With the increasing scarcity of water resources, seawater desalination has become an important way to provide incremental water resources. "At present, the cost of seawater desalination projects in China is between 5-8 yuan/ton, which
is close to the international level," said Ma Deyi, a researcher at the First Research Institute of the State Oceanic Administration, at the 2014 Qingdao International Desalination Conference.
It is reported that desalination mainly uses electrodialysis and reverse osmosis methods to separate "chemical salts" from seawater, and in daily applications, it is seawater desalination. Seawater desalination is an open-source incremenl technology for water resources, which has become an important strategic measure for many coastal countries to solve freshwater resource shortages and promote sustainable economic and social development. According to statistics,
as of August 2013, the total installed capacity of global seawater desalination projects has reached 80.93 million tons per day.
Ma Deyi told reporters that the cost of seawater desalination mainly includes three parts: investment and construction, energy consumption, and operation and maintenance. With the advancement of technology and the growth of scale,
the cost of international seawater desalination is showing a downward trend.
It is understood that according to the "Twelfth Five Year Plan" for the development of the seawater desalination industry, by 2015, the output value of the domestic seawater desalination industry will reach over 30 billion yuan, the seawater
desalination capacity will reach over 2.2 million cubic meters/day, the independent innovation rate of seawater desalination raw materials and equipment manufacturing will reach over 70%, the cost of seawater desalination will continue to
decrease, and the research and development and manufacturing capabilities of key technologies, equipment, and materials will reach the international advanced level.
Guo Youzhi, Secretary General of the China Desalination Association, introduced that the main projects for seawater desalination in China are currently built in the north. In terms of production capacity, the maximum seawater desalination
treatment capacity of a domestic system is 50000 tons/day, while the world's maximum treatment capacity is millions of tons. Experts suggest that relevant departments need to continue to introduce relevant measures to enhance the
independent research and development level of seawater desalination technology, materials, and equipment in China, promote technological innovation with independent property rights, and promote industrial development.
