Desalination done right.
Make water without high bills. Extremely efficient.

Desalination using reverse osmosis has several downsides. It needs lots of energy, chemicals are used in the process and it’s a nightmare to operate and maintain. The result: very expensive fresh water.

Here’s some good news: we can make water affordable in a sustainable way using 3 simple innovations. How?

  1. Energy recovery technology as key to 70% energy savings
  2. Chemical-free design of the water treatment process
  3. A formula for stress-free operation & maintenance

Together, these steps result in the lowest costs to desalinate water. Our globally implemented solutions save on average 70% on the water bills for resorts, industries, private properties, communities or other water users.

We are pleased to present you our Efficient Water Makers, ranging for water production capacities between 5-150 m³ or 1.300-40.000 gallons per day. All our solutions enjoy unparalleled energy efficiency of around 2,7 kWh/m³ for seawater desalination.

There are several options to choose from, for example, a compact skid-built solution or a plug-and-play containerized version. Learn more about our unique approach below.

The desalination process using grid power: Grid power is generating the necessary energy to power the reverse osmosis desalination process. The result is cheap and high quality fresh water.

70% less energy for desalination.

Efficient Water Maker

We make water from the sea with 3 kWh / m³ .

Conventional desalination.

Conventional desalination uses 10 kWh / m³.

The breakthrough saving up to 70%:

Energy recovery for extreme efficiency.

Unique Energy Recovery Technology allows our solutions to use 70% less electricity than conventional desalination.  By re-using the saltwater flow of the reverse osmosis process, we reduce the amount of required energy by 70%. This technology is not new, it’s already mainstream in all large desalination facilities. We made it suitable for small-scale applications for resorts, industries, private properties, communities or other water users. This saves 7 kWh on each m³ of water produced. Our energy recovery device is maintenance-free.

We supply desalination solutions up to 150 m³/day.

Small

10 per day
  • 60% cost savings
  • 1,4 kW for desalination
  • 210 tons CO2 savings
  • option: 8-ft containerized

Medium

45 per day
  • 70% cost savings
  • 5,0 kW for desalination
  • 950 tons CO2 savings
  • option: 8-ft containerized

Large

110 per day
  • 80% cost savings
  • 12,4 kW for desalination
  • 2.300 tons CO2 savings
  • option: 20-ft containerized

Chemical-free water treatment.

Next, we have improved the water treatment process. Traditionally, anti-scalant chemicals are introduced to prevent scaling at the reverse osmosis membranes. The same membranes are periodically cleaned with chemicals to preserve them. These chemicals end up in the environment.

Our philosophy and design exclude chemicals. By using an automated fresh flush cycle, we can preserve the membrane using the product water. By operating on a lower recovery ratio, we don’t need to introduce anti-scalants. In the process, we have also reduced the salinity of the saltwater to further minimize the environmental impact.

Most pumps have to be replaced yearly when used in salt water. We believe that investing in quality, efficiency and reliability will bring added value over time. We solely work with super duplex, titanium or 904L pumps that provide a maximum lifetime in warm corrosive environments. And if possible, we add sacrificial anodes to make them last even longer.

Pre-treatment is crucial to protect the membranes and high-pressure pump. We retain the rough particles using a multi-media filter that can be backwashed periodically. By a combination of two cartridge filters, the smaller particles are retained.

The permeable membrane separates the salts, ions and molecules from the water. The reverse osmosis process requires high pressures in the order of 50 bar (725 psi) for seawater. Bacteria and viruses are also retained in the process.

High-efficiency desalination (< 3 kWh/m³) is enabled by re-using the brine pressure. The maintenance-free energy recovery devices are constructed from (super) duplex steel. This is the heart of the system.

The freshwater can be re-mineralized to reduce the potential aggressivity of the water. Remineralisation also can enhance the taste of the water.

To buffer between water supply and demand, our clients arrange a water storage tank. This can be anything ranging from an underground cistern, a plastic tank or a corrugated coated tank. Our desalination unit automatically starts when the water tank is not full and stops when the water tank is full.

An Ultraviolet (UV), cartridge & active-carbon filter treatment step can be placed after the freshwater storage to remove bacteria that might have entered the water during standstill in the water storage and distribution.

To prevent bio-fouling, we have an automated fresh flush cycle that rinses the membranes with some fresh water during start/stop, standby and production. This ensures a maximum lifetime of the membranes, without the use of chemicals.

The units are equipped with GSM-based monitoring for remote control and alarm messaging. Check-in on your water supply, anywhere, anytime. We can also provide an online remote monitoring portal as an option.

We can ensure our solution smoothly integrates with your local electricity supply of either 50 or 60 Hz, single or three-phase and for several Voltages supplied globally. This again ensures optimum efficiency to prevent high energy bills.

The entire water treatment process is based on simple filtration, moving from rougher to finer particle filtration in the pre-treatment, followed by removing the aqueous salts and everything larger in the reverse osmosis process. Afterwards, the water is remineralized. The water quality is measured twice every second to ensure it meets the design parameters. This way, we can ensure high water quality and reliability.

Small Efficient Water Maker: Canary Islands.
Eco resort using compact & easy reverse osmosis.

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”A special thanks to Elemental Water Makers who joined forces with Lanzarote Retreats to achieve their sustainability goals. The Dutch team made it possible for our eco-village to become independent on water. We are naturally powering the desalination unit by harnessing the wind & sun.

I hope Elemental Water Makers will continue to encourage the rest of the world to do the same.”

Tila Braddock | Owner, Lanzarote Retreats

Medium Efficient Water Maker: Tanzania.
Island resort uses efficient desalination.

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“We operate a small island of the coast of Zanzibar where water is not an easily accessible commodity, however dealing with high-end guests it is a requirement for our operation and we cannot afford to be without it. We heard about Elemental Waters through a business associate who had used them before and was very happy with their product. From the moment of sending our first enquiry up to the very end of installing our new desalination plant, the Elemental Waters team have been nothing but professional and courteous. They are extremely knowledgeable about their product and what it takes to operate a Desalination plant in a remote environment. They are flexible and prepared to work around your schedule. I really enjoyed working with Elemental Waters team.”

Large Efficient Water Maker: Curaçao.
Luxury resort uses efficient desalination.

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‘’Water and energy are one of our biggest expenses. Therefore we were glad to find Elemental Water Makers who were able to provide us a technically sound containerized desalination solution with the possibility of a spread payment over several years. This means we were able to directly save on our operational expenses! Their engineers were truly professional and went the extra mile to ensure this project was realized on short notice. Thanks!’’

General Manager, Resort

A formula for stress-free operation.

Over the past +10 years, we have spoken with hundreds of users of traditional desalination systems. Unfortunately, they all share the same challenge when it comes to operation and maintenance: it’s a nightmare. The most common mispractises that we come across include:
– energy-consuming stainless steel intake pump that corrodes and fails within 2 years.
– insufficient pre-treatment that results in frequent membrane replacement
– waking up to an empty water storage tank in the morning
– a non-responsive supplier when it comes to troubleshooting and support

Most of these issues can be simply avoided by proper design that takes into account the actual local set-up and by proper installation and operation. That’s why our engineers and our certified partners make the design based on the local set-up, perform the commissioning on-site and provide extensive training to operate and maintain the system. By investing in high-grade 904L pumps, remote monitoring, control and automation and by offering support for trouble-shooting we are committed to ensuring clean water for decades to come.

Several people standing around a circular water tank and an employee explaining the desalination process

Use case: small Efficient Water Maker.
A private island enjoying guilt-free water on-site at 55% lower expenses.

The problem: no fresh water available at acceptable expenses
The private island has a water demand of 9 m³/day due to landscaping and private use. The rain is not reliable and sufficient enough, leaving no alternative for desalination. Two options are available, which first appears to be an easy decision as the standard reverse osmosis solution is about 30% cheaper in the purchase price.

The solution: efficient RO unit
Fortunately, the energy efficiency is considered before making a decision. By choosing the 3x more efficient water maker offered by Elemental Water Makers, water savings of 55% are realised, equal to 112.000 $. Despite the 30% higher purchase price the payback is still less than 1 year, as energy generation on the island is expensive with 0.3 $/kWh.

The benefits: savings, stress-free operation & independence
The compact desalination solution allows the private island owner to enjoy high-quality water on-site, with stress-free operation & remote monitoring, whilst still saving 18 ton CO2 per year. This is a solution for future generations.

Assumptions: costs including installation and training | Yearly inflation of 2% | Reference RO energy consumption: 10 kWh/m³ | Water intake available | Financial lifetime 15 yrs | Technical lifetime >20 yrs | OpEx include consumables, spare parts and membrane replacement.

Water expenses

Our efficient water maker is twice as cheap as a standard reverse osmosis desalination system

Water tariff in $/m3

Our efficient water maker is twice as cheap as a standard reverse osmosis desalination system

A payback within 1 year & over $100.000 in savings.

Be next to benefit efficient desalination:

Reliable savings.

Save up to 80% on water bills.