Click here to enlarge imageAlion Science & Technology, of McLean, VA, is building on the advanced technology being developed under EUWP. It recently delivered a full-scale technology demonstrator of an advanced water purification plant that can produce over 300,000 gallons per day (gpd) of potable-grade freshwater on a naval aircraft carrier. This system can sustain a devastated community with clean drinking water for quite a long time. Using microfiltration pretreatment membrane technology and high recovery reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, it also can increase the purity level of a portion of the potable output and produce over 100,000 gallons per day of high-purity boiler feedwater.
The technology demonstrator incorporates new machinery and developmental components along with an integrated chemical cleaning technology to produce cleaner water, significantly reduce energy consumption, and decrease the size and weight of the plant as compared to present naval desalination plants.
This has huge ramifications for adaptable mobile units. According to the Office of Naval Research (ONR) website, an EUWP demonstrator system was deployed to Port Clarence, AK, in July 2005 after the water supply was contaminated during a storm surge. Two months later, two demonstrator units were sent to Biloxi and Pascagoula, MS with great success to provide drinking water for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. These units can be deployed anywhere contaminated water must be purified. Whether it’s being used to help in disaster scenarios or to simply ensure a chemical plant is releasing water as pure as the water it’s bringing in, the system can have a real impact.
Under the Navy contract, Alion provided engineering and program management expertise to oversee the demonstrator system’s conceptual design, fabrication, and all system and software engineering development. Alion also spearheaded creation of technical documentation, factory acceptance testing and safety assessments as part of its program management responsibilities.
