China's new desalination plant cuts energy use by 60% and turns brine into salt

A large-scale desalination facility in Caofeidian, Tangshan, Hebei province has entered trial production. The Tangshan Sanyou Group plant uses 60% less electricity and converts waste brine into chemical salt: three tonnes of brine yield two tonnes of fresh water and one tonne of concentrate at 120 g/L salinity.

• Power demand is 60% lower than standard desalination methods
• Three tonnes of brine yield two tonnes of fresh water and one tonne of concentrate at 120 g/L
• The concentrate travels 50 km by pipeline to a soda ash plant
• At phase three the plant will process nearly 100 million tonnes of seawater a year