Membrane Distillation Crystalliser Water Treatment

Existing solutions for treating saline bore water and acidic wastewater in inland areas largely utilise processes such as reverse osmosis (RO) which have been designed for coastal applications. These solutions are ill-suited for inland situations where energy supply is restricted, and limited waste storage and disposal options cause further environmental damage.

In response, CSIRO has developed a novel membrane distillation crystalliser (MDC) powered by renewable energy which can either operate stand-alone or extend the operating range of RO systems to treat more acidic and saline sources. MDC can also recover a higher proportion of clean usable water than RO with near-zero liquid waste, providing environmental benefits through simpler waste management. Moreover, the waste product contains recoverable levels of critical metals, thus creating an additional economic benefit.

The project plan involves scaling up the portable pilot-scale MDC technology already built and proven by the project team to a commercialisable level, in particular by increasing achievable throughput by a factor of two over existing membrane distillation systems. Project partners drawn from end-users in both large-scale inland industrial and First Nations community markets will provide test sites for technology development and demonstration. Manufacturing partners will participate in the process of de-risking the technology to ensure that a viable path to market is established.