Water Desalination, India

Project description

As part of the EU development and innovation project Revived Water, Phaesun together with nine other European project partners, is developing innovative desalination plants based on electrodialysis technology.
In cooperation with local engineers from Chemtrols Solar, Phaesun has installed two pilot plants for water desalination in Gujarat, India, in November 2019. One system is installed at a hindu temple, offering clean drinking water for monks and visitors. The other system delivers drinking water for students that live at a residence of a middle school.

Why was PV selected?

Unlike conventional desalination technologies based on thermal technology or reverse osmosis, electrodialysis requires neither high temperatures nor high pressures. Electrodialysis is based on a membrane technology in which an electric current ensures that salt ions are passed through an ion exchange membrane, thus allowing the salt content to be significantly reduced without filtering other important minerals out of the water. The new technology requires little maintenance and due to its low energy needs, it is well suited for solar power supply. This makes it particularly suitable for applications in remote areas.

Special challenges

The region suffers from salty ground water ressources. Drinking water is either delivered by water trucks or pumped through pipes from desalination systems that are hundreds of kilometers away.
The desalination system offers a great opportunity to produce clean drinking water directly at the place were the water is pumped from the ground without any need for infrastructure constructions.
A remote monitoring and control unit equipped with GSM modem delivers continuous data flow about the performance of the system at any time and allows adaptions in case of interruption.

About RevivED Water:

REvivED water, a research and innovation project, funded under the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme in the field of ‘low-energy solutions for drinking water’, brings together ten partners from six countries across Europe. This consortium will contribute to overcoming the drinking water challenge by establishing electrodialysis (ED) as the new standard for desalination of seawater and brackish water. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 685579.

Location

  • Gujarat, India

Project participants

  • Phaesun GmbH
  • Chemtrols Solar Pvt. Ltd
  • Deukum GmbH
  • Other partners of the RevivED Water consortium

End user

  • Monks and visitors of the temple
  • Middle School students

Installation

  • November 2019

Size

  • Drinking water output: 2.000l/day
  • Brine output: 500-1000 l/day
  • 600 Wp solar System

 

System components

  • Revived Water desalination unit
    including pre- and post-Treatment
  • 3 x solar modules 200 Wp
  • 2 x batteries 120 Ah
  • Controlbox including charge controller
  • Installation material, water tanks, cables, connectors, pipes,
    geomembrane for evaporation pond