ISO 23446:2021(E)
ISO TC 8/SC 13/WG 3
Date: 2021-09
Secretariat: SAC
Marine technology — Product water quality of seawater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination —
Guidelines for municipal water supply
ISO 23446:2021(E)
© ISO 2021
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II © ISO 2021 – All rights reserved
ISO 23446:2021(E)
Contents
Foreword...........................................................................................................................................................IV
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................V
1 Scope............................................................................................................................................................1
2 Normative references.............................................................................................................................. 1
3 Terms and definitions..............................................................................................................................1
4 Desalted water quality.............................................................................................................................1
5 Product water quality.............................................................................................................................. 1
6 Monitoring frequency.............................................................................................................................. 2
7 Test methods............................................................................................................................................. 2
Annex A (informative) Calculation method of calcium hardness.......................................................... 3
Annex B (informative) Calculation method of the Langelier saturation index (LSI)......................... 4
Annex C (informative) Information of product water quality of seawater RO desalination
in specific cases................................................................................................................................................. 5
Bibliography...................................................................................................................................................... 6
© ISO 2021 – All rights reserved III
ISO 23446:2021(E)
Foreword
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 8, Ships and marine technology,
Subcommittee SC 13, Marine technology.
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IV © ISO 2021 – All rights reserved
ISO 23446:2021(E)
Introduction
With population growth, urbanization, climate change impacts and increases in household and
industrial uses, fresh water scarcity will definitely affect the sustainable development of society.
Seawater desalination is an effective way to meet the water needs. In some regions, it is almost the
primary source of municipal water supply.
Because of technology and cost advantages, the reverse osmosis (RO) process has been used
increasingly for seawater desalination. However, desalted water of seawater RO desalination is low in
minerals and poorly buffered. It is usually aggressive to metallic materials used in equipment and
distribution pipelines. To solve this problem, the post-treatment of desalted water, such as the addition
of minerals and/or blending of waters, is necessary to achieve a balanced mineral content. Therefore, it
is necessary to monitor product water quality after post-treatment to confirm the safety for municipal
water supply.
Consequently, standardization of the product water quality is important and useful for the protection of
corrosive pipelines and related equipment. The key parameters are monitored to meet the related
limits and range. The product water will be compatible with municipal pipelines and related equipment.
These guidelines provide key parameters to manage the product water quality of seawater RO
desalination for municipal water supply. They are intended to assist water engineers, authorities,
decision makers and stakeholders in evaluating the compatibility of product water with pipelines and
devices.
© ISO 2021 – All rights reserved V
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 23446:2021(E)
Marine technology — Product water quality of seawater reverse
osmosis (RO) desalination — Guidelines for municipal water
supply
1 Scope
This document provides guidelines for product water quality of seawater reverse osmosis (RO)
desalination that is used for municipal water supply.
It specifies water quality parameters and ranges, monitoring frequency and test methods to ensure the
compatibility of the product water with the pipelines.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org
3.1
desalted water
freshwater produced by seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants
3.2
product water
water produced by post-treatment of desalted water (3.1), such as mineralization and waters blending
4 Desalted water quality
The total dissolved solids (TDS) of desalted water should be as given in Table 1.
Table 1 —TDS limits of desalted water produced by different RO desalination processes
Desalted water of RO process TDS
mg/l
Single pass RO ≤ 500
Double pass RO ≤ 100
5 Product water quality
The parameters and range of product water quality should be as given in Table 2. For specific cases, see
Annex C, Table C.1. For additional water quality parameters and ranges, see Reference [6] or local
regulations.
© ISO 2021 – All rights reserved 1
ISO 23446:2021(E)
Table 2 — Parameters and range of product water quality
Parameter Range
pH 7,5 to 8,5
Calcium hardness (H[Ca])
60 ≤ H[Ca] ≤ 120
(as CaCO3)/(mg/l)
Total alkalinity
≥ 50
(as CaCO3)/(mg/l)
Langelier saturation index (LSI) −0,5 ≤ LSI ≤ 0,5
6 Monitoring frequency
The monitoring frequency of water quality parameters should be as given in Table 3. For specific cases,
see Annex C, Table C.2.
Table 3 — Monitoring frequency of water quality parameters
Item Parameter Monitoring frequency
Desalted water Electrical conductivity ≥ 1 (per day)
quality TDS ≥ 1 (per month)
pH ≥ 1 (per day)
Temperature ≥ 1 (per day)
Electrical conductivity ≥ 1 (per day)
Product water
Calcium hardness ≥ 1 (per week)
quality
Total alkalinity ≥ 1 (per week)
TDS ≥ 1 (per month)
LSI ≥ 1 (per month)
7 Test methods
The suitable test methods for desalted water quality and product water quality are as follows.
a) pH should be determined in accordance with ISO 10523.
b) Electrical conductivity should be determined in accordance with ISO 7888.
c) Calcium should be determined in accordance with ISO/TS 15923- 2, and calcium hardness
calculation should be in accordance with Annex A.
d) Total alkalinity should be determined in accordance with ISO 9963- 1.
e) TDS should be determined in accordance with EN 15216- 2007.
f) LSI should be determined in accordance with Annex B.
g) The accuracy of temperature measurement instrumentation should be ± 0,5 °C.
2 © ISO 2021 – All rights reserved
ISO 23446:2021(E)
Annex A
(informative)
Calculation method of calcium hardness
The calcium hardness should be calculated using the following formula:
Ca 2
H[Ca] 100,09
MCa
where
H[Ca] is the calcium hardness (as CaCO3), mg/l;
Ca 2 is the calcium ion concentration, mg/l;
MCa is the molar mass of calcium ( MCa = 40,08).
© ISO 2021 – All rights reserved 3
ISO 23446:2021(E)
Annex B
(informative)
Calculation method of the Langelier saturation index (LSI)
The LSI is commonly used to determine the scaling tendency of CaCO3, and the calculation is as follows:
LSI = pH – pHs
where
LSI is the Langelier saturation index;
pH is the measured pH value of the water;
pHs is the pH value of the water when the CaCO3 is in the equilibrium state at saturated.
When LSI>0, CaCO3 tends to precipitate. When LSI=0, CaCO3 is kept in the equilibrium state at saturated.
When LSI<0, CaCO3 tends to dissolve.
The pHs is calculated as follows:
pHs =(9,3+A+B)−(C+D)
log10 [TDS]-1
A
10
B 34,55 13,2 log 10 ( t 273)
C log 10 Ca 2 0,4
D log 10 [ Alk ]
where
A is the total dissolved solids constant;
[TDS] is the concentration of total dissolved solids in concentrate, mg/l;
B is the temperature constant;
t is the product water temperature before entering the municipal pipelines. The
temperature could be the average value of measured temperature during one week;
C is the calcium hardness constant;
Ca2 is the concentration of calcium ion in concentrate (as CaCO3), mg/l;
D is the total alkalinity constant;
[Alk] is the total alkalinity (as CaCO3), mg/l.
4 © ISO 2021 – All rights reserved
ISO 23446:2021(E)
Annex C
(informative)
Information of product water quality of seawater RO desalination
in specific cases
For specific case studies in some countries, Table C.1 and Table C.2 illustrate the parameters range and
monitoring frequency of the product water quality.
For cases in which the product water of desalination is the main freshwater source for municipal water
supply and the desalination plants are well-equipped with advanced facilities, professional
management team and sufficient testing conditions, it is suited to adopt higher standards on water
quality and monitoring frequency. In these situations, Table C.1 and Table C.2 are recommended for
better water supply.
Table C.1 — Parameters and range of product water quality
Parameter Range
pH 8,0 to 8,5
Calcium hardness(H[Ca])
60 ≤ H[Ca] ≤ 120
(as CaCO3)/(mg/l)
Total alkalinity
≥ 50
(as CaCO3)/(mg/l)
LSI 0,0 ≤ LSI ≤ 0,3
Table C.2 — Monitoring frequency of water quality parameters
Item Parameter Monitoring frequency
Desalted water Electrical conductivity ≥ 3 (per day)
quality TDS ≥ 3 (per day)
pH ≥ 3 (per day)
Temperature ≥ 3 (per day)
Electrical conductivity ≥ 3 (per day)
Product water
Calcium hardness ≥ 3 (per day)
quality
Total alkalinity ≥ 3 (per day)
TDS ≥ 3 (per day)
LSI ≥ 1 (per day)
© ISO 2021 – All rights reserved 5
ISO 23446:2021(E)
Bibliography
[1] ISO 7888, Water quality — Determination of electrical conductivity
[2] ISO 9963- 1, Water quality — Determination of alkalinity — Part 1: Determination of total and
composite alkalinity
[3] ISO 10523, Water quality — Determination of pH
[4] ISO/TS 15923- 2, Water quality — Determination of selected parameters by discrete analysis
systems — Part 2: Chromium(VI), fluoride, total alkalinity, total hardness, calcium, magnesium,
iron, iron(II), manganese and aluminium with photometric detection
[5] EN 15216, Characterization of waste — Determination of total dissolved solids (TDS) in water and
eluates
[6] WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO). Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality: Fourth edition
incorporating the first addendum. WHO, 2017
[7] WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO). Safe Drinking-water from Desalination. WHO, 2011
[8] WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO). Calcium and magnesium in drinking-water: Public health
significance. WHO, 2009
[9] Ahmad M.,·Bajahlan A.S. Quality comparison of tap water vs. bottled water in the industrial city of
Yanbu (Saudi Arabia). Environmental monitoring and assessment, 2009, 159 pp. 1-14
[10] WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION. Health risks from drinking demineralised water. WHO, 2005
[11] LAHAV O., BIRNHACK L. Quality criteria for desalinated water following post-treatment.
Desalination. 2007, 207 pp. 286–303
[12] BIRNHACK L., PENN R., LAHAV O. Quality criteria for desalinated water and introduction of a novel,
cost effective and advantageous post treatment process. Desalination. 2008, 221 pp. 70- 83
[13] Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water of Canada. Corrosion Control in
Drinking Water Distribution Systems. July 20, 2007
[14] U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. Washington, DC. Lead and Copper Rule guidance manual.
1992. (Report No. EPA/811/B-92/002)
[15] SHAMS EL DIN A.M. Three strategies for combating the corrosion of steel pipes carrying
desalinated potable water. Desalination. 2009, 238 pp. 166–173
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