Spectra Watermakers Installs Second Desalination Plant in Marshall Islands

Nov. 7, 2014
The plant will convert more than 5,600 gal per day of seawater into drinking water

On Kili, a remote atoll in the Marshall Islands, the region's second permanent solar and wind-powered water desalination plant is now operational. Earlier this year, a similar plant was installed on Utrik, 400 miles to the north. The region has suffered a years-long drought.

In 1946, the U.S. government convinced the residents of Marshall Island's Bikini Atoll to yield their homeland to nuclear bomb testing. Believing their sacrifice would help humanity and assured that they would soon return, the Bikini Islanders agreed to leave. Two years later, their islands rendered uninhabitable by nuclear fallout, they were evacuated to isolated and uninhabited Kili Island.

On Kili, Tom Vance of Moana Marine LLC installed two Spectra LB-2800 reverse osmosis desalination systems, which convert seawater into more than 5,600 gal per day of clean, fresh, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved drinking water. Before the installation, Kili's 1,200 residents suffered not only from drought, but from polluted groundwater, which had to be boiled before drinking.

A typical desalinating plant of this size would be powered by a diesel generator. Because of the energy efficiency of the Spectra desalination systems, the whole plant can be powered by wind and solar power, saving tens of thousands per year in fuel costs. Moreover, with increasingly expensive fuel and unreliable supplies due to seasonal rough seas, alternative energy-powered systems are the only way to assure a consistent, affordable water supply.

Spectra uses proprietary energy-recovery pumps, making their systems the most energy-efficient in the industry, and therefore the best for solar and wind-powered installations.

The two installations stand as a model for drought preparedness and safe, sustainable water production in the Pacific Island region.

Source: Spectra Watermakers

Sponsored Recommendations

Blower Package Integration

March 20, 2024
See how an integrated blower package can save you time, money, and energy, in a wastewater treatment system. With package integration, you have a completely integrated blower ...

Strut Comparison Chart

March 12, 2024
Conduit support systems are an integral part of construction infrastructure. Compare steel, aluminum and fiberglass strut support systems.

Energy Efficient System Design for WWTPs

Feb. 7, 2024
System splitting with adaptive control reduces electrical, maintenance, and initial investment costs.

Blower Isentropic Efficiency Explained

Feb. 7, 2024
Learn more about isentropic efficiency and specific performance as they relate to blowers.