Development of the most adequate pre-treatment for high capacity seawater desalination plants with open intake Original Research Article

Pre-treatment systems in reverse osmosis seawater desalination plants can be relatively simple or complex depending upon the direct function of the physical, chemical and microbiological quality of the water which is fed through the reverse osmosis membranes which separate the salts and the other disperse matter (colloids and micro-organisms) which are present in the processed water which, according to type and quantity, will produce a progressive or accelerated process of fouling of the same. Thus, the less quality of water to be desalinated, the greater or more intensive will be the pre-treatment system. The process water which is the result of systems of open intake is less recommendable since the characteristics are lower in quality, above all, the micro-biological parameters (the worst). All of this has a basic repercussion by increasing the cost per unit of the cubic metre of water produced and supplied to the end consumer or by reducing the profits for the companies exploiting the seawater desalination plant.