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Solving water quality in remote communities with desalination

The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that by 2025 the changing climate will leave 50% of the world’s population experiencing shortages of fresh water. The water stress will be the result of many factors, including increased drought, population growth, increased pollution of existing fresh water sources, and increased intrusion of saline water into fresh groundwater supplies.

 

One way to address the growing issue of a continually shrinking freshwater supply is through the treatment of saline water (including bore water, brackish water, as well as seawater). However, such systems are usually large scale, energy intensive, expensive, and unsuited or unaffordable for many remote and off-grid communities.

 

The future is here; a proven, sustainable, low maintenance solution to the problem of provision of clean drinking water to remote communities. Thermo Fisher Scientific have partnered with Berlin based company Boreal Light GmbH, which specialises in renewable energy solutions for water treatment that meets all the needs of remote and off-grid locations. From bore water to sea water, the Boreal Light systems are the answer.

Applications

Versatile

No single application is the same - Boreal Light systems are extremely versatile and pre-configured to provide optimum performance for the type of water being treated (be it brackish, bore, or sea water) and meeting the specific location requirements of throughput (from 1,000 L/hr to > 40,000 L/hr), volume and salinity of the wastewater, energy availability, quality of permeate etc.

Hospitals and clinics

Clean and hygienic water has always been a priority for hospitals and clinics, but in remote areas with few alternatives it is even more critical, and not guaranteed. When hospital capacity is pushed to the limits the challenges only become more pronounced.

Agriculture

Access to clean water for agricultural and farming increases productivity for growing foods and raising livestock, especially in areas faced with rising salinity.

Remote communities

In our cities clean water is taken for granted, but for remote communities it can be a major problem, impacting the health of all those who live there. The solution needs to be designed for the specific challenges these communities face, by being affordable, reliable, secure, and sustainable. 

How does it work?

The Boreal Light system is purpose designed as an off-grid system that runs directly off Solar DC power. It does not require batteries and does not require a diesel generator or grid connection to operate (although these may be used as a backup if required). A relatively small solar array provides enough electricity for the system to run, resulting in a truly remote solution. A variety of pre-filtration methods takes all non-dissolved particles out of the intake contaminated water sources producing drinking water free from organic and inorganic contaminants. A UV lamp as well as optional ozone treatment kills 99.9% of all viruses and bacteria. A high-pressure pump pushes the water through reverse osmosis membranes, where the dissolved salts are separated from the water.

­­Key system features:

  • Capacity: from 1,000 L/hr to greater than 40,000 L/hr
  • Filtration technology: simplified reverse osmosis (RO)
  • Raw water source: seawater, brackish water, surface water, wastewater
  • Contamination: organic and inorganic, fluoride, chloride, suspended solids, salinity up to 50,000 TDS
  • Quality of produced water: TDS: 50 ppm - 300 ppm

Why Boreal Light?

Unlike other desalination systems, the Boreal Light systems are expressly designed to meet the needs of remote off-grid communities. 

 

Reliable

Designed and manufactured in Germany, these systems are built from high quality components and designed to perform under the harshest climate conditions in the remotest parts of the world. Their robustness in these challenging environments has been well proven with over 200 installations in East Africa/South Africa/Central America/Middle East, and over 250 orders in hand.

 

Low Maintenance, simple maintenance

Simplifying an advanced technology is a key part of the design. Day-to-day operation and checks are very simple and straightforward, requiring no technical skills; any trained person with a spanner and a screwdriver can take care of over 80% of the maintenance. The other 20% can be taken care of with 6 monthly visits to site by a qualified service technician. In addition, if there is mobile coverage in the region, Thermo Fisher Scientific can perform remote monitoring and diagnostics of the system.

 

Boreal Light only uses robust, universally available materials. Every screw can be replaced; every pipe can be repaired with tools and materials that are available all over the world. Nothing is welded, no batteries or inverters are required.

Solar powered

A key aspect of the design of the Boreal Light systems is being powered purely by DC Solar input, with no storage batteries or inverters. For off-grid communities this is a must, but even for communities with grid or generator power available, solar lowers running costs and represents a sustainable solution. The systems can of course be easily connected to the grid or generator power, either permanently or as a backup. 

Affordable

Purpose designed for low-income communities with all their needs and requirements, reducing the costs of access to drinking water by 90%.

 

Tailored to the local requirements

The specifications for each system are optimised during build for the specific location and take into account the production volume needed, the quality of the raw water available, the desired quality of the permeate (the purified water), and the wastewater disposal strategy. Determining these requirements is a straightforward process facilitated by the Thermo Fisher Scientific team.

 

The permeate water is drinking water quality. It can either be filled by hand, with a Water-ATM System or be distributed by piping systems.

 

Reusable waste

The chemical-free drain water is usable for fish farming of saltwater fish, as well as algae farming or as sanitation water for showering, hand washing or toilet flushing. The system can also be tailored tom produce large volumes of less concentrated waste or small volume of concentrated waste, depending on the use/disposal strategy.

 

Support

Thermo Fisher Scientific has over 80 technical service engineers throughout Australia and New Zealand, and additionally has relationships with third party contractors to ensure our customers are well supported.

 

Our corporate mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer

Installation and servicing

What is needed for installation?

Infrastructure required for installation includes:

  • An enclosed structure where the system will be placed, for security and for protection from the elements
  • A suitably sized Solar Panel Array (can be supplied with the desalination unit)
  • Water supply to the System e.g. bore pump (can be supplied with the desalination unit)
  • Water storage tanks for the purified water
  • Pipes and a pumps if the water is to be distributed rather than collected
  • Evaporation basin for the wastewater if it is not to be used for other purposes

Who can do the installation?

The installation can be carried out by the customer and/or their suitably qualified contractor/s, or by Thermo Fisher’s contractor. A Thermo Fisher Engineer will then take part in the final commissioning with the contractor.

Does Thermo Fisher Scientific provide ongoing service support?

Yes. Thermo Fisher will provide ongoing support for the unit, including scheduled maintenance.

Frequently asked questions

The actual Boreal Light desalination unit will typically cost from AUD$250K (depending on the size), excluding the solar panels and any other supporting infrastructure required.

By sizing the system and storage tanks appropriately, periods of no sunshine can be easily accommodated. Production volumes from 1,000 to 40,000 L/hr are available. A backup diesel generator can also be used if necessary but correctly sizing the system should make this unnecessary.

 

No, it is designed to directly utilise the DC power from the solar panels, thus removing the expense of inverters and batteries.

Yes, pre-filtration of water to remove particulates is built into the system before the water goes to the RO (reverse osmosis) membranes.

Their robustness has been well proven in harsh environments with over 200 installations in East Africa/South Africa/Central America/Middle East.

Resources

Documents

Video: Boreal Light Product Overview