Fresh water generation

Many power installations are located where seawater is in easy reach, which makes vacuum distillation an attractive alternative for producing fresh water. Alfa Laval’s freshwater generators yield high-quality fresh water, which can be used both for technical purposes and for onward sale.

Fresh new advances

Alfa Laval pioneered the compact and cost-efficient production of fresh water from seawater. Over 50 years ago, we introduced thermally driven freshwater generators with dual-plate-pack technology. These were not only smaller than shell-and-tube installations, but also far less sensitive to scaling.

Today we’ve further developed our multi-effect concept, enabling vacuum distillation within a single plate pack. Our revolutionary Alfa Laval AQUA Blue freshwater generator, which houses the vacuum in the plate pack itself, contains three-in-one titanium plates on which evaporation, separation and condensation all occur.

Energy opportunities

A major advantage of the three-in-one AQUA plate technology is the fact that it cuts seawater requirements in half. This allows smaller pipes and pumps to be used, which means a reduced initial investment, easier installation and lower energy consumption – with lower CO₂ emissions as a result.

But the energy efficiency is hardly limited to AQUA Blue. Where larger volumes of fresh water are needed, our Alfa Laval multi-effect plate (MEP) desalination plant typically consumes just 1.3-3.0 kWh/m3, thanks to an optimized pump configuration and a frequency-controlled motor on the seawater pump. Both AQUA Blue and the MEP offer the lowest possible parasitic power consumption.