Inspenet, July 13, 2023.
One of the most innovative initiatives in the field of water treatment and supply is the floating desalination plant developed by the Canadian company Oneka Technologies. This year, they have installed a pilot plant on the coast of Algarrobo, on the central coast of Chile, with the help of the Canada-Chile agreement on Environmental Cooperation and a financial contribution of almost 5 million dollars .
Because large-scale desalination plants have not always been efficient in terms of energy consumption generated by fossil fuels and do not guarantee a reduction in the environmental impact associated with brine discharge or the occupation of coastal areas, the construction of small desalination plants that use new technologies and take advantage of renewable energy in the water production process has been an alternative to mitigate the problem.
How does this floating desalination plant work?
The basic device of this innovative technology is a floating platform that is anchored to the seabed and has a pipe to transport fresh water to the coast. The initial design, known as the Iceberg class, uses wave energy to generate pressure and power a reverse osmosis desalination system , which is widely used and seen as a sustainable option.
As the water passes through special membranes, the salt is removed, producing up to 50m3 of water per day .
Likewise, the system has been developed with a modular and scalable approach. On the one hand, multiple units can be installed side by side and on the other, there are units of different sizes. In addition to the current basic model, two smaller versions are available, the smallest being an easy-to-install platform that allows immediate generation of fresh water in the event of humanitarian catastrophes in coastal areas.
The design of the pilot plant guarantees its operation when the waves reach a minimum height of one meter and the seabed is between thirteen and thirty meters deep to ensure optimal performance of the system. In terms of dimensions, the Iceberg class units have a length of eight meters, a width of five meters and a weight of eleven thousand kilograms.
The new floating desalination plants have been conceived from the beginning as a technology based on the circular economy. In addition to taking advantage of wave energy to extract water and using solar energy to control the sensors on board, a large part of its structure is made of recycled plastic. In the case of the basic model, up to 170,000 plastic bottles are recycled, according to the promoters of the project.
In addition, project advocates point out that each unit has a useful life of between fifteen and twenty years, requiring only three to seven visits per year for maintenance. Although current freshwater production is limited, work is underway to develop industrial-scale floating desalination plants. These first units are expected to enter the testing phase throughout 2023.
Source and photo: https://www.lavanguardia.com/natural/20230710/9099169/asi-prototipo-desalinizadora-flotante-produce-agua-aprovechando-fuerza-olas.amp.html
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