Technical Principles and Core Components of Seawater Desalination Equipment
Seawater desalination equipment addresses global freshwater shortages through two primary technologies: reverse osmosis (RO) and distillation13. The core operational process includes:
Pretreatment System: Removes suspended particles, algae, and bacteria via mechanical filters and chemical dosing to prevent clogging16.
High-Pressure Pump & Energy Recovery: Pressurizes pretreated seawater to 50-80 bar while recovering energy from brine discharge using pressure exchangers13.
RO Membrane Separation: Forces seawater through spiral-wound RO membrane stacks, allowing water molecules to permeate while retaining salts and impurities19.
Post-Treatment Adjustment: Adjusts pH and mineralizes product water to meet drinking/industrial standards69.
Key Advantages and Technological Breakthroughs
High Efficiency & Energy Savings:
Advanced RO membranes (e.g., FilmTec SW30HRLE) achieve >99.8% salt rejection with daily capacity up to 50,000 tons19.
Energy recovery reduces system consumption by 30-40%, lowering power use to 3-4 kWh per ton16.
Modular Design:
Containerized units enable rapid deployment for islands, ships, or emergencies, compatible with solar/nuclear hybrid systems28.
Intelligent Control:
PLC systems monitor pressure, flow, and water quality parameters in real-time, enabling automatic membrane cleaning and fault alerts19.
Application Scenarios and Economic Analysis
Scenario Technology Case Study
Coastal Industrial Water Large-scale RO Systems Tianjin Nangang 150,000 tons/day project1
Naval Vessels & Submarines Compact RO Units Cangdong Power Plant Naval Supply System1
Island Microgrids PV-RO Integrated Systems Zhoushan Liuheng Island (24,000 tons/day)[1
Emergency Relief Mobile Containerized Units Cangzhou 50,000 tons/day RO Facility1
As of 2025, desalination costs have dropped to ¥4-5/ton, approaching municipal water prices in coastal regions13.
Technical Challenges and Development Trends
Membrane Innovation: Graphene and carbon nanotube membranes under development for enhanced flux and durability19.
Low-Carbon Pathways:
Nuclear-powered multi-effect distillation (MED) achieves dual outputs (power + water), with 200MW reactors producing 120,000 tons annually38.
Horqin Desert "PV-RO" pilot explores long-distance water transmission models1.
Brine Management: Vacuum membrane distillation extracts bromine/magnesium resources while minimizing marine impacts19.











