nitrates and the

quality of water

Water Purification Systems UK

nitrates and the quality of water

Nitrogen is an essential element in the periodic table. It makes up
78% of the air that we breathe, is vital to human life and critical as
a source of food for plants.
There is, however, a downside. Nitrogen has to be converted to
nitrate compounds to make it accessible to plants. This naturally
occurs through the action of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil,
which combine oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon with nitrogen
to chemically reactive forms. These include ammonium and
ammonia, which are then oxidised by micro-organisms to nitrite
and nitrate, in a form that is subsequently taken up by plants
during their growth.
A similar process is also carried out in the production and
application of ammonia based fertilisers, which are used in large
quantities around the world, in agriculture and horticulture.
The problem is that nitrate is leachable and moves readily in
water through the soil into rivers, reservoirs and aquifers. This
can be a particular problem after high levels of rainfall or if there
is excessive irrigation, especially when one considers that only
around half of all fertilisers used are taken up by plants.
Its also worth noting that microbes in soil can convert nitrate
molecules into gaseous nitrous oxide. When released into the
atmosphere, this has around 300 times the global warming
potential of carbon dioxide.

what problems do nitrates in water cause?

High concentrations of nitrates in water can have a number of effects. In rivers,
lakes and inshore waters, high levels of nitrates dramatically increase the
nutrients that promote the growth of algae or cyanobacteria a process known as
Eutrophication. In turn, as the algae die and decay the resulting organic matter
depletes the level of dissolved oxygen in the water Anoxia causing the death of
fish, invertebrates and shellfish.
This phenomenon is being seen with increasing regularity around the world as
the number of algae blooms grow.
For humans, the presence of nitrites and nitrates in drinking water has been
linked to occurrences of thyroid cancer, respiratory tract infections, birth defects
and premature births.
It is perhaps most commonly associated with Methaemoglobineamia, where
nitrates in drinking water are converted in the body to nitrites. These react with
haemoglobin in red blood cells to form methaemoglobin, which affects the ability
of blood to carry oxygen around the body.
Most humans over one year of age have the ability easily to convert
methaemoglobin back to oxyhaemoglobin, so the total amount of
methaemoglobin in red blood cells remains low even if relatively high levels of
nitrates have been ingested. However, in children less than six months old, the
enzyme systems for reducing methaemoglobin to oxyhaemoglobin are not fully
developed, so methaemoglobineamia can occur. This condition is often known as
Blue Baby Syndrome. A similar condition can be found in older individuals who
have genetically impaired enzyme systems for metabolising methaemoglobin.
In the UK, where nitrate levels are generally low, and where the quality of potable
water supplies are carefully controlled, methaemoglobineamia is rare; indeed,
the last recorded case occurred in the 1950s and was associated with the use of a
shallow private well.

potable water
The UK, in common with many other countries, has adopted the World Health
Organisations Guideline Value for nitrate in drinking water, of 50 mg/l. Tests of tap
water by the Drinking Water Inspectorate over a period of time have shown that over 99%
of all samples were below this limit.
Nonetheless, the Environment Agency has defined a number of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones
(NVZ) in England and Wales. These are areas where water sources have concentrations
of nitrates above 50 mg/l, or where concentrations are at risk of breaching this limit,
caused by local contamination from excessive use of fertilisers, pollution from animal
waste or runoff from rubbish dumps.
In the USA, with a higher percentage of ground water sources and wider use of intensive
farming practices, the permissible limit or maximum containment level is set far lower,
at 10 mg/l (10 ppm). This has been determined to be as close to the countrys health
goals as possible, considering cost, benefits and the ability of public water systems to
detect and remove contaminants using suitable treatment technologies.
Although many countries are fortunate in having established and rigorously controlled
drinking water infrastructure, where levels of contaminants are minimised to safe
levels, this is not always the case in developing nations, or where geographic conditions
prevent the installation of permanent water treatment works capable of supplying a local
population or industry.

New NVZs
NVZs designated in 2002

There are a variety of technologies

capable of removing nitrates, each of
which have advantages in different
applications, and depend on correct
specification, installation and
operation to be fully effective.

In these instances, water drawn from ground sources or

aquifers via boreholes will need treatment to remove a
wide variety of potentially harmful pollutants, including
nitrate. Solutions include the use of reverse osmosis,
nitrate selective ion-exchange resin or biological
denitirification. Reverse osmosis and ion-exchange plant
can be skid mounted and so can easily be moved to site,
either to upgrade existing systems or as a temporary
measure during peaks of high nitrate levels.

Typically with these systems it is unnecessary to treat

100% of the flow but instead blend purified water with the
source water to achieve an overall level of nitrate below
that required by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The effluent produced from the regeneration process

will be rich in nitrate and chloride could exceed consent
levels, especially if the site in question is situated in a
nitrate sensitive zone.

One consideration to bear in mind is that with any ionexchange system the capacity of the resin is fixed and will
require regeneration; nitrate removal plants use a weak
saline solution for this purpose.

Additional treatment may be required or the waste

tankered away if consent levels dictate.

water for food,

drinks and
pharmaceuticals

Although water is used throughout industry, the sectors

most likely to be affected by excessive levels of nitrates
in raw or source water are pharmaceutical and food
and beverage.
In each case, manufacturers drawing their source water
from a mains supply will normally know the composition
of the water in advance; in the UK, for example, nitrate
levels will be below 50 mg/l.
Many industrial processes also depend on source
water being stripped of all its active constituents,
using a variety of purification methods, so nitrate
removal may already be taking place by means of
existing process systems.
These typically include reverse osmosis (RO),
which is capable of rejecting up to 98% of inorganic
ions, which includes the nitrate ion, together with
almost all colloids, micro-organisms, endotoxins
and macromolecules.
RO systems are often integrated with electrodeionisation (EDi) or continuous electro-deionisation
(CEDi) systems. This configuration is essential in the
pharmaceutical sector where the European and British
Pharmacopeia specifies that the concentration of
nitrates cannot exceed 2 ppm in purified water and water
for injection (WFI) grade.

An alternative method of removal for small volumes

of water is to use distillation, where the source water
is boiled, the steam is condensed and the resulting
nitrate-free liquid used. This process is, however, time
consuming and energy intensive.
It should be noted that simply boiling water, using
carbon adsorption filters, mechanical filters and
standard water softeners will not remove nitrates.
The main challenge for food and drinks manufacturers
in particular, such as craft breweries and specialised
food producers, is where raw water is being drawn from
an untreated aquifer or local surface source. Here,
nitrate levels may approach or from time to time exceed
50 mg/l, making the incorporation of either reverse
osmosis or nitrate selective resins - either individually
or in combination - in the pre-treatment a necessity.

Water drawn from ground sources

or aquifers via boreholes will need
treatment to remove a wide variety
of potentially harmful pollutants,
including nitrate.

water for
healthcare

The healthcare sector uses large volumes of water for applications that include
boiler feed, disinfection, sterile services, and haemodialysis. Mains water is
generally the preferred source, in which case nitrate concentrations are not
normally of concern, with the exception of haemodialysis.
In this instance, nitrate concentration in water must not exceed 2 mg/l far below
the permissible UK and USA limits for drinking water. Higher concentrations can
result in nitrates passing through the dialysis membrane into the blood, from
where they are carried into the small bowel. Here, they are converted to nitrites,
which are absorbed back in to the blood, causing oxidation of the red blood cells
and leading to methaemoglobineamia.
The solutions available include high performance reverse osmosis systems,
matched to a pre-treatment package designed to meet the characteristics of
the feed-water. Typically, this equipment includes a base-exchange softener to
remove hardness that would otherwise scale the membranes. Further protection
is provided by passing the water through activated carbon filters, to remove free
chlorine, chloramines and organic contaminants, with any remaining particulates
being removed by a fine filter before the pre-treated water enters the RO system.
With groundwater levels of nitrate increasing in some areas, single pass, reverse
osmosis alone cannot always be guaranteed to reduce the levels to meet renal
dialysis guidelines; therefore, additional nitrate removal using ion-exchange is
becoming more common.

It is important to control levels

of nitrates in sectors that include
food and drinks production,
pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

In a water system designed to produce purified water for renal dialysis the nitrate
removal unit would be installed upstream of the reverse osmosis system.

learn more
As weve indicated above the presence of nitrates in
potable water does not always represent a problem
for human health. Indeed, its worth remembering
that nitrates and nitrites occur naturally in some foods
and have also been used as preservatives by the food
manufacturing sector for many years.
It is, however, important to control levels of nitrates
in sectors that include food and drinks production,
pharmaceuticals and healthcare. There are a variety of
technologies capable of removing nitrates, each of which
have advantages in different applications, and depend
on correct specification, installation and operation to
be fully effective. In turn, this relies on the support of
an experienced supplier, capable of understanding the
subtleties of each application and developing the best
technical and commercial solution.
Finally, bear in mind that detecting nitrates and nitrites
in in water is not straightforward as they are odourless
and colourless. The normal procedure is to test samples
using ion-chromatography, or spectroscopy, and may
therefore require the services of a specialised laboratory.
If you would like to learn more about detecting,
controlling and removing nitrates and nitrites, or other
active elements from your source water, please contact
our customer service team.

Errors and Omissions excluded. SUEZ environnement reserves the right to change the specification in accordance with our program of continual improvement.

Contact
SUEZ environnement Water Purification Systems UK
Purite Ltd, Bandet Way, Thame, Oxon OX9 3SJ
Tel: +44 (0)1844 217141 | Fax: +44 (0)1844 218098
Email: mail@purite.com | Web: www.purite.com