*Aeration: A technique used in water treatment that requires a source of oxygen, commonly known as aerobic biological water purification. This technique brings water into contact with air droplets or by spraying the air with aeration facilities. Then presses the air through the water surface, and bubbles and supplies water with oxygen.
Aquifers: according to the RAE it is a water-bearing underground layer. In ALADYR context it can be used to refer to natural groundwater deposits or streams.
Brackish Water: according to the definition of the adjective brackish given by the RAE, it is water with salt. However, in the field of water treatment, it is usually applied to saltwater that does not come from the sea.
BWRO: Reverse Osmosis Water Desalination
EDI - electrodialysis: Technology that combines electrodialysis and ion exchange, which results in a process that removes ions from water effectively while ion exchange resins are continuously regenerated by an electric current.
Effluent: the output or outflows from any system that discharges water flows as a result of urban, industrial, or agricultural activities.
Ion Exchange: is a water treatment process generally used for water softening or demineralization, although it is also used to remove other substances from water in processes such as desalination, deionization, and disinfection.
Membrane flux: related to the amount of water that reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, or ultrafiltration membrane produces per active area of the membrane.
Membrane recovery: it is the recovery of reverse osmosis membranes at the end of their useful life, which reduces the impact associated with treatment plant waste and its implementation costs.
Microfiltration: membrane filtration process in which hydrostatic pressure pushes a liquid towards a semi-permeable membrane. Microfiltration membranes have a pore size of 0.1-10 µm.
*Nanofiltration: is a membrane filtration process in which hydrostatic pressure pushes a liquid against a semi-permeable membrane. The nanofiltration process can retain particles with a size of 0.1 nm-0.001.
Osmosis: is a physical phenomenon related to the movement of a solvent through a semi-permeable membrane. Such action implies a simple diffusion across the membrane without energy consumption. Water osmosis is an important biological phenomenon for the cellular metabolism of living beings.
Osmotized water: water produced from the Reverse Osmosis process which is of very high purity.
Permeate: related to a liquid: to diffuse through or penetrate something
PPP: Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a type of contract that can be self-sustaining or co-financed. In this type of association between the State and the private sector, the latter provides public services or executes and runs specific public infrastructure works within a given time frame.
Process Water: water used for multiple purposes, such as cooling systems, boilers, processes, steam production, etc.
Produced Water: is a term used in the oil industry to describe water produced along with oil and gas.
Recycled Water: is the reuse of treated wastewater for beneficial purposes, such as agricultural and landscape irrigation, industrial processes, toilet flushing, and replenishment of a groundwater basin.
Reverse Osmosis: For the Royal Academy of Engineering, this is the process that separates one component from another in a solution through the force applied to a semi-permeable membrane.
RO Membranes: Semi-permeable membranes used in the Reverse Osmosis process to remove ions, molecules and larger particles in drinking water.
Seawater brine: the effluent from a desalination process that results in water with a salt concentration greater than 69 grams per liter.
SWRO: acronym for Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination
Ultrafiltration: membrane filtration process, in which hydrostatic pressure pushes a liquid against a semi-permeable membrane. Ultrafiltration separates particles with a size of 0.001-0.1 µm.
Ultrapure Water. The Royal Academy of Engineering defines it as laboratory water that has been filtered and purified by reverse osmosis. The term comes from the patented commercial treatment.
UV disinfection: is the treatment of water with the use of lamps that emit ultraviolet radiation that can eliminate pathogens and produce high-quality water.
Virtual Water: first defined by Professor J.A. Allan as water contained in products. For example, a cup of coffee requires 120 liters of water corresponding to the process of cultivation, transport, and processing of the beans.
Water bodies: according to the European Environment Agency Water Glossary is any water body that has defined hydrological, physical, chemical, and biological characteristics that is useful for one or more purposes.
Water purification: The RAE states that purification is the action of making water potable (i.e., suitable for human consumption and not representing a health risk). It refers specifically to water for human consumption for drinking, and it can be done with water extracted from different sweet and brackish sources and even from effluent treatment.
Water Stress: Different international organizations define it and make it part of their goals. The European Environment Agency, through the Water Information System for Europe (WISE), states that Water Stress occurs when the water demand exceeds the amount available during a given period or when poor quality limits its use. Water stress causes the deterioration of freshwater resources in both quantity (overexploitation of aquifers, dry rivers, etc.) and quality (eutrophication, organic matter contamination, saline intrusion, etc.).
