Global freshwater scarcity has become a prominent bottleneck restricting social development. While brackish water, with a salinity between freshwater and seawater, is gradually becoming a much-needed “second water source.” The salinity of brackish water typically ranges from 1000 to 10000 mg/L.

Brackish water desalination equipment, as the core equipment for converting this type of water resource, not only builds a stable water supply defense line for arid and semi-arid regions but also demonstrates irreplaceable value in many fields such as agricultural irrigation and island construction.

Brackish water desalination machine: a powerful tool for solving irrigation problems

Agricultural irrigation is a key application area for brackish water desalination equipment. A prime example is the citrus plantation in Israel’s Negev Desert.

This region receives less than 150 mm of rainfall annually. And its groundwater resources are predominantly brackish water with a salinity of 3000-5000 mg/L. Direct irrigation in this area leads to soil compaction and fruit tree withering. After introducing mobile reverse osmosis desalination equipment, the plantation converted the brackish water into water that meets irrigation standards. The system not only solved the water supply problem for 1200 hectares of citrus orchards but also increased citrus yield per acre by 18% and significantly reduced fruit acidity and astringency. The mobile design of the equipment allows for flexible relocation along the irrigation area. And when combined with Israel’s precision drip irrigation system, it further reduces water and energy consumption.

Island brackish water desalination equipment water supply

In the field of water supply for remote islands, the adaptability of brackish water desalination system is particularly prominent.

A small island in Vanuatu in the South Pacific previously relied on external water transport ships for supplies due to its remoteness from the mainland. The cost of fresh water was as high as $15 per cubic meter, and supply disruptions were frequent during typhoon season. After a brackish water desalination system integrating wind and solar power was put into operation, it fully utilized the island’s abundant wind and solar resources to convert the brackish water from the surrounding sea into safe drinking water, completely solving the drinking water problem for more than 800 residents on the island.

Brackish water desalination equipment: industrial supply

In water-intensive industrial sectors, brackish water desalination equipment also plays a crucial role. The Jubail Petrochemical Industrial Park in Saudi Arabia, as the largest petrochemical industrial cluster in the Middle East, consumes massive amounts of cooling water and production water annually. However, local freshwater resources are extremely scarce, and traditional groundwater extraction has led to land subsidence. The industrial park introduced large-scale containerized reverse osmosis desalination equipment with a daily processing capacity of 50,000 cubic meters. The produced freshwater not only meets the production needs of three large petrochemical companies but also, through a water recycling system, further treats the used wastewater, achieving cascade utilization of water resources.

Compared to relying on seawater desalination for water supply, brackish water desalination reduces industrial water costs by 22% while minimizing the impact of high-salinity concentrated water from seawater desalination on marine ecosystems. This application provides a dual demonstration of “water conservation + energy saving” for industrial development in arid regions.

Activating the future value of brackish water

In the future, the application areas of brackish water desalination machine will continue to expand. It will not only become standard equipment for agricultural water-saving irrigation and island development. But also it is expected to penetrate into more specific scenarios such as rural revitalization and small industrial parks, providing customized freshwater solutions.

In today’s world of freshwater scarcity, the “ecological key” to activating the value of brackish water lies within these continuously iterating and upgrading desalination devices.

If you would like to learn more about the application solutions of brackish water in specific scenarios such as rural water supply and industrial wastewater reuse, or if you have a need to further explore the working principles of a certain core technology, please feel free to contact us.