Affordable Desalination Sets Low Energy Record May 4, 2006

San Leandro, CA (May 4, 2006) The Affordable

Desalination Collaboration (ADC) completed the second
of three tests and achieved a world record for seawater
desalination by reverse osmosis. Located at the U.S.
Navys Seawater Desalination Test Facility in Port
Hueneme, California, the ADC has built a demonstration
plant that utilizes Energy Recoverys Pressure Exchanger
technology to create an ultra-efficient seawater reverse
osmosis (SWRO) system.
This second test included operating the plant at the same
nine conditions as the first, but with the new FILMTEC
SW30XLE-400i low energy membranes. During this
test the ADC achieved what they believe is a world
record for low energy seawater desalination by reverse
osmosis at 6.00 kWh/kgal (1.58 kWh/m3). The operating
conditions at this low point were 6 gfd and 43% recovery.

Although the Set II membranes have produced the lowest

energy numbers it has been at the expense of permeate
water quality. For Set II the total dissolved solids (TDS)
ranged from 190-379 mg/l TDS over the nine operating
points, and Boron varied from 1.04-1.45. At the most
affordable point, 9 gfd and 50% recovery TDS was 231
mg/l and Boron was 1.11 mg/l.
Next they will be
looking to the final set III SW30HR LE-400i membranes
where they hope to find a balance between power
consumption and permeate quality.
Various Energy Requirements and the ADC
kWh/kgal
17.0
15.1
13.2
11.3
9.5
7.6

The ADCs net present value (NPV) model however,

selected a different point as the most affordable. The
NPV model, developed by Carollo Engineers for the
ADC, takes a conceptual look at a 30 year life cycle for a
50 mgd SWRO plant and includes overall treatment costs
such as intake and distribution power, chemicals,
maintenance, replacement, labor, capital costs and interest
on capital. The graph below shows that the most
affordable operating point was at 9 gfd and 50% recovery
where the SWRO process consumed approximately 6.93
kWh/kgal (1.83 kWh/m3) and the total treatment costs are
projected to be $2.37/kgal (0.63/m3).
ADC Test II Results for SW30XLE-400i Membranes
kWh/m3 kWh/kgal
4.22 16.0

3.70 14.0

Total Energy 7.5 gfd

Total Energy 6 gfd

$1.88 $0.50

2.11

8.0

1.58

6.0

1.06

4.0

$0.75 $0.20

0.53 2.0

$0.38 $0.10

$1.50 $0.40

RO Energy 9 gfd
RO Energy 7.5 gfd
RO Energy 6 gfd

0.0
30%

35%

$1.13 $0.30

40%

45%

50%

$55%

RO Recovery
Note: Treatment costs do not include land, depreciation, distribution improvements, intake capital
costs or owner oversight/management costs, and they assume co-location with an existing power
plant or other existing intake system.

These results from the new low energy membranes

represent an approximate 5% reduction in treatment costs
below the classic SW30HR-380 membranes tested in
Set I. The complete data and analyses are available on
their web site at www.affordabledesal.com.

Industry Experts
Test 2 most affordable point
ADC Target Range (4)

CRA(2)

Recycle
RO

S WRO

50% of So. Californias water supply

$/kgal $/m
$3.00 $0.79

$2.25 $0.59

General Perception

1. SWP = California State Water Project; 2. CRA = Colorado River Aqueduct Project; 3. SWP
numbers do not include distribution beyond Castaic Lake or treatment; 4. ADC target range
does not include supply or distribution. I.e. RO process only; 5. Source: Water Sources
Powering Southern California, by Robert C. Wilkinson Ph.D., 01/04

Total Treatment Costs

Energy Consumption

3.17 12.0

4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0

S WP(1)

$2.63 $0.69
Cost at 6 gfd
Cost at 7.5 gfd
Cost at 9 gfd

Total Energy 9 gfd

2.64 10.0

5.7
3.8
1.9

kWh/m3

The ADC is a non-profit organization comprised of the following

group of leading companies, state and government agencies.

Avista Technologies, Inc.

California Department of Water Resources

California Energy Commission

Carollo Engineers

City of Santa Cruz Water Department

David Brown Union Pump Comp.-subsidiary of Textron

Eden Equipment Company, Inc.

Energy Recovery, Inc.

FilmTec Corporation

Marin Municipal Water District

Municipal Water District of Orange County

Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center

Pentair Water Treatment-CodeLine Division

Piedmont Pacific Corporation

Poseidon Resources

Rolled Alloys

Sandia National Laboratories

San Diego County Water Authority

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

U.S. Desalination Coalition

Young Engineering & Manufacturing, Inc.

WaterEye

West Basin Municipal Water District

For information contact John MacHarg, Managing Director-CEO,
Tel 650-283-7976, e-mail: jmacharg@affordabledesalination.com

Affordable Desalination Collaboration 2005

For Immediate Release