Office of Saline Water – desal R&D funding, USA
In 1958, a Joint Resolution introduced by New Mexico Senator Clinton Anderson, and enacted by Congress, authorised the US Department of Interior’s Office of Saline Water (OSW) to construct and operate five desalination plants 'to demonstrate the reliability, engineering, operating and economic potential of the most promising sea or brackish water conversion processes.'
By Tom Pankratz
The law required that the plants be located in five different US regions, each demonstrating a different process. The total cost of the program was estimated at $22 million.
OSW's Proposed Demonstration Plants
| Location | Size, MGD (m3/d) | CapEx, millions | Process | Start-up | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freeport, Texas | 1 (3,785) | $1.26 | MED | June 1961 | ||||||||||
| Webster, South Dakota | 0.25 (946) | $0.43 | ED | October 1961 | ||||||||||
| San Diego, California | 1 (3,785) | $1.66 | MSF | March 1961 | ||||||||||
| Roswell, New Mexico | 1 (3,785) | $1.76 | VC | July 1963 | ||||||||||
| Wrightsville, North Carolina | 0.2 (757) | $1.23 | Direct Freezing | April 1964 |
The first unit to be constructed was the 12-effect vertical tube distillation plant, shown above, which operated at a top temperature of 121°C and produced 3,785 m3/d of desalted seawater at a cost of less than $1.25/kgal ($0.33/m3), with a fuel cost of $2.20/barrel. The unit was designed by WL Badger Associates, built by Chicago Bridge & Iron, and the operations and maintenance were contracted to Stearns and Rogers.
Dow Chemical donated 2 hectares of land, use of its seawater intake and provided power and steam at reduced rates.
Dow also purchased half of the production for industrial use at $0.08/m3, while the other half was purchased by the City of Freeport for $0.05/m3. The City also contributed $10,000 towards a pipeline connection to the City’s water system.
On 21 June 1961, President John F. Kennedy pressed a button in the White House, signaling the start-up of the first of the five demo plants, noting, '[Desal] represents a triumph of peace and not war.'
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President John F Kennedy 'starting' the Freeport test plant. – Tom Pankratz
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President Kennedy went on to say, 'Water – one of the most familiar and abundant compounds on the earth’s surface – is rapidly becoming a limiting factor on further economic growth in many areas of this Nation and the world. As time goes on, more and more communities will be faced with the prospect of economic distress and stagnation unless alternative sources of suitable water are developed.
'It is essential, therefore, that we make every effort at this time to search for low-cost processes for converting sea and brackish water into fresh water to meet our future water needs and those of our neighbors throughout the world. I know of no Federal activity that offers greater promise of making a major contribution to the ultimate economic well-being of all mankind than this program.'
The plant operated successfully until it was decommissioned in 1969.