Application of electromembrane technology for providing drinking water for the population of the Aral region

In order to provide drinking water for the population of the Aral region, the electrodialysis (ED) process Was selected for desalting well waters containing up to 15 g/L of salts. Two new designs of electrodialysers were developed for adapting the process at the scale of a little village. Experimental tests were conducted in the Aral region. ED has been proved to solve effectively the problem of provision of the Aral region population with drinking water as well as partially demineralised water for irrigation and drinking water for animals. Our cost estimate of drinking water production made from the results of an ED plant exploitation at the Bozoi village in Kazakhstan (capacity is 10 m(3)/h, raw water TDS is 12.9 g/L) gives 1.2 and 0.3 US$ per m(3) when the energy cost is 0.13 and 0.02 US$/kWh, respectively, or 0.1 and 0.025 US$ per kg eliminated salts for the same energy cost values.