Reverse osmosis

GE Water & Process Technologies is to design and construct a reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant in South Africa which will provide 70,000 m3/day of fresh water.

The plant will also recover ultra-pure salt from the brine for the production of chlorine, caustic soda, and hydrochloric acid for use in a new chlorine refinery in the Coega Industrial Zone, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. This new 600 tonnes-per-day refinery will be owned and operated by Strait Chemicals and will meet the growing global demand for chlor-alkali and its derivatives.

'GE’s seawater desalination and thermal evaporation technologies will create around 630,000 tonnes of 99.9% pure salt annually,' said Earl Jones, General Manager, Structured Projects for GE Water & Process Technologies. 'Reclaiming salt from the desalination brine stream not only improves the overall economics of the refinery project, but also removes logistical issues by ensuring a reliable and locally available supply of high grade salt for use in the refining of chlorine.'