Modern Pumping Today February 2025 - 18

WATER & WASTEWATER FOCUS
DESALINATION IS BOOMING,
BUT FACES A SALTWATER
REALITY CHECK
How a nuclear power plant prolonged its water pump's life
BY PRAGATI VERMA, GREENE TWEED
A
s population grows and economies expand, they
are putting an immense strain on the world's
water supplies. According to the UN World Water
Development Report 2024, 2.2 billion people worldwide
have no access to clean drinking water. Climate change
is threatening to exacerbate the challenge with prolonged
droughts parching the land in some regions and
unpredictable rainfall overwhelming infrastructure and
contaminating freshwater resources in other areas.
In short, water resources are no longer reliable, making
global water security a significant and pressing issue.
The impact of water shortages extends beyond lack of
access to safe and reliable drinking water. The economic
activity dependent on water is an estimated $86 trillion,
according to water market information platform Global
Water Intelligence. Several industries, such as electric
power plants, need lots of water for cooling and scarcity
can disrupt their operations.
COMBAT WATER SCARCITY
As global freshwater sources become scarcer,
desalination of saltwater into drinking water is emerging
as a possible answer. Countries around the world are
increasingly turning to saltwater desalination to combat
water scarcity and ensure a sustainable supply of
freshwater for drinking and irrigation purposes. Due to
their arid climate and limited freshwater resources, middle
eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar rely heavily on desalination to
meet their water needs. Several other countries, including
Spain and the US, are investing in desalination plants for
seawater as well as brackish and wastewater.
The most common form of desalination is reverse
osmosis. This water purification process uses a semipermeable
membrane to separate water molecules
from dissolved or suspended substances, which is
an immensely energy-intense process, with pumps
contributing a significant proportion. As a result, the pump
equipment involved in the process of desalination needs
to be as efficient as possible to reduce energy waste and
improve sustainability.
The water industry is not alone. Power generation,
chemical and industrial plants, which require vast
amounts of water for cooling purposes, are increasingly
exploring the use of saltwater for cooling systems through
desalination processes. Desalinated seawater or brackish
water can serve as a reliable alternative to freshwater,
ensuring the continuous operation of a power plant even in
freshwater stressed regions.
PREPARE PUMPS FOR SALTWATER
Saltwater, however, is highly corrosive and abrasive.
Traditionally, materials such as bronze, brass and/or
rubber are used for pump bearings, which don't hold up
well in this type of operating environment.
It can damage equipment such as pumps in constant
touch with seawater, brackish water, concentrated brine,
and treatment chemicals. " Traditional, lower-grade, nonmetallic,
or rubber wear parts in pumps require frequent
replacement due to the abrasive environments in which
18 | FEBRUARY 2025
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Modern Pumping Today February 2025

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