Kwinana Desalination Plant
Encyclopedia
The Kwinana Desalination Plant, located south of Perth, Western Australia
, turns seawater
from Cockburn Sound
into nearly 140 megalitres of drinking water per day, supplying the Perth metropolitan area.
The reverse-osmosis plant was the first of its kind in Australia and covers several acres in an industrial park near the suburb of Kwinana
. Electricity for the plant is generated by the 80 MW Emu Downs Wind Farm located in the state's Midwest region near Cervantes
. The wind farm contributes 270 GWh/year into the general power grid, offsetting the 180 GWh/year requirement from the desalination plant.
The desalination
plant, with 12 SWRO trains with a capacity of 160 megalitres per day and six BWRO trains delivering a final product of 144 megalitres per day, will have one of the world’s lowest specific energy consumptions, due in part to the use of pressure exchanger energy recovery devices supplied by Energy Recovery Inc.. The devices are isobaric chamber types which recover energy in the brine stream and deliver it to water going to the membrane feed at a net transfer efficiency at up to 98%.
As a condition of its continued operation the Perth plant has a comprehensive environmental monitoring program, measuring the seawater intake and brine outfall.
Excess water from the plant is stored in the hills dams.
In early 2008, the plant was shut down on two occasions due to reduced dissolved oxygen levels in Cockburn Sound
.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, turns seawater
Seawater
Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
from Cockburn Sound
Cockburn Sound
Cockburn Sound is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Western Australia. It extends from the south of the mouth of the Swan River at Fremantle for about 25 km to Cape Peron near Rockingham and is located at...
into nearly 140 megalitres of drinking water per day, supplying the Perth metropolitan area.
The reverse-osmosis plant was the first of its kind in Australia and covers several acres in an industrial park near the suburb of Kwinana
Kwinana, Western Australia
The Town of Kwinana is a Local Government Area of Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately 118 square kilometres in metropolitan Perth, and lies about 38 km south of Perth's central business district, via the Kwinana Freeway...
. Electricity for the plant is generated by the 80 MW Emu Downs Wind Farm located in the state's Midwest region near Cervantes
Cervantes, Western Australia
Cervantes is a town in Western Australia. The town is located just off Indian Ocean Drive about north north west of the state capital, Perth in the Shire of Dandaragan Local Government Area. At the 2006 census, Cervantes had a population of 503. The town was named after a ship that was wrecked...
. The wind farm contributes 270 GWh/year into the general power grid, offsetting the 180 GWh/year requirement from the desalination plant.
The desalination
Desalination
Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water...
plant, with 12 SWRO trains with a capacity of 160 megalitres per day and six BWRO trains delivering a final product of 144 megalitres per day, will have one of the world’s lowest specific energy consumptions, due in part to the use of pressure exchanger energy recovery devices supplied by Energy Recovery Inc.. The devices are isobaric chamber types which recover energy in the brine stream and deliver it to water going to the membrane feed at a net transfer efficiency at up to 98%.
As a condition of its continued operation the Perth plant has a comprehensive environmental monitoring program, measuring the seawater intake and brine outfall.
Excess water from the plant is stored in the hills dams.
In early 2008, the plant was shut down on two occasions due to reduced dissolved oxygen levels in Cockburn Sound
Cockburn Sound
Cockburn Sound is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Western Australia. It extends from the south of the mouth of the Swan River at Fremantle for about 25 km to Cape Peron near Rockingham and is located at...
.
See also
- List of desalination plants in Australia
- Reverse osmosis plantReverse osmosis plantA reverse osmosis plant is a manufacturing plant where the process of reverse osmosis takes place. An average modern reverse osmosis plant needs six kilowatt-hours of electricity to desalinate one cubic metre of water. The process also results in an amount of salty briny waste...
- Seawater desalination in AustraliaSeawater desalination in AustraliaWater demand and supply have become an international issue due to several factors: global warming , low annual rainfall, a rise in population rates during last decades, high living standards, and the expansion of industrial and agricultural activities...