Two seawater desalination processors developed by China started operation in Indonesia on Wednesday, the first Chinese facilities of their kind to operate in a foreign country, the machines’ manufacturer announced.
The processors, installed at the Indramayu Power Station on West Java Island, were designed by the Dongfang Electric Corporation, which is headquartered in Chengdu, the capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
Chen Hui, general manager of ZhongHe Seawater Desalination Engineering Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Dongfang, said the two processors are capable of distillating 4,389 cubic meters of seawater daily, creating a stable supply of freshwater for the station.
“Desalination technology can raise energy efficiency for large projects such as power plants and steel plants while meeting their large demands for freshwater,” Chen said.
Another four desalination processors have been installed and will soon go into operation in Indonesia in the future, Chen said.
Seawater desalination technology has seen fast expansion in China in the wake of severe water shortages, according to a statement by China’s State Oceanic Administration (SOA).
China raised its daily seawater desalination capacity to 585,263 cubic meters this year, up from 29,263 cubic meters in 2001, the SOA said.
Desalination facilities capable of processing 9,754 cubic meters or more of seawater per day have been installed in north China’s Tianjin Municipality and other coastal areas such as Zhejiang and Shandong provinces.
