Water treatment is one of the most important requirements for laboratories, pharmaceutical units, research facilities, and industrial plants where high-purity water is needed for different applications. In many parts of Noida and surrounding industrial areas, groundwater contains very high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), hardness, iron, and salts, which makes the water unsuitable for direct use in boilers, cooling towers, laboratory processes, and analytical instruments.
To solve this problem, a 3000 LPH Multi-Stage Water Treatment Plant (WTP) was designed and installed at a research and life sciences facility located in Sector-19, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The main challenge of this project was treating borewell groundwater having a very high TDS of 5500 mg/L and converting it into three different grades of treated water, including soft water, RO water, and ultra-pure zero-TDS water.
This article explains the complete system design, raw water condition, treatment stages, engineering challenges, plant layout, and performance results of the installed water treatment plant.
Project Overview – 3000 LPH WTP Installation in Noida
The installed system was designed to produce multiple qualities of water from a single borewell source using a multi-stage treatment process. The plant includes filtration, softening, reverse osmosis, demineralisation, and mixed bed polishing to achieve very high purity water.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Sector-59, Noida, Uttar Pradesh |
| Plant Capacity | 3000 Litres Per Hour |
| Raw Water Source | Borewell Groundwater |
| Raw Water TDS | 5500 mg/L |
| Final Water TDS | 0 mg/L |
| Treatment Stages | 6 Stage System |
| Water Grades Produced | Soft Water / RO Water / Ultra Pure Water |
The plant was specially engineered to handle extremely high mineral content and produce water suitable for laboratory and industrial use.
Importance of Water Treatment for High TDS Groundwater
Groundwater in many industrial regions of Uttar Pradesh contains high levels of dissolved salts, calcium, magnesium, chlorides, and sulphates. This causes several problems such as:
- Scaling in pipelines and boilers
- Damage to RO membranes
- Poor laboratory results
- Corrosion in equipment
- Reduced life of machines
Because of this, a normal filtration system cannot treat such water. A multi-stage water treatment plant is required to gradually remove impurities and achieve the required water quality.
Water Quality Requirement for the Facility
The facility required three different grades of water for different uses. All these water types had to be produced from the same raw water source.
| Water Grade | Required Quality | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Soft Water | Hardness less than 5 ppm | Cooling tower, boiler, utilities |
| RO Water | Around 100 mg/L TDS | Process and lab use |
| Ultra Pure Water | 0 mg/L TDS | Instruments, R&D, testing |
Producing all these qualities from groundwater with 5500 mg/L TDS required a carefully designed treatment system.
Raw Water Analysis – Borewell Water Condition in Noida
Before designing the plant, a detailed water test was conducted to understand the level of contamination.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| TDS | 5500 mg/L |
| Hardness | 1800 mg/L |
| pH | 7.2 – 7.6 |
| Turbidity | 5 – 15 NTU |
| Suspended Solids | 15 – 30 mg/L |
| Iron | 0.5 – 1.2 mg/L |
| Chlorides | 900 mg/L |
| Sulphates | 600 mg/L |
| Conductivity | 8500 µS/cm |
This water quality is very high compared to acceptable limits and can cause serious problems if used without treatment.
Design Objectives of the Water Treatment System
The plant was designed with the following treatment targets:
- Remove turbidity and suspended particles
- Remove chlorine, smell, and organics
- Remove hardness completely
- Reduce TDS from 5500 to 100 mg/L
- Produce low TDS water using DM plant
- Produce zero TDS ultra-pure water
To achieve these targets, a 6-stage treatment process was selected.
Complete Treatment Process Flow
The installed system includes the following stages:
- Activated Carbon Filter
- Pressure Sand Filter
- Water Softener
- Reverse Osmosis Plant
- Demineralisation Plant
- Mixed Bed Unit
Each stage removes specific impurities and protects the next stage.
Stage 1 – Activated Carbon Filter
The activated carbon filter removes chlorine, odor, organic matter, and color from the water. These impurities can damage membranes and resins, so this step is very important.
Features:
- Granular activated carbon media
- FRP / MS pressure vessel
- Backwash system
- High removal efficiency
After this stage, water becomes clear and odor-free.
Stage 2 – Pressure Sand Filter
The pressure sand filter removes turbidity, sand, dust, and suspended solids from the water.
Features:
- Multi-grade sand media
- Depth filtration
- Low maintenance
- Automatic backwash
After this stage, turbidity becomes less than 1 NTU, which is safe for the next stage.
Stage 3 – Water Softener
The softener removes calcium and magnesium ions that cause hardness.
Hardness was very high, so a high-capacity resin softener was used.
Working principle:
- Ion exchange process
- Resin exchanges hardness with sodium
- Regeneration using salt
Result:
- Hardness less than 5 ppm
- First product water – Soft Water
Soft water is used for:
- Cooling towers
- Boilers
- HVAC
- Utilities
Stage 4 – Reverse Osmosis Plant
Reverse osmosis removes dissolved salts and reduces TDS.
Because raw water TDS was very high, special high-pressure membranes were used.
Features:
- High pressure pump
- Spiral wound membranes
- Antiscalant dosing
- Automatic flushing
Result:
- Inlet TDS 5300 mg/L
- Outlet TDS about 100 mg/L
Second product water – RO Water
Used for process and laboratory applications.
Stage 5 – Demineralisation Plant
The DM plant removes remaining ions using ion exchange.
It includes:
- Cation unit
- Anion unit
Cation removes positive ions
Anion removes negative ions
Result:
- TDS reduced to 8–10 mg/L
- Very pure water
This stage prepares water for final polishing.
Stage 6 – Mixed Bed Polishing Unit
The mixed bed unit produces ultra-pure water.
It contains mixed cation and anion resin.
Result:
- TDS = 0 mg/L
- Very low conductivity
- High purity water
Third product water – Ultra Pure Water
Used for:
- Laboratory instruments
- HPLC
- R&D
- Testing
Stage Wise TDS Reduction
| Stage | Unit | TDS |
|---|---|---|
| Raw | Borewell | 5500 |
| After ACF | Filtered | 5500 |
| After PSF | Filtered | 5500 |
| After Softener | Soft | 5350 |
| After RO | RO Water | 100 |
| After DM | Low TDS | 8 |
| After MB | Ultra Pure | 0 |
This shows gradual improvement in water quality.
Engineering Challenges
High TDS
5500 mg/L is very high.
Solution:
- High pressure RO
- Antiscalant dosing
- Controlled recovery
High Hardness
Hardness above 1800 mg/L.
Solution:
- High capacity softener
- Frequent regeneration
Multiple Water Types
Three outputs required.
Solution:
- Flow control
- Separate lines
Limited Space
Plant room small.
Solution:
- Compact skid
Continuous Operation
24 hour supply required.
Solution:
- Automation
- Monitoring
Instrumentation Used
- TDS meter
- Conductivity meter
- Pressure gauge
- Flow meter
- PLC panel
- Control valves
This ensures safe operation.
Plant Installation Layout
Installed equipment:
- Carbon filter
- Sand filter
- Softener
- RO skid
- DM columns
- Mixed bed
- Chemical dosing
- Control panel
All piping done with corrosion resistant material.
Performance Results After Commissioning
| Parameter | Result |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 3050 LPH |
| Soft Water Hardness | < 2 ppm |
| RO TDS | 90 mg/L |
| DM TDS | 7 mg/L |
| MB TDS | 0 mg/L |
| Resistivity | > 12 MΩ |
| Turbidity | < 0.5 NTU |
| Uptime | 98% |
All results were successful.
Applications of This Type of WTP
- Pharmaceutical plants
- Laboratories
- Hospitals
- Chemical industries
- Food industries
- Electronics
- Research centers
Anywhere pure water is needed.
Why Multi-Stage WTP is Required for High TDS Water
Single filter cannot remove all impurities.
Multi stage gives:
- Better quality
- Long life
- Stable output
- Low maintenance
- Safe operation
Conclusion
The 3000 LPH water treatment plant installed in Sector-19 Noida successfully converts borewell water with 5500 mg/L TDS into soft water, RO water, and ultra-pure zero TDS water using a six-stage treatment process. The system ensures reliable performance for laboratory and industrial applications where high purity water is essential.
This project proves that even very high TDS groundwater can be treated effectively using proper design, correct equipment, and multi-stage technology.
Contact our technical team today and get the best water & wastewater treatment solution for your project.
Call: +91-9560654995 / 7827654995
Email: sales@vaqua.in
