Team 1 Lesson 13

Presentation slides 
Team members: Liang Xuan, Hong Kai, Sammantha and Siti
 What is
Desalination?
• Definition of desalination: Desalination is the
process of removing dissolved minerals from
seawater or treated water. Some technologies
which are associated with desalination includes
reverse osmosis and membrane distillation 
• Environmental concerns with desalination
plant: 
-Delicate local systems containing heritage listed
sand dunes, sensitive wetlands and protected
marine and intertidal areas 
-High energy resulting in greenhouse gas
production and physical destruction to marine
environment 
 Why are innovative seawater desalination technologies
necessary?
• Types of desalination technologies: 
-Forward Osmosis
-Membrane Distillation
-Reverse Osmosis
-Electro-dialysis 
• Such technologies are necessary as it could
mitigate future problems of groundwater
salinization 
• For instance, due to the overextraction or sea
level rise as well as expand freshwater resources
to cater to growing water demands 
Why is electro-dialysis chosen for the new desalination
process?  
• Electro-dialysis is chosen because of its high
recovery, long membrane life and low
maintenance
• It works by creating electro potential gradient
between anode and cathode then ions will be
separated through the membrane
• Reverse osmosis is not effective because of
the large energy demand to maintain the
hydraulic pressure, causing the operational cost
to rise and hence it is not environmentally
friendly 
• Forward Osmosis is also not feasible because of
its low flux so efficiency is low, salt retention not
high enough which will affect water product
quality and it causes severe internal
concentration polarization
• Taking everything into account, electro-dialysis
is chosen for the desalination process due to its
balance of cost to efficiency.