Overview
ARBOK-DEION produces high-purity deionised and degassed water on-site for cleaning large solar PV plants in water-scarce, dust-prone regions. Instead of RO+EDI — which needs clean feedwater, fouls membranes, and dumps brine — it uses low-temperature vacuum evaporation to turn almost any feed (seawater, brine, wastewater, RO concentrate, even raw sewage) into ultra-clean DI water. Because uncleaned panels lose 30–40 % output in dusty/coastal zones, on-site water turns PV cleaning from a water liability into a self-supplied asset.
Applications
Primary use cases: DI water for PV panel cleaning; industrial ultra-pure water; on-site water in water-stressed solar regions.
Industries and users: utility-scale solar operators, O&M contractors, industrial water users.
Scale: 200 m³/day per 20-ft unit; scalable by unit count.
Operating Principle
Feedwater is evaporated under deep vacuum near ambient temperature and condensed into ultra-clean water meeting/exceeding DI standards; a degassing stage removes oxygen, CO₂, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and other volatiles. No RO membranes or ion-exchange resins. Internal latent-heat recovery up to 98 %. Concentrated waste leaves as solids/slurry (ZLD), not brine.
Limitations: residue handling; feed-flexible but throughput set per unit.
Key Parameters
Capacity: up to 200 m³/day per 20-ft container; 24/7/365 autonomous.
Energy: 0.65–0.7 kWh per m³ (latent-heat recovery up to 98 %).
Output: very low conductivity, near-zero boron and ammonium, minimal organics; degassed.
Feed flexibility: seawater, brine, wastewater, RO concentrate, raw sewage.
Monitoring: built-in electronic lab (conductivity, pH, gases) with GSM/industrial alerts and fail-safe auto-shutdown.
Architecture and Components
Vacuum evaporation chamber; condensation/DI-water unit; degassing stage; residue (solids/slurry) extraction; electronic monitoring lab + automation; 20-ft vertical container. Modular, scalable.
Advantages
Technical: no membranes/resins to foul; handles any feed; integrated degassing and quality monitoring.
Economic: 0.65–0.7 kWh/m³ (~a few cents/m³ at $0.05/kWh); net water cost approaches zero when recovered salts/gases are valorized; low maintenance.
Environmental: ZLD (solids, not brine); frees operators from trucked/municipal DI water.
Strategic: enables solar growth in the water–energy nexus (Middle East, India, Africa, Latin America).
Integrations
Integrates with PV-plant O&M; SCADA/industrial protocols and remote telemetry; pairs with ARBOK brine/mineral recovery for valorized residues.
Deployment & Operation
Steps: feed assay → unit sizing → container install → commissioning. Open-air, ambient temperature, autonomous. Continuous, automated, minimal staffing with real-time quality alerts.
TRL
TRL 9 (confirmed by Michael). Industrially proven: field trials validated under high dust load, saline feedwater, remote grid access, and fluctuating temperatures, producing DI water at scale with consistent quality and minimal downtime.
Market Potential
Utility-scale solar is expanding fastest in dusty, water-stressed regions (Middle East, India, Africa, Latin America), where panel cleaning competes with scarce water. On-site DI production is a strategic O&M enabler.
Typical Project Economics
OPEX 0.65–0.7 kWh/m³ (~a few cents/m³ at $0.05/kWh); net cost near zero with salt/gas valorization. CAPEX per 200 m³/day unit; payback via avoided DI trucking and protected PV yield. (Site economics to be modelled.)
Risk Factors
Residue handling/classification; integration with PV-plant O&M cycles; verification of field-trial claims; feed-variability management.
Related Technologies
ARBOK-MOBILE · Vacuum Osmosis · ARBOK-SODA · ARBOK-VC (Vacuum Cracking)