Ibiza seawater RO — special design features and operating data

Abstract

The paper presents the seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant for the town of Ibiza, Spain, that was constructed by Hydrotechnik Austria, now a member of the BWT Group, during the period of 1991–1992. This plant is the sister plant to the Fujairah desalination plant in the UAE. The plant has a nominal capacity of 9000 Tpd drinking water and is especially optimized for long-term and efficient operation for a period of more than 15 years on the principle of a BOT model. Besides a general explanation of the main components of the plant, special attention is given to special design criteria and features such as its own power generation, two-stage RO design, plant automatization and beach well seawater intake. Operating data confirm the optimum design with regards to chemical and specific power consumption as well as plant production flexibility.