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Perth Seawater Desalination Plant

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The Kwinana Desalination Plant, located just south of Perth, Western Australia, turns water from the Indian Ocean into nearly 140,000 m3 of drinking water per day.[1] The reverse-osmosis plant is the first of its kind in Australia and covers a few acres in an industrial park next to the ocean. The Emu Downs Wind Farm, with 48 wind turbines north of Perth, provides enough renewable energy to power the plant.[2] As part of Water Corporation and WA’s very progressive stand of not producing additional greenhouse gases, electricity for the plant will be generated by a novel 80 MW wind farm located in WA’s Midwest region. The wind farm, already commissioned, is expected to contribute 270 GWh/year into the general electrical grid, offsetting the Perth SWRO Plant estimated electrical requirement of 180 GWh/year. Once in operation the Perth SWRO plant will have the distinction of being the worlds largest “green-powered” desalination plant.

The plant, with 12 SWRO trains with a capacity of 160,000 m3/day and six BWRO trains delivering a final product of 144,000 m3/day, will have one of the world’s lowest specific energy consumptions, due in part to the use of Energy Recovery Inc.’s (ERI®'s) PX Pressure Exchanger® (PX®) energy recovery devices (ERDs). The ERI PX devices are isobaric chamber type of ERD which recovers energy in the brine stream and delivers it to water going to the membrane feed at a net transfer efficiency at up to 98%, which makes it the world’s most efficient ERD commercially available. The Perth plant will also have one of the most comprehensive environmental monitoring programs in the world, continuously monitoring the seawater intake and brine outfall as a condition of its continued operation.[3]

The combination of unheralded environmental protection and monitoring, low specific energy consumption, and the use of a renewable energy make the PSDP a world model for providing water in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner, almost magically converting wind to fresh water.[4][5]

See also


References

  1. ^ Perth Seawater Desalination Plant, Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO), Kwinana, Australia
  2. ^ Australia Turns to Desalination Amid Water Shortage
  3. ^ Australia's First Big Plant Thinks Green
  4. ^ Modern Alchemy: Wind to Water
  5. ^ Perth SWRO Desalination Plant Perth, Australia
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