Due to historical, natural, economic, social and many other reasons, in many regions of China, especially the five northwestern provinces such as Xinjiang and Gansu, although the water supply capacity can basically meet the needs of local socio-economic development, the water is often supplied directly or after simple treatment of well water or river water. As a result, the water quality fails to meet the sanitary standards for drinking water. Exceedances are common in total hardness, chlorides, sulfates and total dissolved solids (TDS), with total hardness and TDS exceeding the standard limit by more than 2.5 times in some areas. In addition, in some areas, the total bacterial count, total coliforms and heat-resistant coliforms exceed the hygienic standards.

The technology of using reverse osmosis for brackish water desalination is now mature in China, but due to social, economic development levels and geographical location, it has not been widely promoted and applied in the above regions. Because the pore size of reverse osmosis membranes is extremely small (only about 10 angstroms), they can effectively remove dissolved salts, colloids, microorganisms and organic matters from water with a removal rate of over 99%. The treated water quality can reliably meet the sanitary standards for drinking water.

To this end, our company has launched a dedicated project to develop a brackish water desalination system. Through the implementation of the project and engineering, we aim to explore the technical feasibility and economic rationality of drinking water improvement projects in rural areas of these regions, provide a replicable solution to solve the poor drinking water quality problems for local people, safeguard their health, enhance ethnic friendship, promote ethnic unity, and strengthen ethnic integration.

This system has been successfully applied in the water supply station of Ayimake Village, Buzak Township, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang.

Brackish Water Desalination Treatment Equipment

Taking the water‑lubricated vane pump independently developed by our company as the core technology, the system provides the reverse osmosis system with stable flow and pressure of raw water. Compared with existing multistage centrifugal pumps, this pump features high efficiency, low energy consumption, compact structure, low noise and long service life. The control part of the system adopts digital and visual human‑machine interaction technology using a PLC + touch screen, realizing automatic detection, control and remote monitoring of the whole system, and can be connected to the internet for remote maintenance. The integrated equipment facilitates installation, commissioning and daily maintenance.

The main technical specifications of the brackish water desalination system are as follows: