How JPS Co uses Aqua Blue-C100 freshwater generator to Desalinate Water for Rockfort Power Station

“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:

Aqua Blue-C100 freshwater generator from Alfa Laval