Drinking water is becoming a scarce resource – and in places we may not expect. Even Perth, Australia, while surrounded by an abundance of seawater, was experiencing a shortage of drinking water. Desalination was long considered an option, but it could not be justified economically – that is until advancements and innovations in FILMTEC™ reverse osmosis (RO) membrane technology from Dow Water Solutions (a business unit of Dow) and the use of renewable energy, helped make the process more energy-efficient and affordable.
Improvements Dow has made over the years in its FILMTEC RO membranes have provided for a threefold increase in the volume of treated water while reducing energy requirements, helping to lower the cost of desalinated water production by as much as 20 percent. Dow’s next generation of RO membranes – 16-inch diameter modules – is currently being tested for use in water reclamation applications.
At the same time, the Emu Downs Wind Energy Farm provides electricity into the Western Australia electricity grid at 272 giga-watt-hours (GWhr) per year more than what is needed to meet the 180 GWhr per year energy requirements of the seawater desalination plant. The Perth Seawater Desalination Plant is expected to meet up to 17 percent of Perth’s drinking water needs and require 0% conventional energy sources.
This kind of innovative thinking and collaborative effort is just one example of how the Human Element at Dow is contributing to more sustainable chemistry solutions; for more, please visit http://www.dow.com/commitments/studies/index.htm
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