Aqua Dyne To Test Solar Powered Water Desalination
Aqua Dyne, Inc., a thermal desalination specialist has received approval to deploy component modules of the JetWater Thermal Desalination system to a site adjacent to Lake Liddell in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The JetWater Thermal module will be tested and monitored over a three month trial program. The module will be connected to a solar energy system developed and supplied by Solar Heat & Power Pty Ltd of Singleton, NSW Australia.
This initiative is part of the Aqua Dyne Solar Thermal Mine Water Desalination Research program under the project management of the CSIRO's Queensland Centre for Advanced Technology in Brisbane, Australia.
The flexibility of the Aqua Dyne JetWater system design allows it to be used for a wide range of desalination requirements ranging from seawater, brackish groundwater and remediation of industrial waste water, as well as the ability to co-generate with a variety of industrial plant and equipment.
The CSIRO Division of Exploration and Mining will be responsible for the research activities. This phase of the program is part of a world-first research initiative with the solar energy project having enormous potential for remote mining areas.
CSIRO Research Scientist Dr Pat Glynn said that combining known solar technology to the Aqua Dyne thermal desalination technology has the potential reduce greenhouse gas emissions which occur when using electricity or diesel power for thermal desalination.
Research indicates that solar collecting panels of 1000 square metres in area are required to produce 1/2 mega litre of desalinated water per day. These Solar panels have been installed and are operationally ready awaiting the integration of the JetWater components. Surplus steam can be produced to run a generator capable of producing sufficient electricity for mine use or sold onto the grid.
"The research program has been designed to demonstrate that solar energy can significantly reduce the cost of cleaning up mine water waste and particularly, Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) water which has been highlighted as a significant problem. AMD from coal and mineral mining operations is a difficult and costly problem. In the eastern U.S., more than 7,000 kilometres of streams are affected by acid drainage from coal mines (Kim et al. 1982). In the western U.S., the Forest Service estimates that between 20,000 and 50,000 mines are currently generating acid on Forest Service lands, and that drainage from these mines is impacting between 8,000 and 16,000 kilometres of streams (U.S. Forest Service 1993). In addition to the acid contamination to surface waters, AMD may cause metals such as arsenic, cadmium, copper, silver, and zinc to leach from mine wastes. The Solar / Thermal JetWater system will demonstrate an environmental and economically sustainable solution to remediate waste water streams.
SOURCE: Aqua Dyne