Oyster® Desalinator
Wave powered desalination plant will have the following advantages over alternatives:
1. Low cost fresh water
2. Co-generation
3. Zero emissions
4. Off grid solution
5. Low ecological impact
The Oyster® desalinator uses the standard near-shore, bottom-mounted oscillator, or pump, to capture energy from passing waves and convert it into pressurised water.
This pressurised water is then used to supply a reverse-osmosis desalination plant that has been modified to work under the variable operating conditions associated with the energy being supplied from waves.
The modified desalination plant has been designed to handle variable pressure conditions by changing the number of reverse-osmosis membranes being fed to match the supply of water.
The configuration of the energy recovering technology allows the energy supply to vary with wave groups while maintaining acceptable operating conditions of the membranes. This is achieved while keeping the average efficiency of the energy recovery technology over 95%, and the estimated specific energy consumption between 1.8 and 2.0kWh/m3.
The Oyster® desalinator can be used to supply remote off-grid locations; and to power large-scale desalination plants. The peak freshwater output of each Oyster® desalinator is between 2,000 and 6,000 m3/day, depending on location and configuration. With such a high yield from a single device, the capital costs for a large-scale plant will be very competitive.
