From January 2016 to July 2017, Trevi operated a 50 m³/day forward-osmosis desalination pilot at Masdar's Ghantoot test site under the UAE's Renewable Energy Seawater Desalination Pilot Program. Masdar measured the results.
Masdar's Abu Dhabi-sponsored program launched in 2013 to demonstrate energy-efficient, cost-competitive desalination suited to renewable power. Trevi was one of four technology providers awarded a pilot contract in May 2014; the Ghantoot site was inaugurated in 2015. The trains ran side by side against the same feedwater and program requirements.
Figures describe the Ghantoot pilot train.
The Ghantoot unit paired Trevi's forward-osmosis draw process with pretreatment, low-grade heat regeneration, and polishing to deliver potable water. Masdar supplied and measured the seawater feed, electricity, and heat.
Multimedia filtration conditioned incoming Arabian Gulf seawater.
A proprietary draw solution extracted water across the FO membrane at low pressure.
Low-grade heat regenerated the draw solution, with heat recovery across four process streams.
Low-pressure nanofiltration recovered draw-solution infiltration; reverse osmosis ensured sufficient boron removal, followed by calcite and CO2 remineralization.
Five stages, from seawater intake to finished potable water.
Multimedia filtration removed particulates before the FO membrane.
The proprietary draw solution pulled water across the membrane at low pressure, separating it from dissolved salts.
Low-grade heat regenerated the diluted draw, with heat recovered across four process streams.
Nanofiltration recovered draw-solution infiltration; a redesigned coalescer installed in January 2017 improved draw/product separation.
Brackish-water reverse osmosis ensured sufficient boron removal; calcite/CO2 dosing remineralized to Abu Dhabi potable-water standards.
Masdar recorded the integrated train at the conditions below.
Values reflect one feed, site, and measured test condition.
Evaluating forward osmosis for a Gulf-condition or high-salinity feed? Define the test around your water.