Need for innovation in the desalination sector
Water is essential to human life and to every world economy, and yet the world is facing ever increasing water challenges. To prevent water pollution while development economy is the common challenge facing all countries in the world. The overlap of issues in China’s water resource, water environment, water ecology, and water disaster has become potential threat on the future development and safety of China. Great measures have been taken in the environment production industries since this year, pushing the industry in China to steer from terminal treatment to green production throughout the full life cycle. The pressure from social opinions and environmental monitoring will force the industrial need to grow rapidly. Since the launch of ‘Water Ten Points’ the water treatment market in China is going to go through a substantial change, and the traditional extensive treating methods will be forced to upgrade into high-level, precise and advanced treating technology, bringing great opportunities for Evoqua, who has always been focusing on cutting-edge technologies and leading competitiveness in the past hundred years.
The desalination technology was listed as one of the MIT top ten breakthrough technologies of 2015 while Evoqua's Nexed™ system as one of the key technologies. Nexed™ module technology provides innovative features such as an advanced low-energy membrane, intelligent flow distribution, and tunable dissolved solids removal capability allowing new options for reduced energy use, costs, and facility footprint. Nexed™ modules provide cost-effective treatment options such as consistent water quality with variable feed water parameters or partial removal of contaminants without the need for blending. Because output quality can be manipulated by input power adjustments, this tunable feature also allows for options to minimize footprint and provide for optimized energy consumption. The base technology has proven unique features, including: low pressure, quiet operation, and tunable performance; and lays the groundwork for even more benefits in the future. Nexed™ modules can be applied to a wide range of uses, including sea and brackish water, variable salinity applications, and water re-use options.
In December 2010, Evoqua demonstrated that its process could reach 1.65 kwh/m3 or nearly half the energy required with reverse osmosis at 3 kwh/m3. Successful technology development has continued, including the creation of a 50 m3/day demonstration system. In December of 2015, Evoqua announced Nexed™ modules are already the foundation of a desalination demonstration facility nearing completion in Tuas Singapore capable of producing 500,000 gallons of desalinated water a day. Evoqua is working with PUB, Singapore's national water agency, to build the new desalination facility with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), through the TechPioneer piloting programme. The facility is nearing completion and staged increases in flow rate will be achieved through 2017 after the first 90 m3/day system is installed in early-2016.
Nexed™ electrochemical desalination technology introduced by Evoqua will be one huge step in the history of seawater desalination. Evoqua honored to be a part of the Aquatech China, demonstrating hope to facilitate the progress of China’s water treatment industry with its advanced technological capability and strong service expertise.
How Evoqua's Nexed™ modules work
Electrodialysis is a membrane process in which ions are transported through selective ion permeable membranes from one solution to another under the influence of an electrical potential gradient. Alternating ion selective membranes (anionic and cationic) can be configured to create separated streams of purified and concentrated water.
For info on Evoqua's Nexed™ electrochemical desalination modules, visit www.nexedwater.com.
About Evoqua
Evoqua Water Technologies is the global leader in helping municipalities and industrial customers protect and improve the world's most fundamental natural resource: water. Evoqua has a more than 100-year heritage of innovation and industry firsts, market-leading expertise, and unmatched customer service, where it continues to transform water and wastewater. Its cost-effective and reliable treatment systems and services ensure uninterrupted quantity and quality of water, enable regulatory and environmental compliance, increase efficiency through water reuse, and prepare customers for next-generation demands.
Evoqua's unparalleled portfolio of proven brands, advanced technologies, mobile and emergency water supply solutions and service helps cities across the world provide and discharge clean water, and enable leisure and commercial industry to maximize productivity and profitability. For more information, visit www.evoqua.com.
