Fresh Water on board ships
The safety of crew members and passengers on board ships is priority number one. The storage and distribution of potable water is complex in a confined system but extremely important in order to avoid bacterial contamination.
Fresh water is used, for example, in the bathrooms of large ocean going vessels to ensure it is safe for consumption for once, but also to protect piping and fixtures from corrosion due to salty water on the other.
Efficient onboard desalination systems can deliver potable water from sea water for different types of vessels.
Fresh water treatment on board ships
Reverse osmosis is commonly used for desalination and achieve potable water on board ships as well as on land.
Natural osmosis in water occurs when two fluids of different salinity are separated by a semipermeable membrane. The fluid with the lower salinity will pass through the membrane until the salt solution becomes equal on both sides of the membrane.
If pressure is exerted on the higher salinity solution the membrane allows desalinated, demineralised water to pass into the pure solution whilst it rejects the dissolved impurities, a process known as reverse osmosis.
Reverse Osmosis plants for fresh water treatment use this principle to desalinate salt water and remove unwanted particles and bacteria in an environmentally friendly way . The pure water is called the permeate, the concentrated solution as concentrate or retentate.
Benefits of Reverse Osmosis
- Achieves high quality potable water
- environmentally friendly
- Ensures the control of potential microbial contamination
