ENERGY GLOBE
Somalia

WINNER:
Phaesun GmbH in cooperation with Kaafi Horn Renewable Energy Company

With the Project:
Revived Water - Solar powered water desalination in Somaliland

In cooperation with other partners, the solar company Phaesun developed a solar all-in-one system based on electrodialysis for the desalination and cleaning of brackish water. In May 2018, the first pilot system for drinking water production was put into operation at a saline well in the village of Beyo Gulan in the desert of Somaliland. Thanks to the new facility, the 300 inhabitants and the passing nomads now have a reliable clean source of drinking water year-round. Seven further desalination systems have been installed in Djibouti, Tanzania and India.

INITIAL SITUATION

In developing countries, many people are dependent on brackish water as their source of drinking water despite of the associated health risks since there is no alternative. Saline groundwater reserves usually occur in desert areas or inshore. Prior to the implementation of the project, the villagers as well as passing nomads had to use the well water as drinking water and for the drinking troughs of their livestock, although the high salinity and contamination are harmful.

SOLUTION

The focus of the revived water development and innovation project was on small brackish water desalination systems. Contrary to conventional reverse osmosis or thermal systems, the chosen electrodialysis technology has a low energy consumption and requires little maintenance. It can therefore self-sufficiently run on solar energy. Electrodialysis systems are scalable and work efficiently even with small volumes of water which is important when it comes to village wells.

INNOVATION

Prior to this project, there was no electrodialysis desalination unit with a drinking water production of up to 2,000 l per day available. In this size, only desalination systems based on reverse osmosis exist which have many disadvantages because of their high pressure generation, regular maintenance and the necessary mineralisation of the water after completion of the process. The new system can be operated self-sufficiently due to the included solar power supply.