The consumption of saline groundwater has contributed to a growing incidence of renal diseases, particularly in coastal communities of India. Although reverse osmosis (RO) is routinely used to remove salt from groundwater, conventional RO systems (i.e. centralized systems using spiral wound RO elements) have limited utility in these communities due to high capital and maintenances costs, and lack of infrastructure to distribute the water. Consequently, there is a need to develop an appropriate solution for groundwater treatment based on small-scale, mobile and community-led systems.

In this work, we designed a mobile desalination system to provide a simple platform for water treatment and delivery of goods to rural communities. The system employs tubular RO membranes packed in a single, low-profile vessel which fits below the cargo space. The low-profile enables minimal intrusion on the space available for the transportation of goods. Pressure is delivered by a belt driven clutch pump, powered by the engine. Water is treated locally by connecting the intake to the village well while the vehicle idles.

A combined numerical and experimental approach was used to optimise the module/system design, resulting in ∼20% permeate flux enhancement. Experimental results revealed that the system can produce 16 L per square meter of membrane area per hour (LMH) at a salinity level of 80 ppm from a ∼2000 ppm groundwater when it is feed at 1 m³/h at 8 bars. This indicates that a vehicle equipped with 12 m² of tubular RO membranes can deliver 1 m³ of drinkable water by using ∼0.9 L of diesel. Assuming eight such systems could be implemented in a community to fulfil the water demands for a village with 2000 residents, a social business study revealed that a payback time of 2.5 years is achievable, even if the sale price of the water is relatively low, USD 0.18 (Rs 12, which is half of the lowest market price) per 20 L, including providing a goods transportation service at price of USD 5.25 (Rs 350) per 100 km.

盐碱地下水的消耗已导致肾脏疾病的发病率上升，特别是在印度沿海社区。尽管通常使用反渗透（RO）去除地下水中的盐分，但由于成本和维护成本高以及缺乏用于分配水的基础设施，常规RO系统（即使用螺旋缠绕RO元件的集中式系统）在这些社区中的实用性有限。因此，有必要开发一种基于小型，移动式和社区主导型系统的地下水处理合适解决方案。

在这项工作中，我们设计了一个移动淡化系统，以提供一个简单的平台来进行水处理和向农村社区运送货物。该系统采用管状RO膜包装在单个低矮的容器中，该容器可安装在货舱下方。低矮的外形使对货物运输可用空间的干扰降到最低。压力由皮带驱动的离合器泵输送，由发动机提供动力。在车辆空转时，通过将取水口连接到村庄的井来对水进行局部处理。

数值和实验相结合的方法被用来优化模块/系统设计，使渗透通量提高约20％。实验结果表明，当以8 bar的压力以1 m ³ / h进水时，该系统每小时可从约2000 ppm的地下水中生产出盐度为80 ppm的每平方米膜面积（LMH）16L 。这表明配备12 m ²的管状RO膜的车辆可以输送1 m ³通过使用约0.9升柴油来饮用饮用水。假设在一个社区中可以实现八个这样的系统，以满足一个有2000名居民的村庄的用水需求，一项社会商业研究表明，即使水的销售价格相对较低，投资回收期也可以达到2.5年（美元）每20升0.18卢比（12卢比，是最低市场价格的一半），包括按每100公里5.25美元（350卢比）的价格提供货物运输服务。