The Energy Advantage of Depth: More Than Pressure

Operating subsea high-pressure, high-flow pumps is required only for the delivery of purified water from depth to surface or shore. 

Pumping only the product (purified water) and not the product source (seawater) lowers overall energy requirements by as much as 40%. 

Contributing to energy savings is removing multi-pump pre-osmosis by operating below the Ocean’s most biologically productive zone. Contemplated depths avoid the impact of desalination on phytoplankton, the marine carbon cycle, and potential negative feedback on climate disruption that these systems can cause.

Planned operational depths for the Tiabzu System are between 410 and 610 meters for water-pressure driven RO, below the Ocean’s most biologically productive zones. This reduces the requirement for pretreatment. High-volume flow-through limits concentration of extracted salt and suspended solids. Energy savings is a result of only pumping generated freshwater to RO pressure versus conventional systems requiring pumping 5 times the generated freshwater up to RO pressure. Operations shallower than 410 meters requires additional pre-osmotic pumping similar to conventional systems.