ROTEC's Reverse Osmosis System Desalinates Brackish Groundwater

September 28th, 2009 by Amiel Blajchman

Traditionally, if you are in a water-poor region that has access to desalination technology and seawater, you were in luck. Israeli cleantechnology company ROTEC has developed a reverse osmosis system designed to remove salts from brackish groundwater. In other words, nowhere near the sea.

According to Dr. Jack Gilron of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, the ROTEC clean technology solution exploits a physical process on the surface of the desalination membrane before it can be fouled.

Gilron says that “the process will be tuned to reduce brine volumes to 33%-50% of those generated in conventional reverse osmosis. This greatly reduces the environmental burden and improves the economics of the inland desalination process.

“Water scarcity and the need to develop new water resources for populations not on the seacoasts are driving efforts to desalinate brackish water and municipal wastewater with ever-increasing efficiencies,” he notes.

Designed to be added to pre-existing water purification plants, the technology can increase recovery rates up to 95%. I’ll drink to that.

Image: Hypergurl’s Flickr stream, via a Creative Commons License. [social_buttons]

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Tags: brackish water, brine, desalination, israel, ROTEC, seawater

About the Author

Amiel Blajchman Amiel is the founder of the Globalis Group, an organization whose motto is "combining action and thought for a sustainable world." His experience includes working with the Canadian government on greenspace projects, sustainable development programs and on policy documents on issues as diverse as climate change, sustainable development, and the environmental and social impacts of transportation. He is listed on the UN’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory’s list of GHG experts, and has sat on the Canadian Environmental Certifications Board’s Greenhouse Gas Verification and Validation Certification committee.

Rob in Florida

You might wish to Google Map/Earth the phrase “Indian River Lagoon”. Last I checked it is quite brackish and very close (connected) to the “sea” (aka the Atlantic Ocean).
Rob in Florida

You might wish to Google Map/Earth the phrase “Indian River Lagoon”. Last I checked it is quite brackish and very close (connected) to the “sea” (aka the Atlantic Ocean).