Navy seeks new desalination system

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PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Aug. 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research has contracted the Pall Corp. to develop a special shipboard desalination system.

The system will be mainly for use in coastal waters and include a design that increases fresh water volume while decreasing the amount of energy used to operate the system.

"Pall is honored to be selected to design customized, automated MF and RO technologies for the U.S. Navy," said Pall Aerospace President Vince Northfield.

"Our engineers and scientists will bring the experience of developing and commissioning hundreds of membrane systems worldwide to this project."

MF and RO refers to hollow-fiber microfiltration and reverse osmosis membranes the company will use in the system to help provide reliable fresh water from coastal sea water, which is difficult to treat because of contaminants and shipboard restrictions on use of certain chemicals.

The development project is multi-phased.

Pall Corp., a leading producer of water filtration systems for industry and the military, said that in the first phase -- lasting about six months -- it will adapt membrane technologies to design a system that would produce as much as 4,000 gallons of potable water a day.

In the second phase it will develop and test the prototype system on land.

The final phase will involve the system's testing on a ship.