“The
implementation of this element of the JPS's Clean and Green programme
demonstrates the company's commitment to being PowerSmart - by improving the
efficiency of the company's operations through the use of technology while
preserving the environment”
JPS Co comment on their
use of a Desalination plant to convert seawater to cool their Diesel Generators
at the Rockfort Power Station
JPS
Co (Jamaica Public Service Company) needs to keep the Diesel Generators that
produce electricity cool, preventing them from overheating. Salt Water,
however, corrodes their Diesel Generators moving parts over time.
To
reduce this, they’d launched a desalination plant at their Rockfort Power
Station in April 2016 to make pure water to cool their generators as described
in the article “JPS
Commissions Desalination Plant”, Published Thursday June 9, 2016, The Jamaica Gleaner.
The
Desalination plant, an Aqua
Blue-C100 freshwater generator from Alfa Laval, produces some 30,000 litres
of 99.9% pure water per day from seawater from the Kingston Harbour. A first in
the Caribbean, the desalinated water is used to keep their diesel engines that
operate 24/7 cool and is a part of their JPS Co's 'Clean and Green' programme.
So
how does this Aqua
Blue-C100 freshwater generator from Alfa Laval work?
JPS Co Desalination for
Rockfort Power Station – Desalination for Potable Drinking Water is possible
Aqua
Blue-C100 freshwater generator uses Reverse Osmosis, which is filtration
across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of high dissolved salt
concentration to an area of low dissolved salt concentration.
This
is a lot cheaper than trucking water from their Hunts Bay Plant to use in the
two (2) 20MW diesel engines at the Rockfort Power Station.
But
there is more to this story than meets the eye, as it may have implications for
the Rainwater Harvesting Bill as noted in my blog article
entitled “How
Rainwater Harvesting Bill means Rainwater Net Billing to end NWC's Water
monopoly”.
Water Desalination – Large
Scale Commercial Solar Desalination may be possible
Combined
with an appropriate filter and then Ozone treatment or even irradiation as described
in my MICO Wars Blog
article entitled “What
is Radioactivity, Half-Life and Radioisotopes”, impurities and
micro-organisms that make Water unfit to drink can be removed.
With
this in mind, one wonders if this could be cost-effectively done using solar
power to make potable water as described in my blog article
entitled “Water
Sector Liberalization and the RainCatch Cloak - Activated Charcoal makes
Potable WaterWorld”.
Even
more interestingly, it would also be great if it was a large-scale solar
powered Desalination plant similar to the one described in my Geezam blog article entitled “How
to Make Distilled Water using a DIY Solar Desalinator”. An example of Solar
power Desalination can be seen in this video of an installation in Abu-Dhabi
where solar power was a must.
Water
Sector liberalization would be possible if Desalination could be made as simple
as installing solar panels. Potentially, such low cost Desalination could pave
the way for competition from Rainwater Harvesting and Solar Desalination Contractors
and Entrepreneurs, thereby breaking of NWC’s monopoly on Water Distribution in
Jamaica.
Solar Desalination – Foreshadowing
of Rainwater Harvesting Bill and Water Sector Liberalization
It’s
already possible to grow Dasheen and other plants that have been genetically
modified to use salt water as explained in my blog article
entitled “How
CARDI's Salt Water loving Dasheen and Agricultural Towers can help Pacific
islands and Jamaica during Drought”.
Could
a simpler solution be to desalinate water using Solar Power and then use the
potable water for Agriculture and drinking purposes? Possibly not, as water obtained
via desalination would be too expensive to be competitive with water purified
rom surface sources as in the case of California’s Drought
But
if it was possible to desalinate water at a price lower than regular water? Using
solar power could eliminate fossil fuels and the salt could be decomposed using
excess solar power into sodium and Chlorine for resale as bulk chemicals,
basically a VAP (Value Added Product).
However,
with the Rainwater Harvesting Bill looming on the horizon, will it have any
power over Hotels and other private individuals living near the coastline
desalinating water for their personal use?
In
the case of JPS Co’s Desalination plant, I’m not sure what happens to all that
salt, but it would be interesting to learn that it's being used for other
purposes, such as Energy Storage in the form of molten salt. Were this the
case, it would make JPS Co’s Desalination process 100% renewable and a
foreshadowing of Water Sector Liberalization in the future.
Here’s
the linik:
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