Technical
Paper
Trihalomethanes (THM) Precursor Reduction of
Surface Water by EDR Technology
Abrera Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Barcelona Spain
Challenge
Elevated levels of salinity in the Llobregat River area
result of naturally-occurring calcium sulfate,
sodium chloride and potassium chloride deposits in
the river basin geology. Tailings for the potash
mining industry are also found in the Llobregat
River. Both of these sources contribute to the ele-
vated levels of undesirable salt (Na, K, Cl and Br.)
The drinking water treatment plant in Abrera, Spain,
which serves the greater Barcelona area (about 4.5
million people), is owned by Aigües del Ter-
Llobregat (ATLL), a public company as part of the
Regional Government of Catalonia. The bromide
levels along with the dissolved organic matter
create a precursor for chlorination disinfection by-
products, called trihalomethanes (THMs). THMs have
been shown to be carcinogenic, and need to be
reduced so the water from the ATLL plant meets
Spanish drinking water standard RD 140/2003,
where the THM limit is currently 100 µg/L at the end
of pipe use.
Attempts were made by ATLL to reduce the THM
formation during treatment and distribution by
reducing the chlorine addition at the plant. This was
successful within the plant, but as chlorine was
added through the regional distribution system, this
additional chlorine and the contact time created
THMs that were above the acceptable level.
Since THMs themselves are very difficult to remove,
the idea at ATLL was to reduce the precursors like
bromide and the organic matter prior to chlorina-
tion.
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The original treatment plant was first built in 1980,
and it consists of oxidation by potassium perman-
ganate, flocculation/sedimentation, chlorine dioxide
oxidation, sand filtration, granular activated carbon,
and post treatment chlorination.
However, these processes did not reduce the dis-
solved solids like bromide and the naturally occur-
ring organic matter responsible for the THM
formation potential. As a result, THMs were created
in excess of the allowable drinking water standards.
These individual THMs of concern at this plant are:
CHBr3, CHBr2Cl, CHBrCl2 and CHCL3.
In addition, ATLL goal was to improve the global
water quality of the Llobregat River to similar values
of the Ter River, the main water source in the met-
ropolitan area.
Developing a Solution
A solution was needed to reduce the THM potential
while being compatible with the current treatment
scheme. The lack of rainfall, the continued growing
demand for water, and implementation of Spanish
drinking water regulation RD 140 led to the pursuit
of a treatment strategy that both met the quality
goals, but also high water treatment efficiency. In
addition, the THM solution must deal with the qual-
ity and quality of the existing treatment works.
Initially, electrodialysis reversal (EDR) and reverse
osmosis (RO) were considered to be possible solu-
tions. It was determined that a pilot program was
required to validate the projected THM precursor
removal, understand the compatibility existing
works effluent with these solutions, and use real
©2010, General Electric Company. All rights reserved.
TP1179EN Mar-10
data to design a plant that effectively and efficiently
met the water quality.
Pilot Plant
The largest unknowns in the THM precursor solution
were: Will the solution remove the THM precursors?
Will the solution be compatible with the water from
the existing works? The purpose of the pilot plant
was to provide a means of generating performance
data to both select and optimize the design of a
solution. Table 1 shows the river source water char-
acteristics.
Table 1: Llobregat River Facts
Characteristic Amount
Conductivity range: 500 to 2,500 µS/cm
Bromide 0.5 – 1.2 mg/L
Chloride 150 – 1,300 mg/L
Ba
30 – 190 µg/L
Sr
1,100 – 2,200 µg/L
TOC
> 5.0 mg/L
Both reverse osmosis and electrodialysis reversal
were piloted, starting in 1999. The EDR pilot pro-
gram, initiated in April 2004, tracked performance
of the EDR unit as variations in bromide, organic
matter, salinity, and temperature were experienced.
The RO pilot lasted six months, and during this time,
the following challenges were observed:
• The RO water recovery rate was lower than
desirable due to the high levels of scaling min-
erals like sulfates, barium, calcium and alumina
• Biological fouling was also a challenge to the
RO membranes and chlorine could not be used
on RO membranes
• The turbidity and SDI resulting from the existing
pretreatment was too high and variable for an
RO system and frequent cleanings were
required.
• The variability in the river quality, including sa-
linity, turbidity, and chemical pollution was chal-
lenging to adapt the RO operations without any
additional pretreatment after the existing plant,
like ultrafiltration (UF).
Page 2
The GE EDR pilot performed well with a length of 28-
month demonstration.
The biggest problem with THMs formation occurs in
the summer months where the development of
THMs happens faster at warmer water tempera-
tures. This formation happens somewhat upon ini-
tial chlorination, but also as the finished water flows
through the distribution network.
Fortunately, EDR removal efficiency is also greater
on warmer waters, compensating for the higher
THM formation potential of this water in the sum-
mer. The EDR pilot showed that the THM formation
potential (THM-FP) before the EDR was 160+ / -40
µg/L, and after the EDR it was 64+ / -16 µg/L.
The GE EDR pilot validated that:
• The GE EDR removed a sufficient amount of the
THM precursors, so the treated river water was
below the THM limit.
• No additional pretreatment to EDR was required
on the existing works effluent.
• The EDR met its performance measurements
even during seasonal variations in river water
salinity and temperature.
• The GE EDR pilot demonstrated conditions of a
90 percent water recovery plant.
• EDR had lower remineralization and power
costs than RO.
The pilot was also an opportunity to provide a large
amount of data to optimize the design of a full-
scale plant. Experiments included comparing re-
sults of single versus double stage EDR design,
temperature variation, flow variation and electrical
power optimization.
The GE EDR uses a Polarity Reversal feature to
prevent the accumulation of organic and inorganic
foulants and scale. In addition, the GE EDR mem-
branes are compatible with a free chlorine residual,
so cleaning the EDR with a solution with free chlo-
rine is an element of flexibility that effectively and
inexpensively reduces organic foulants. These fea-
tures contribute to long membrane life, low mainte-
nance costs and high reliability even on this
challenging water under dynamic conditions.
TP1179EN Mar-10
 2.3 m3/s
Max 4 m3/s Chlorine dioxide Main flow Chlorine

Llobregat SAND GAC EDR REM 263,000m3

DEC
River FILTER FILTER

KMnO4 Flocculant 1.7 m3/s Chlorine

Coagulant Complementary flow
Figure 1: Treatment diagram

Integration of a Solution
Based on favorable piloting results, the GE EDR
technology was selected as the THM precursor
reduction solution. The project, consisting of EDR
and other plant upgrades, cost 61 million Euros, and
has a capacity of 200,000 m3 per day. The EDR
plant, consisting of nine EDR units, began the com-
missioning in February 2008. It took about one year,
as the existing plant works had to deliver water to
the population. This facility is currently the largest
EDR plant in the world, and one of the largest
brackish water desalination plants of any technol-
ogy type. Due to the water scarcity condition in
Spain, the plant is designed to operate at 90% wa-
ter recovery. (See Figure 1.)
Figure 2: GE EDR Mark 4-2 Cell Pair
Effluent from the existing carbon filters is sent to a
3,000 m3 feed tank, and 9+3 EDR feed pumps pres-
surize the water and transport it from the tank,
through the cartridge filters (2 per EDR unit, having
270 cartridges at 5 micron nominal rating) and 576
GE EDR Mark 4-2 membrane stacks, 64 per unit
(Figures 2 and 3). The stacks are energized with DC
power using DC drive technology that is enclosed in
a group of electrical cabinets in the electrical room.
The membrane stacks are composed of 600 cell
pairs, each consisting of:

• Cation exchange membrane

• Flow spacer

• Anion exchange membrane

• Flow spacer

Figure 3: GE EDR Mark 4-2 Membrane Stack

TP1179EN Mar-10 Page 3

The membranes are homogeneous in composition
for low electrical resistance. The flow spacers,
which govern the flow of the water across the
membrane surface, consist of a screen mesh mate-
rial to induce turbulence. The two electrodes in
each membrane stack are platinum coated tita-
nium for long life and the need to operate as both a
cathode and an anode during normal operation.
References:
1. Fernando Valero, Juan C. García, Santiago Gon-
zález, MªEugenia Medina, Juan Carlos de Armas,
Manuel Hernández, José J. Rodríguez, “Control
of THMs at the Llobregat DWTP (NE, Spain) using
Electrodialisys Reversal (EDR)”, International De-
salination Association, October 2007.

Each of the nine EDR hydraulic skids also has 1+1
redundancy concentrate recirculation pumps. The
concentrate water from each of the EDR units is
collected and sent via pipeline to the Mediterranean
at the mouth of the Llobregat River, 30 kilometers
(18.6 miles) away from the plant.
2. Mario Ferrer Arasa, Fernando Valero Cervera,
Domingo Zarzo Martínez, Xavier Vives Rifé,
“Abrera (Barcelona, Spain) Drinking WTP Up-
grade through Electrodialysis Reversal (200,000
m3/day)”, International Desalination Associa-
tion, October 2007.
3. Mario Ferrer Arasa, Domingo Zarzo Martínez,
Raúl Lemes, “Startup and Operation of The
World’s largest EDR water Treatment Plant”, In-
ternational Desalination Association, November
2009.
4. Fernando Valero, Ramón Arbós. “Desalination of
brackish river water using Electrodialysis Rever-
sal (EDR). Control of the THMs formation in the
Barcelona (NE Spain) area”. Elsevier, 2009.

Figure 4: 200,000 m3/day GE EDR at ATLL site

Each EDR hydraulic skid has provisions for scale

control using antiscalant and hydrochloric acid, and
a clean in place system, which can use sodium hy-
pochlorite, salt solution or hydrochloric acid as,
needed.
Post treatment of the EDR effluent consists of a
remineralization step to meet Spanish regulation RD
140/2003 for stabilization and corrosion potential in
transmission pipes. This will be used when required
and is accomplished using lime and CO2 addition to
increase the Langelier Saturation Index of the water
prior to distribution.
Consolidated text prepared by William Harvey and
Juan Carlos de Armas.

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