Tag: Desalination

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Desalination is increasing fast in Spain, especially on the Mediterranean coast. The brine generated in the process is discharged into the sea, producing a negative impact on the endemic and stenohaline marine ecosystems, for instance, the Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa meadows. MEDVSA is an R&D project, subsidized by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment…

San Francisco study proves impaired source still feasible

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The Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD), near San Francisco, USA, has been exploring seawater desalination to provide a drought-proof supplement to its over-extended water supply. Desalination of San Francisco Bay water presents challenges for pretreatment due to the frequent changes in water quality from the ebb and flow of the tides and winds, seasonal changes…

Depth Exposed Membrane for Water Extraction (DEMWAX™)

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DXV Water Technologies has designed a novel membrane system that uses natural pressure, a very low recovery rate and gravity flow of feedwater past the membrane surface, resulting in an elegant, efficient system. Since the invention of the reverse-osmosis (RO) membrane researchers have tried to harness natural water-pressure, but past attempts mimic onshore processes with…

Boron nitride nanotube membranes outstrip carbon copies

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One approach to improve the desalination process would be to design a more efficient membrane. Embedding nanotubes in the membrane is one area of research. Investigation of water transport through nanotubes in the past has primarily focused on carbon nanotubes, where the water has been found to flow extraordinarily fast in addition to rejecting salt…

Gold Coast’s twin intake/outfall tunnels save space and environment

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A key part of the anti-drought strategy in Queensland, Australia, has been the construction of a 125,000 m&sup3/d seawater reverse-osmosis desalination plant, located at Tugun on the Gold Coast, due to start producing water in November 2008. This plant will supply up to 20% of the average demand for the Brisbane/Gold Coast Region. The Gold…

Possibilities for energy optimisation in design and operation of SWRO plants

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Seawater desalination with reverse osmosis (SWRO) has taken a noteworthy upturn during recent years. One of the reasons for the success of the membrane process is its lower energy consumption in comparison with thermal desalination processes. The high-pressure RO desalination stage is undoubtedly the dominating energy consumer of an SWRO plant. Energy consumption of SWRO,…

Trekkopje SWRO opened at Namibian uranium mine

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The 55,000 m /d Trekkopje seawater desalination plant in Nambia was opened on 16 April 2010 in the presence of Namibia’s minister of agriculture, water and forestry, John Mutorwa, and former president, Same Nujom. Designed and constructed by Keyplan, a South African specialist water treatment subsidiary of the Aveng Group, the Trekkopje seawater reverse-osmosis plant,…

Solar membrane distillation ideal for remote areas

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Fraunhofer ISE develops solar thermally driven compact desalination systems based on membrane distillation for a capacity range between 100 and 500 L/d and larger system capacities up to 10 m&sup3/d. A modular design of systems is important in order to resize them to a wide range of user profiles. Membrane distillation (MD) is a separation…

Advantages of Polyethersulfone (PESU) membranes for pretreatment for SWRO applications

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Membrane pretreatment for large-scale seawater desalination has grown rapidly in the last few years. Existing examples seem to show that the additional cost can be more than recouped in reduced chemical costs alone, but there are also environmental advantages. This article is the first of two discussing the advantages of polyethersulfone (PESU) membranes for filtration…

KMS supplies first large-diameter SWRO system

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