DESALRO 2.0 - the worldwide lowest energy consumption seawater RO desalination plant -, is on its way to become a reality

Its objective is to test both already existing equipment and ITC designs in order to reduce the Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) in large-scale SWRO desalination below 2 kWh/m³.

With a production capacity of 2,500 m³/d, DESALRO 2.0 desalination plant will be placed on the DESAL+ LIVING LAB platform in order to validate the efficiency of field equipment and contrast them with the simulations carried out. After that, the project aims to extrapolate the technical solution to a higher production scale, reaching 5,000 m³ /d.

Following pre-design criteria of the Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC), last May was announced the launch of the call for tenders for the construction of the DESALRO 2.0 desalination plant, based on a series of technical requirements on the hydraulic, electrical and automatization installations related to the pre-treatment, seawater displacement (flushing), clean-in-place (CIP), main reverse osmosis process and post-treatment equipment to achieve industrial water quality (Langelier Index ± 0.5 and Boron < 1 mg/l).

The main requirement of the call is that the design presented had to fulfil with a SEC lower than 2 kWh/m³. To this end, the procurement included, as key elements, positive displacement pumps and high-efficiency energy recovery devices driven by frequency inverters and reverse osmosis membrane hybridation (high rejection of Boron and high energy efficiency models).

The deadline for submitting tenders ended in mid-June, with a total of 3 candidate companies presented, so it is expected that during the summer will be known the company awarded the tender.

DESALRO 2.0 initiative– Experimental platform for seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination with high energy efficiency (November 2021 – May 2023) – is a project requested by the ITC to the Canary Islands Government through the ACIISI – Ministry of Economy, Knowledge and Employment. It is financed as part of the EU response to the COVID-19 pandemic by the Recovery Assistance Fund for Europe’s Cohesion and Territories (REACT-EU SO20.1.4 Support for investments contributing to an economy green), within the framework of the European Recovery Instrument “Next Generation” (Exp. Sd-2111).