Containerized Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant
Desalinating brackish groundwater eased water shortage in Cyprus city

Containerized desalination's low noise and small footprint allowed Fluence to install a plant in a residential neighborhood.
Fluence addressed an increasingly severe water shortage in the city of Limassol in Cyprus by building a containerized brackish water reverse osmosis desalination plant that produces 10,000 m3/day (10,000,000 L/d) of high-quality purified drinking water, which complies with all requirements of WHO drinking water regulations.
Background
A significant potential water source for the city was the Garillis aquifer, which is located in a residential area. Its water was not suitable for human consumption due to high levels of salts and nitrates. The Cyprus Water Development Department (WDD) awarded Fluence a Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) contract to implement a cost-effective solution to relieve the water shortage without disturbing the local population.
Challenges
Solutions
System Description
- RO production flow rate: 450-500 m3/h
- RO recovery rate: 75-84.5%
- Duty: 24/7
Feed water quality:
- TDS: 1,000-1,400 ppm
- Nitrate: 100-120 mg/L
- Total hardness: 500-600 mg/L as CaCO3
Product water quality:
- Permeate TDS: RO permeate <100 ppm
- Product to client TDS, after post-treatment: <600 ppm
- Alkalinity: >30 ppm@HCO3
- Turbidity: <1.0 NTU
- Nitrate: <50 ppm
Results
PROJECT DETAILS
LOCATION
Limassol, Cyprus
CUSTOMER
Cyprus Water Development Department (WDD)
SOLUTION
Containerized Reverse Osmosis Brackish Water Desalination
TECHNOLOGY
Pretreatment with multimedia and cartridge filtration, reverse osmosis, remineralization.