Water Desalination ReporT

Tom Pankratz, Editor, P.O. Box 75064, Houston, Texas 77234-5064 USATelephone: +1-281-857-6571, www.desalination.com/wdr, email: tp@globalwaterintel.com

© 2015 Media Analytics. Published in cooperation with Global Water Intelligence.

Volume 51, Number 23

The international weekly for desalination and advanced water treatment since 196515 June 2015

CaliforniaEIR to proceed on SWRO/Data center projectPrior to preparing a joint EIR/EIS for DeepWater Desal’s proposed seawater desalination project at Moss Landing, the California State Lands Commission has called a public scoping meeting to solicit comments on environmental issues and concerns for tomorrow afternoon, 16 June. The Commission, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which are the CEQA and NEPA lead agencies, respectively, will receive written comments until 3 July.

DeepWater will develop and construct the project, which includes a 22.3 MGD (84,405 m3/d) SWRO plant co-located with a 150 MW seawater-cooled computer data center complex, electrical substation and water storage facility at Moss Landing in Monterey County. Because a county ordinance prohibits private ownership of a desal facility, the ownership will be transferred to a local government joint powers authority (JPA) after startup, and DeepWater will operate the desal plant on a long-term basis. It will also retain ownership of the data center and the remainder of the project infrastructure, including the seawater intake and outfall.

According to DeepWater program manager Scott Jackson, the company already has obtained memorandums of interest (MOIs) with several local municipal offtakers.

“The project is positioned as a regional solution in an area that is reliant on rapidly dwindling groundwater reserves. Even if California’s drought were to break tomorrow, it would have little impact on the area. We have no reservoirs or surface water alternatives and seawater intrusion has greatly

impacted our remaining groundwater,” he said, stressing that the project should not be considered to be a competitor to CalAm’s Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project.

Both the company and project take their names from the seawater intake design that will be employed. It will consist of an array of passive wedgewire screens with 1mm-2mm slot openings located approximately 800 feet (730m) offshore in a submarine canyon at a depth of 100 feet (30m). The screens will be mounted on two parallel 42-inch pipes on the seafloor, and connected to the plant via horizontal directional drilling to minimize seabed disturbance. RO plant concentrate will be discharged through similar, horizontal directionally drilled lines that extend 890 yards (575m) offshore and are equipped with duckbill diffusers at 3-foot (1m) intervals.

“We have conducted 12 months of oceanographic studies at the site, which have demonstrated that this deep-water arrangement reduces the entrainment of marine organisms and larvae to a level where it is a less-than-significant impact on marine life. In addition, we expect some operational synergies and cost advantages in using the colder water to cool the data center that could result in a water cost of $1,200/AF [$0.97/m3; $3.68/kgal],” Jackson told WDR.

The project development is partially funded by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, and WDR has learned that DeepWater has also launched a Series A-1 financing round to raise up to $3 million for additional design and development work. Jackson said that based on the four years of environmental impact and related scientific studies that have already been completed at a cost of $4.5 million—including a hydrogeologic study, which has determined subsurface intakes to be infeasible—it is possible for the entire facility to be in operation by the end of 2017.

TechnologyBigger not always better (or necessary)Many desalters regularly involved with large municipal or industrial desalination systems don’t realize how many thousands of smaller desal systems are installed in homes, pleasure boats and small commercial facilities, or used in military and emergency operations each year.

PowerFacility

DataCenters

CarbonCaptureFacility

HeatExchangeComplex

JPA-ownedDesal Plant25,000 AFY

55,000 AFYCool Seawater

25,000 AFY Outfall Pipeline

Brine

Brine

CO2 Emissions

Salinas10,000-15,000 AFY

Santa Cruz3,000-6,000 AFY

Castroville1,000 AFYMonterey

6,000-9,000 AFY

DeepWater Public-Private Ownership Structure – Infrastructure within dotted line to be owned by JPA, all other owned/operated by DeepWater

Page 2WATER DESALINATION REPORT – 15 June 2015

This week, WDR looks at some of these small and ultra-small units commonly referred to as “watermakers” or “desalinators”. These standardized RO and distillation units are usually intended for plug-and-play operation. Some are designed specifically for seawater or brackish water, while others will treat either. Many may be purchased online or through local distributors, often with service contracts.

Most of the units—except for the military versions—come with basic pretreatment systems and operate at a modest 30 percent recovery, or less. Most of the companies mentioned here offer a broad range of models and sizes. Although the proliferation of low-cost RO systems has put most small-scale distiller suppliers out of business, there are still some who cater to those who prefer the greater purity available from steam distillation followed by charcoal filtration.

All of the capacities of the units described are provided in liters per hour (L/h). To convert to gallons per hour, simply divide by 3.785. To convert kilograms (kg) to pounds, multiply by 2.2.

California-based Parker Hannifin’s Village Marine and Sea Recovery product lines provide a wide range of SWRO watermaker options, and the company has furnished more than 45,000 units, primarily in the leisure marine and defense markets. Its Stowaway Series has a capacity of 60-125 L/h weighing 50-61 kg, and may be installed above or below

Ampac, another California-based company, has been producing BWRO and SWRO units for 25 years, including portable watermakers for emergency seawater service.

a vessel’s waterline. It is equipped with a reusable pre-filter, titanium high-pressure pumps and glycerin-filled pressure gauges and acrylic flowmeters.

Parker’s Little Wonder is an SWRO unit that produces 22-32 L/h of potable water and weighs 28-33 kg. This unit is

simple to install and fairly easy to operate. It can be furnished with an optional seawater strainer, and has a carbon filter and a 5-micron cartridge pre-filter.

Louisiana-based MECO originally developed its highly mobile Light Weight Purifier (LWP) for military applications to produce potable water from virtually any water source, even desert ‘waterholes’ with salinities as high as 60,000 mg/L. The fully self-contained RO system has MF/UF pretreatment, includes a generator and fits neatly in the back of a Humvee or a tactical helicopter. It can be set up

by a single person within 45 minutes and will produce 475 L/h from a fresh water source or 280 L/h from seawater, while removing nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) contaminants.

While the pictured unit can produce 24 L/h from seawater, it can also desal well water or other brackish waters. It is packed in a molded plastic, wheeled case weighing 63 kg, and has a simple, one-button start-stop operation. In addition to a carbon filter and 5-micron cartridge filter, the unit is equipped with a UV disinfection unit.

This APS Water RO system is designed for light commercial applications with feedwater TDS levels up to 2,000 mg/L. It produces 75-160 L/h of water in a compact unit that weighs 32 kg. The California company locates the pre-filters, instrumentation and pressure indicators on the front of the unit for ease of service and monitoring.

The UK-based Cathelco recently acquired France’s Hydro-Electrique Marine (HEM) watermaker products. Its Seafresh series consists of six different models that produce 36-275 L/h of desalted seawater. Framed (pictured) and modular units are available, and the units may be furnished with optional oil/water separators, media filters, remineralizer units and UV sterilizers or chlorinators.

Switzerland’s Katydyn Products offers a range of individual water purification devices, including hand-operated and powered RO desalinators. The PowerSurvivor 40E (pictured) weighs 11.4 kg and will produce almost 6 L/h of desalted seawater. It is powered by a 12- or 24-volt battery and costs nearly $4,000. The unit includes a 30-micron pre-

Page 3WATER DESALINATION REPORT – 15 June 2015

This three-stage home water RO purification system by Pacific Water Technology attaches to an existing

115-volt current. The complete unit weighs 29 kg and has an overall height of 1m with a 0.33m x 0.5m footprint.

filter, and can convert to manual operation in emergencies. The company’s hand-op-erated Survivor 06 produces nearly 1 L/h, weighs 1.1 kg and costs about $1,000.

Missouri-based Durastill has been furnishing residential distillation units for 35 years. The company has a range of countertop and standalone units with capacities ranging from 1.25-6.6 L/h. The smaller capacity unit (pictured) has a 38-liter storage tank and operates automatically based on float controls. The evaporator is constructed of 316 stainless steel with a 1,000 watt, nickel-based alloy heating element, which operates on

Nimbus Water Systems was founded in 1968 by the late Don Bray, a former ROGA engineer who invented the multi-leaf spiral-wound RO membrane element in 1965. The California company manufactures a range of commercial and residential RO systems, including the WaterMaker Mini (pictured), which is mounted directly to an existing kitchen faucet. Designed for a maximum 1,000 mg/L TDS, the

system produces 1.25 L/h with a 96 percent salt rejection at a minimum feed pressure of 2.8 bar (40 psi). The unit costs about $100. A countertop version produces up to 8 L/h with a feedwater TDS of 2,000 mg/L, and is available for $375.

Australia’s Rainman Technology offers what is perhaps the most stylishly packaged RO watermaker. The compact version weighs 14.5 kg and will desalt 50-70 L/h of seawater, while the larger unit weighs 23.5 kg and will produce 100-140 L/h. The unit operates on either electricity or gasoline, and is installed in a rugged PVC case.

faucet and includes a 5-micron sediment strainer, an RO

element and an activated carbon post filtration unit. Weighing 1.8 kg, the unit will produce 19 L/h at 1.4 bar (20 psi) feed pressure

and 32 L/h at 5.5 bar (80 psi). The Australian company sells the unit for less than A$130. Pacific Water also offers home water distillers that require no plumbing connections. The unit sits on a counter top and produces 0.7 L/h of distillate by boiling water at 100°C (212°F) using household electricity. The 3.5 kg unit is equipped with a carbon filter, an enclosed heating element and a stainless steel condenser. The distiller costs A$230.

Pure Water 4 Health is an Arizona company that offers an under-counter distiller, which produces 1.6 L/h. The 1,000-watt unit operates on household current and includes a 19-liter storage tank and water cooler. It has a replaceable heating element, a thermal safety cut-off and comes with a stainless steel faucet to mount on the kitchen sink; it costs about $3,000.

China’s Shenzhen Youber Technology has several portable SWRO systems, which produce 21-83 L/h of potable water, operating at a recovery rate of 15 percent. The smallest unit (pictured) weighs 60 kg, includes a PLC and is simple to operate.

Texas-based Aqua EWP offers several devices that employ capacitive deionization. The Water Genie model is designed for feedwater with a TDS of up to 2,500 mg/L and will provide 4 L/h of product water with a TDS reduction of 80 to 95 percent. The 4.5 kg unit operates on household current.

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Page 4WATER DESALINATION REPORT – 15 June 2015

This 8 L/h residential, under-sink unit is made by Pure Blue H2O and is available online or through large wholesale outlets for $160. It consists of a manifold to which four treatment

a BOD <5 mg/L, TSS <2 mg/L, turbidity <0.2 NTU and a fecal coliform count of less than 200 CFU/100 mL without disinfection.

Stockholm PrizeWinners announcedRajendra Singh—India’s “Water Man”—has been named the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, for his innovative efforts to improve water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need. The prize committee said, “[His] life work has been in building social capacity to solve local water problems through participatory action, empowerment of women, linking indigenous know-how with modern scientific and technical approaches and upending traditional patterns of development, resource use, and social norms.” The Stockholm Water Institute also announced that US-based CH2M has won the 2015 Stockholm Industry Water Award for developing and advancing methods to clean water, and increasing public acceptance of recycled water. Among the firm’s 25,000 employees, WDR would like to acknowledges three who have been particularly instrumental in advancing the firm’s advocacy of water reuse:• BrockMcEwen,globalwater technologydirector – He

is a 30-year CH2M veteran who was formerly the firm’s global water reuse and water treatment technology leader. McEwen has been the principal technologist on many large water and water reuse projects, and he designed the original West Basin MWD advanced reuse system.

• JimLozier,vicepresident,technologyfellow – Formerly CH2M’s membrane technology leader, he has long been involved in water reuse projects. He was involved in pilot testing the first MF/RO reuse process at the Reedy Creek Improvement District in Florida and the first MBR/RO combination for IPR/DPR at McAllen, Texas.

• LindaMacpherson,reuseprincipaltechnologist – A water reuse evangelist and long-time senior policy planner and technologist for CH2M, She served as principal investigator for two strategic social research projects and the NEWater project. She has also led the education stream for the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence and has worked on public acceptance of DPR. She continues to consult with CH2M on a flexible basis, and is the founder and managing member of New Water ReSources.

cartridges are attached: a sediment cartridge, a pre-carbon filter, an RO membrane module and a post-carbon filter. The cartridges operate in series to treat water with a TDS of less than 1,800 mg/L at a line pressure of 2.8 bar (40 psi).

For many residential needs, suspended solids and waterborne pathogens are more of a concern than dissolved solids. For these applications, a point-of-entry (POE) membrane filtration using MF or UF membranes may provide a potable water source for an entire household. One examples is:

Germany’s Seccura GmbH offers UrSpring Home, a fully automatic home UF filter that connects to the existing water line and may be powered by a 12-volt battery or normal household voltage. Because the production capacity is dependent on water pressure and quality, a range isn’t provided, but the company says the unit is sufficient for a six-person

Control head (above)UF module (right)

household. The UrSpring Home fully flushes itself automatically, once every day, requiring less than 2 percent of the daily flow.

Finally, for those residential or small commercial facilities that want to treat and reuse the wastewater produced on premises, there are options that employ membrane bioreactors (MBRs):

Kansas-based Bio-Microbics offers MBRs with treatment capacities that range from 1,892 L/d to 5,675 L/d. The completely automated system is hydraulically-driven, with no complicated backwash strategy and uses flat sheet membranes to act as an impenetrable physical barrier to most common wastewater pollutants. The low sludge produc-tion BioBarrier MBR process consistently produces effluent with