Advanced Desalination System for Rural Area in Khuzestan

The first electrodialysis (ED) system to improve the quality of drinking water was launched in Shahid Beheshti Village of Shush County in southwestern Khuzestan Province. The vice-president for science and technology attended.
“The system is advanced and has better quality output compared to other desalination units [those using reverse osmosis process],” the energy ministry news portal Paven quoted Surena Sattari as saying.
With minimum energy consumption and minimum waste, the unit can produce 200 cubic meters of potable water per day for 500 people in the village.
As the unit can be built at a low cost, it is planned to be used in other villages and cities.
The project in Shahid Beheshti village cost over 4.5 billion rials (almost $35,000). “Another 20 villages in the province too will have ED units,” Sattari said.
Electrodialysis is an advanced membrane technology process that utilizes ion movement to desalinate water.
To tackle the worsening water crisis, desalination is becoming a viable option in most countries to produce water from the sea. In the coastal regions where salt water is in abundance, large and semi-large desalination plants are preferred.
Tapping into the sea to produce clean water is on the Energy Ministry agenda as it is seen as viable for sustainable supplies rather than depleting the rapidly dwindling underground tables, most of which are on the verge of drying up.