The Hangzhou Water Treatment Technology Development Center took second place in science and technology in Zhejiang for a 1,000-ton energy recovery device that it developed which could increase China’s place in the sea water desalinization business.
The impressive energy recovery rate of the center’s device demonstrating how much the center has moved ahead in the field, since 2000, in bringing down costs and energy consumption in sea water desalinization.
The device uses a cartridge valve that is very energy effective in dealing with sea water and a hydraulic one-way valve, electro-hydraulic directional control valve and pressure exchange tube that help it function. Tests found little reverse pressure and flow fluctuation and a treatment rate of 65-cu-m/hr, with a 97.7-percent energy recovery rate, and noise level of 78 decibels.
It was first used for a 1,000-ton desalinization project in the city of Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, in August 2010, outperforming similar products from the US, with an energy consumption rate 4-6 percent lower than that of imported products. This makes China one of the few countries in the world with this level of energy recovery in sea water desalination. This work has led to more than 20 national patents and 10 academic papers and the technology has been applied in desalinization or chemical water treatment in Dongtou, Daishan and Putuo.