamation Plant,Ulu Pandan, Changi and Seletar Water Reclamation Plant. The total capacity of the 3 NEWater factories is 92,000 m3/day or mgd. In 1974, water recycling began in Singapore but it closed a year later due to cost and reliability. NEWater was initiated in 1998 by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR). The aim of NEWater is to reduce reliance on water imported from Malaysia, which has been a source of water over the years. Micro Filtration Done by: Andrew Lau Jia Jun 1O1/02

2. Reverse osmosis Micro filtration, UV filtration & reverse osmosis Indirect Portable Usage NEWater Visitor Centre NEWater is also using indirect portable Use by blending with reservoir water. PUB has received a report from the Panel of Experts whoa are studying the suitability of NEWater as a source of water to supplement our water supply. They concluded that NEWater is consistently of high quality and well within the requirements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (UESPA) National Primary and Secondary Drinking Water Standards, and the World Health Organization's (WHO) Drinking Water Guidelines. The NEWater Visitor Centre is for people who are interested in knowing how the NEWater functions. There will be a virtual guide “Wave” directing the visitors each step of the way. They will be captivated by multimedia presentations and hands-on interactive games. At the end of the experience, the visitors will understand a wide range of water –related topics on NEWater and its uses. They will also get to see a NEWater factory incorporated in the NEWater Visitor Centre. They will be able to witness at first hand the operation of advanced membrane and ultraviolet technologies in the production of NEWater. Micro filtration is a filtration process which removes contaminants from a fluid by passage through a micro porous membrane Micro filtration is different from reverse osmosis because that system forces water to go from low pressure to high pressure by pressure.. It is the process of filtration with a micrometer sized filter. This filter does not allow particles, sediments, algae or large bacteria to go through. UV filters prevents ultraviolet (UV) light from going through. Reverse Osmosis is a filtration method that removes many types of large molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. It removes he salt and other substances from the water molecules. The process is similar to membrane filtration. Great thanks to the following websites: http://www.pub.gov.sg/newater/Pages/default.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_osmosis http://www.google.com.sg/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UV_filter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEWater Micro-filtration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfiltration