Reverse osmosis for desalination of water from the Guarani Aquifer System to produce drinking water in southern Brazil

Uses of the reject brine from inland desalination for fish farming, Spirulina cultivation, and irrigation of forage shrub and crops

“…Inland deposits of brackish waters are common also in the Gran Chaco region, a semi-arid lowland region divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul [48]. A third vast region with brackish aquifers is the Northeast of Brazil which has a semi-arid climate and recurrent droughts.…”

Fluorine in the Water Environment - Hazards and Removal Methods

“…Briao i in. [29] stosowali RO do odsalania wody z warstw wodonośnych Guarani w celu uzyskania wody do picia w południowej Brazylii. Całkowite usunięcie fluorków oraz 97% ogólnej zawartości substancji rozpuszczonych i 94% jonów siarczanowych zostało osiągnięte metodą RO pod ciśnieniem 2 MPa i prędkości przepływu nad powierzchnią membrany wynoszącą 1,61 m/s.…”

Is nanofiltration better than reverse osmosis for removal of fluoride from brackish waters to produce drinking water?

“…South America has a great transborder groundwater reservoir named the Guarani Aquifer System (GAS), which is located in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The area of the GAS is 1,194,000 km², with Southern Brazil comprising the largest area [8]. However, in confined regions, the water is brackish and has a fluoride concentration exceeding 1.5 mg/L, thus, is unfit for human consumption [8,9].…”

“…In some regions of Uruguay and Argentina, groundwater from the Guarani Aquifer contains 8,000 mg/L of total dissolved solids (TDS), 1,200 mg/L of sulfates, and 3.1 mg/L of fluorides and is used only for thermal baths owing to its excessive salt content [10]. In south Brazil, the fluoride concentration of the GAS is approximately 2 mg/L [8].…”

“…Previous studies demonstrated that RO is a technical and economic alternative for desalinating the brackish waters from the Guarani Aquifer, which exceed the fluoride and sulfate standards for drinking water supply [8,19]. However, NF softening membranes can separate these inorganic salts as well.…”