The desalination facility built by Rosatom Infrastructure Solutions at Turkey’s Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant has produced its first million cubic meters of clean water. The facility showcases Russian nuclear engineers’ ability to develop reliable desalination systems.
Rosatom began seriously exploring desalination back in 2015 during negotiations for the El Dabba NPP project in Egypt. It became clear at that time that desalination could be a promising business area, but a reference facility was needed. The water treatment system for the Akkuyu NPP was taken to serve as such. Rosatom Infrastructure Solutions was selected as the main contractor, while as much equipment as possible was sourced locally in Turkey — except for some components such as membranes, which are manufactured by only a few countries worldwide. Negotiations with Egypt regarding a desalination plant for El Dabba are still ongoing.
The desalination facility supplied by Rosatom Infrastructure Solutions to Akkuyu consists of two plants each producing 1,000 cubic meters of water per day for general needs, and one more installation with the daily capacity of 2,800 cubic meters of makeup water for the reactor circuits. They process seawater containing no less than 25 grams of salts per liter. The makeup water installation uses steam from the tertiary circuit of the reactor unit, generated by transferring heat from the secondary coolant circuit through a system of pipes and a steam transformer. The result is ultra-pure distilled water with the salt content reduced to just 10 milligrams per liter, which is ideal for further demineralization and production of primary coolant used in electricity generation.
Potable water is obtained separately using electric evaporators since Turkish laws prohibit the direct use of steam from the nuclear reactor for potable water production. After desalination, drinking water undergoes remineralization by adding precisely measured doses of calcium and magnesium carbonates and sodium fluoride. These minerals support proper functioning of human body systems, while bicarbonates improve taste.
“The entire desalination cycle is environmentally safe. Water returned to the sea after being used will comply with the Turkish and international standards for both temperature and chemical composition,” noted Akkuyu Nuclear CEO Sergey Butskikh.
While Akkuyu is not yet operational, the desalination facility draws electricity from the external grid. Once the power plant is up and running, the desalination process will be powered by nuclear-generated electricity. “The key advantage of this approach is combining two essential resources — water and electricity — into an unmatched cluster that will support sustainable development of the region,” emphasized Ksenia Sukhotina, CEO of Rosatom Infrastructure Solutions.
The company is ready to offer its desalination technology to other customers. For this purpose, its engineers have developed a base design capable of producing 170,000 cubic meters of water per day. The design features two parallel systems: one uses heating by steam, while the other employs membrane technology and electricity. The membrane method is cheaper but more sensitive to water quality. If one system fails, the other continues operation, ensuring overall reliability and cost-efficiency. This standard desalination system forms part of Rosatom’s comprehensive offering to future clients building large-scale nuclear power plants.
No universal design has been developed for small-scale nuclear generation facilities since diverse client requirements cannot be easily standardized. Instead, Rosatom will customize its solutions on a case-by-case basis.
Photo by: Akkuyu Nuclear
