Membrane-based freshwater generators are to be supplied to the UK’s Royal Navy by Pall Corporation after successful sea trials.
The Pall Integrated Membrane System (IMS) has been chosen for the Royal Navy’s Type 45 Destroyer, designed and built by BAE Systems and the most advanced warships ever produced in the UK.
This follows news a week ago that the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research has contracted Pall Corporation for a multi-phase project to develop an advanced shipboard desalination system specifically for operations in coastal waters.
Sea trials of the IMS system have demonstrated that it works efficiently with the high contamination levels found in some coastal waters. The fully automatic, cleanable IMS helps reduce maintenance tasks and has a lower cost of ownership compared to conventional water treatment systems.
Tom Quaye, head of BAE’s Type 45 Class Output Management Team said, “It is essential that these ships can produce fresh water wherever they are operating; we were very pleased with the performance of Pall’s IMS for delivering fresh water supplies during the ship’s deployment.”
The IMS freshwater generator integrates hollow fiber microfiltration and reverse osmosis modules. It removes suspended solids, eg, bacteria and viruses, dissolved components (such as salts) and other contaminants from seawater.
The system significantly reduces the requirement to store spare filter cartridges and can be used to boost water production on a permanent or temporary basis.