At the beginning of July, memsys clearwater distribution Pte. Ltd. and Nanyang Technological University presented a new desalination technology at the Singapore International Water Week. Besides several industrial applications, the small and mobile technology, which uses solar thermal panel energy for the vaporisation process, can also be used during disaster relief efforts. The unit is driven by solar energy alone - both thermal and PV – and can be placed in a 20-foot shipping container. The photo shows the demonstration plant at Marina Barrage, Singapore.

German technology provider memsys and the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore have been working together to develop a system especially for disaster relief action since signing a cooperation agreement in 2010.

The Vacuum Multi-Effect Membrane Distillation (V-MEMD) unit consists of membranes and foils incorporated into a process block with several chambers. Solar thermal collectors provide the energy for heating the salt water within the heat exchanger. The seawater then flows from chamber to chamber, in which the vapour condenses against the foils. Water with a slightly higher salt concentration is pumped back into the sea, and 100% clear and distilled water remains.

Nanyang Technological University supports the project by offering manpower and know-how. Professor Choo Fook Hoong from the university's Power Engineering division has calculated the requirements of solar energy: With Singapore’s average radiance of 4.5 kWh/sqm and day, 20 evacuated tube collectors with a gross collector area of 83 sqm are needed to produce 1,000 litres of clean water per day.

This is an abstract. Read the full article at solarthermalworld.org.