Perth Seawater Desalination Plant
The Kwinana Desalination Plant, located south of Perth, Western Australia, turns seawater from Cockburn Sound into nearly 140,000 m3 of drinking water per day, supplying the Perth metropolitan area.[1]
The reverse-osmosis plant was the first of its kind in Australia and covers several acres in an industrial park near the suburb of Kwinana.[citation needed] Electricity for the plant is generated by the 80 MW Emu Downs Wind Farm located in the state's Midwest region near Cervantes. The wind farm contributes 270 GWh/year into the general power grid, offsetting the 180 GWh/year requirement from the desalination plant.[2]
The desalination 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 pressure exchanger energy recovery devices supplied by Energy Recovery Inc.. The devices are isobaric chamber types which recover energy in the brine stream and delivers it to water going to the membrane feed at a net transfer efficiency at up to 98%.
As a condition of its continued operation the Perth plant has a comprehensive environmental monitoring program, measuring the seawater intake and brine outfall. [3]
Excess water from the plant is stored in the hills dams.
Shutdown
In early 2008, the plant was shutdown on two occasions due to reduced dissolved oxygen levels in Cockburn Sound.[4]
References
External links
- The sustainability of desalination plants in Australia: is renewable energy the answer?
- PX®Desalination Technology Running Successfully in Largest SWRO Plant in Southern Hemisphere
- More on the Kwinana Desalination Plant
 | This water supply–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |