In recent years, improvements to membranes and hydraulic equipment have made high-recovery RO a practical and cost-effective option for improving the process of desalting water. A growing number of companies are using this new generation of hydraulic equipment to produce new system configurations capable of maximising recovered water volumes while minimising pretreatment and energy requirements.

After an introduction to various high recovery technologies and systems, our expert panel will explore both the financial and environmental impacts of high-recovery desalination, and the lessons the seawater and ZLD sectors could learn from the brackish water space. Speakers will evaluate savings in both OPEX and CAPEX, the implications for facility footprint and performance, as well as water savings and waste reduction.

Key questions addressed by our leading panel experts:
• What has changed to make high pressure RO a practical possibility in seawater applications?
• What can be learnt from the brackish water desalination industry?
• How does energy use weigh up against the benefits of high recovery RO?
• What are the implications of new technologies for the feasibility of zero- and minimal liquid discharge?
• How can high salinity brine streams be managed?

Watch highlight videos from this meeting here.

Despite the fact that seawater desalination may be the most complex water treatment technology, the industry has been surprisingly slow to embrace the new and innovative digital monitoring and control solutions now available. However, the recent growth of seawater RO – particularly as the Middle East transitions from thermal to membrane technologies – has led to an increased interest in performance optimization tools within mega-plants, to ensure competitive water tariffs.

A growing number of plants are employing machine learning, artificial intelligence and digital technologies in order to monitor plant performance and respond to changing feedwater quality. These technologies have already started to demonstrate their ability to optimize energy and chemical consumption to reduce OPEX, while new design software and digital twinning are facilitating commissioning and improving plant safety. In this meeting, the GWI Network will explore the different digital opportunities in seawater desalination, bringing together those working on plant design, commissioning and security, plant performance optimization, and predictive maintenance.

You can now review the entire panel recordings from this FEDCO sponsored online meeting. Click here to watch the panel recordings. 

What are the big ideas that have the potential to change the face of desalination and water reuse? Picking winners at an early stage is extremely difficult but Tech Idol has a remarkable success rate, highlighting the potential of breakthrough technologies such as NanoH2O, Voltea and Gradiant, well before the rest of the market had twigged to their advantages. 

On November 19th we brought together five of the hottest ideas in desalination and water reuse, and pitched them against each other in front of our lethal judging panel to help uncover the game changer.