Water treatment solutions for marine ships and yachts
Marine watermaker and water treatment
The development of technologies in the field of water purification makes it possible to obtain demineralized water in any conditions. Recently, ship desalination plants are gaining popularity.
Description and operating principle of reverse osmosis-based marine desalination plants
Reverse osmosis technology gained its popularity at the end of the 20th century and has not slowed down to this day. Such installations are used in almost all industries: microelectronics, food enterprises, pharmaceuticals, hotel complexes, thermal power plants, in research centers, in the agricultural sector, etc. Reverse osmosis systems are capable of purifying even seawater from a whole complex of impurities: various salts, bacteria, heavy metals, pesticides, etc. Watermakers are used on yachts, ships and even submarines.
The need for desalination of seawater on sea vessels is due to the need for clean water, which is used for economic and technical needs. Osmosis-demineralized water is also used as drinking water. Water for various purposes is accumulated and stored in separate reservoirs. To obtain demineralized water, marine desalination plants for sea water of various types and capacities are installed. This option has not yet found widespread use, but it is very promising for use on sea vessels.
The main types of ship desalination plants
All existing models of ship desalination plants, according to the desalination method implemented in them, are subdivided into:
- distillation (thermal) marine seawater desalination - in this case, seawater is boiled, and the condensing steam is collected, and as a result, a distillate is obtained. This process is quite laborious and takes a lot of time.
- electrodialysis type devices (chemical) - this method of desalination is used only in emergency cases on ships. Inaccurate dosage of chemicals can lead to poisoning of the entire crew on the ship.
- reverse-space (physical) ship-based desalination plants. By far the most effective and practical. Let's take a closer look at them.
The reverse osmosis process on a sea vessel means the movement of a more saline solution (seawater) to a less saline solution through a special semi-permeable membrane. High pressure seawater is forced through the sea membrane. The clean one is sent to the storage tank. And the polluted one, with a significant content of salt ions, is discharged overboard.
Watermakers on a yacht, ship, submarine work with pre-treated water. The essence of the latter is its mechanical cleaning. The pre-treatment block includes filters: mechanical and carbon. The water is then fed to the marine membranes for further desalination of the salt water.
Marine membranes for marine desalination plants
Since seawater is an order of magnitude saltier than freshwater and contains a large amount of dissolved substances, conventional reverse osmosis membranes will not cope here. This is due to the fact that sea water has a very high osmotic pressure. Highly selective marine membranes are characterized by the ability to operate at elevated pressures up to 60 bar. Membranes for sea water last less than usual, only 1.5-3 years. Marine membranes are denser and do not deform at high pressures.
Marine watermakers scheme and principle of operation
An operating ship's desalination plant requires constant monitoring and adjustment of the established norms of the water regime. The work of a desalter on a ship or yacht is carried out using a controller, on which the necessary indicators are set. The entire system of desalination of water for a yacht or ship is fully automated, human intervention in the operation of the system is minimal.
All shipborne desalination plants are modular and manufactured taking into account the current regulatory and sanitary requirements for desalination of seawater. Marine desalination plants for sea water are distinguished by their high performance and compactness (due to their small size, the unit fits perfectly even on small ships).
Advantages of a sea water distiller for a yacht, ship, submarine.
The advantages of a marine water desalination plant include:
- easy to install and assemble;
- reliable and durable;
- significant performance of membranes before the next scheduled replacement;
- minimum energy consumption;
- low noise work;
- significant productivity with acceptable operating costs;
- availability of automation that controls the generated pressure according to the salinity of the incoming seawater;
- adaptability for the treatment of seawater of any type (river, sea, other, including harbor water).
Desalination of sea water for a yacht, boat, ship from AquaSolutions
The simplicity, low cost and significant productivity of the ship's reverse osmosis desalination plant suggests that this solution is one of the most promising for use on ships for various purposes in order to provide them with technical and drinking fresh water. It is safe to say that marine reverse osmosis will soon become the main method for desalination of water on ships, yachts and submarines.
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