Spanish Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research purchases MDPilot system with SolarSpring’s next generation module technology

Desalination of seawater for the purpose of producing potable water is far more complex than the simple removal of salt ions from the feed source. The concentrated brine created has to be further managed in order to avoid problems in aquatic bodies by discharge. A viable solution is the further concentration of the concentrated stream, typically discharged from a reverse osmosis (RO) system. Membrane distillation is one of the few technologies that can process RO concentrate in a cost-effective manner, which is why Plataforma Solar desalination experts strive to conduct in depth investigations on the coupling of RO and MD technology. CIEMAT has now purchased such a MD system from SolarSpring, a pioneer in the field of membrane distillation offering innovative waste- and drinking water treatment technology. SolarSpring is supplying a pilot system with 63m² of membrane surface, the largest module to date based on the new module manufacturing technology. The pilot system will be powered by a 36kW heating unit and is equipped with a package of scientific grade sensors and data management equipment amounting to a total order volume of 60,490. €.
CIEMAT (Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas) is a Public Research Organisation in Spain attached to the Ministry of Science and Innovation through the General Secretariat for Research, focusing mainly on the fields of energy and the environment and the technological fields related to both.