NIOT’s desalination plant to aid Chennai

The research institute has successfully completed its trial with a one lakh LPD offshore desalination plant with the OTEC technology, 50 kilometres off the Chennai Ennore coast. Revealing this to DTNext, the institution’s Energy and Freshwater group head Dr Purnima Jalihal said “the success of a 1 lakh LPD plant using low temperature desalination technology and run by diesel power at Kavarathi island in the Lakshadweep archipelago in 2002 was the reason for NIOT embarking on this new venture. The plant which cost around Rs 5 crore was running well for 11 years and was a boon to the 10,000 population whose health improved as earlier they only had hard water to meet all their needs.” 

This was followed by NIOT commissioning two plants of similar capacity in the Agati and Minicoy islands in 2011. “The plants met the needs of the 8,000 population in each of the islands and continued to function even after five years” she said. Then in 2006, NIOT went in for a 1 million LPD plant which was tried out successfully in the deep sea, 50 kilometres off the Chennai Ennore coast. 

“It was a success and totally indigenous. After the trial it was decommissioned and dismantled. Now plans are afoot to scale it up to a 10 million LPD plant for which the designs have been completed” she said. Work is underway for the off shore desalination plant – the first of its kind in the world – using OTEC technology where the difference in the temperatures between the surface sea (20-30 degrees C) and deep sea (8 degrees C) is used to condense the steam into water. The plant is expected to become operational in three years. “The designed plant aims to generate steam for provision of water,” she added.