Doosan SWRO pilot plant starts up

The pilot plant installed at Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction’s Changwon Plant as part of a project to develop core technology for the desalination of seawater went into operation on 10 October 2008.

The pilot plant, which has a 200 m³/d capacity, will be used to develop a pre/post treatment system process, which is a core technology in reverse-osmosis (RO) plants.

The Korea Institute of Science & Technology (KIST) and the Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology (RIST) are leading the development of these processes under a plan to develop a system of pre/post treatment tailored to seawater quality by August 2012. This is part of a sub-project by Kookmin University for “the development of core technology for seawater desalination plants” (see D&WR August/September 2008) and is one of three major research and development projects involving the desalination of seawater.

Yoon Sik Park, the head of Doosan Desalination Plant BG, said, “Doosan is No 1 in MSF (multi-stage flash) desalination and has entered the RO market successfully by winning a series of RO projects in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This plant will be a stepping stone to securing competitiveness in seawater desalination technology.”