Ferskvannsgenerering
Many power installations are located where seawater is in easy reach, which makes vacuum distillation an attractive alternative for producing fresh water. Alfa Laval’s freshwater generators yield high-quality fresh water, which can be used both for technical purposes and for onward sale.
Fresh new advances
Alfa Laval pioneered the compact and cost-efficient production of fresh water from seawater. Over 50 years ago, we introduced thermally driven freshwater generators with dual-plate-pack technology. These were not only smaller than shell-and-tube installations, but also far less sensitive to scaling.
Today we’ve further developed our multi-effect concept, enabling vacuum distillation within a single plate pack. Our revolutionary Alfa Laval AQUA Blue freshwater generator, which houses the vacuum in the plate pack itself, contains three-in-one titanium plates on which evaporation, separation and condensation all occur.
Energy opportunities
A major advantage of the three-in-one AQUA plate technology is the fact that it cuts seawater requirements in half. This allows smaller pipes and pumps to be used, which means a reduced initial investment, easier installation and lower energy consumption – with lower CO2 emissions as a result.
But the energy efficiency is hardly limited to AQUA Blue. Where larger volumes of fresh water are needed, our Alfa Laval multi-effect plate (MEP) desalination plant typically consumes just 1.3-3.0 kWh/m3, thanks to an optimized pump configuration and a frequency-controlled motor on the seawater pump. Both AQUA Blue and the MEP offer the lowest possible parasitic power consumption.
