With water shortage staring India on its face, the ministry of earth sciences (MES) is keen to promote conversion of sea water into portable water based on low temperature thermal desalination (LTTD) technology.
MES is planning to install this LTTD across a large number of cities located along the Indian coastline.
Already, the port city of Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu will soon boast of a desalination plant with a capacity of generating freshwater up to two million litres daily.
This technology is also being introduced in the six Lakshadweep islands of Amini, Chetlet, Kadamath, Kalpeni, Kultan and Andrott at a cost of `16 crores per island.
MES secretary Shailesh Nayak elaborated on a recent experiment conducted by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in which it commissioned an experimental one-MLD (million litres a day) floating barge-mounted desalination plant situated 40 km off Ennore Port which is north of Chennai.
The process uses the temperature difference between deep sea water and surface sea water. It is also being used with thermal plants located along the coast since the technology involves using the water being pumped out of thermal plants.
This hot water is converted into vapour by passing it through vacuum chambers and then condensing it with the help of surface seawater. “We hope that this technology can be introduced in all the new thermal power plants that are coming up in the country,” Dr Nayak said.