Desalination

In designing modern desalination plants, cost-effective water production, energy consumption and system availability are major drivers. Our ability to deliver complete, integrated flow control systems that are energy-efficient and scalable enables desalination plants to operate economically and grow with demand.

Regardless of the desalination process, Flowserve supports customers with specialty equipment and aftermarket services to advance plant operating goals and keep key flow control processes running smoothly. Flowserve offers …

• Unparalleled experience in the design and operation of high-efficiency fluid motion and control systems.
• Single point of contact and responsibility for all major equipment, including pumps, energy recovery devices, valves and mechanical seals.
• Equipment and system optimization to provide the lowest total cost solution.
• Engineering and technical resources for application support and ongoing life cycle cost-reduction services.
• Local support of parts, repairs and service through nearly 200 global Quick Response Centers.
• Condition monitoring and maintenance contracts that guarantee availability and efficiency of equipment.
• Educational services that train customer personnel in the selection, operation and maintenance of pumps, energy recovery devices, seals and valves

Flowserve equipment is installed in 90% of the world’s desalination plants. More than two-thirds of mega seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) projects have Flowserve pumps and ERDs. We have been a leader in desalination since it was commercialized on a large scale. And, we have partnered with some of the world’s largest desalination EPCs, contractors, developers and end users to build plants using thermal and membrane technologies.

Energy consumption is generally the biggest operating cost driver of reverse osmosis (RO) desalination. Advances in membrane and energy recovery technologies are making SWRO and brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) more economical, but it can’t be taken for granted.

We understand RO plants consume a lot of power, much of it by high pressure pumps, so we build optimal efficiency into every one of our RO systems. Our high-pressure membrane feed pumps and ERDs — including Calder^® DWEER™ isobaric devices and Calder ERT energy recovery turbines — feature optimized hydraulics and advanced material technologies to keep operating costs low and plants running profitably. Moreover, our detailed systems knowledge along with a full menu of technical support services are available wherever and whenever needed to ensure plant availability goals are met.

Flowserve was honored by HSL for its contribution to the construction of Tuas Desalination Plant 3 in Tuas, Singapore.

Singapore opened its third SWRO desalination plant in June 2018. Able to produce 136 million liters of drinking water per day and utilizing 50 Flowserve pumps, the plant boasts the highest output per square foot of any of the country’s desalination plants. HSL CEO Mr. Charles Quek said it was one of the most space-efficient and technologically advanced desalination plants in the world.

Thermal desalination via MSF or MED is most economically advantageous where water salinity is very high. Selecting equipment and materials that can survive elevated brine temperatures and salinity is critical to the success of these plants. Pitting, crevice corrosion and stress corrosion cracking are major challenges in processing seawater and brackish water.

Flowserve is unmatched in materials expertise and applications know-how. Our pumps and valves are available in a broad range of corrosion-resistant materials — both metallic and non-metallic — to provide a competitive total cost solution for the corrosive services found in MSF and MED desalination plants.

We’ve worked with government-backed fixed engineering, procurement and commissioning (EPC) projects as well as privately financed build-own operate (BOO) and build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) ventures. Our dedicated desalination experts and project managers understand the business challenges of each commercial model.

For new projects or major upgrades, our dedicated global project managers and engineering experts help streamline execution. They offer a total solution approach, focused on creating the most efficient and technologically advanced systems. They work with your teams to select equipment, maximize overall efficiency, and optimize plant layout. And, they also work tirelessly to ensure installation and commissioning meet requirements and schedules.

For existing operations, we’ve invested in aftermarket services and supporting infrastructure to help plant operators manage risks. Our turnkey maintenance contracts guarantee minimum efficiencies of key equipment. Monitoring and preventative maintenance service plans make sure plant availability and throughput goals are achieved.

For millions of people in Cyprus, our end-to-end solution quenched their thirst — at an even lower cost.

The Cyprus Water Department needed to improve the efficiency of the Larnaca Desalination Plant to offset increasing energy costs. By upgrading the plant with state-of-the-art technologies, including improved high-pressure pumps and DWEER ERDs, Flowserve was able to beat their performance goals.

Read the success story

By bringing together industry-leading pumps and valves, high-efficiency ERDs, unmatched materials expertise and desalination-specific application knowledge, Flowserve is a single-source provider of complete, integrated flow control systems for desalination plants around the world.

Having equipped water desalination plants for more than a half-century, we have the equipment and system expertise to meet these challenges.

High corrosion resistance and energy efficiency are paramount to the selection of pumps for desalination. Flowserve offers the industry’s widest selection of proven pump types in a full range of materials and hydraulics to maximize performance and minimize lifecycle costs.

• Source water intake pumps
  • Pleuger® SUBM water-filled, deep-well submersible pump
  • VTP vertical turbine wet-pit pump
  • VCT mixed-flow, wet-pit circulating pump
  • LNN and LNNV single case, axially split pumps
• Brine recirculation pumps (MSF and MED)
  • VPC vertical turbine, double case pump
  • QLC double case, double-suction, vertical turbine pump
• High-pressure membrane feed pumps (SWRO)
  • DMX-RO single case, multistage axially split pump
  • DS-RO end-suction, double volute single-stage pump
  • DVSH-RO between bearings, axially split pump
  • CSX ring-section pump
  • MSC ring-section pump
• Booster, second pass, backwash, flushing, potable water and auxiliary pumps (SWRO)
  • HPX, HPX-H centerline-mounted, overhung process pumps
  • HHPX end-suction, single-stage, radially split pump
  • Durco® Mark 3™ ASME chemical process pump
  • Durco Mark 3 ISO chemical process pump
  • PolyChem™ GRP engineered polymer-composite chemical process pump
  • LR single case, axially split pump
  • LNN and LNNV single case, axially split pumps
  • CBT ISO chemical process pump
  • ZLN overhung industrial process pump

In designing modern desalination water plants, high efficiency is a primary goal. This includes efficiency not only in energy consumption, but also energy recovery. Through its Calder brand, Flowserve offers the world’s highest efficiency energy recovery equipment for reverse osmosis desalination.

• Calder DWEER work exchanger isobaric energy recovery device
• Calder ERT energy recovery turbines

Mechanical seals are integral to the reliable operation of pumps used in a desalination plant. The utmost care must be taken to specify the correct configurations and materials of construction to maximize uptime. Our expertise in metallurgy and the application of sophisticated mechanical sealing technologies in the toughest applications allows Flowserve to excel in extending mean time between failure (MTBF) of critical rotating equipment.

• QB high-pressure, single-cartridge pusher seal
• BX high-pressure, single-cartridge metal bellows seal
• ISC2-PX (pusher) and ISC2-BX (bellows) standard cartridge seals
• HSH high-pressure, high-speed pusher seal

Desalination processes, particularly SWRO systems, require numerous valves capable of handling large volumes of water at high pressures. These valves must also be made of materials capable of resisting corrosion from chloride-rich water and the chemicals commonly used. Flowserve offers a complete range of valves to suit the diverse applications found in desalination.

• Valtek® Valdisk™ high-performance, butterfly control valve
• Durco TX3 high-performance butterfly valve
• Durco Big Max® BX2001 high-performance butterfly valve
• Edward® Tilting Disk check valve
• RX rubber-seated butterfly valves
• Atomac® lined ball valves
• Durco plug valves

Go inside the 3D Virtual Desalination Plant for consolidated information on all the products we recommend. Explore Flowserve VirtualPlant.