Assessing the Feasibility of an Offshore Desalination Facility

Abstract

Is it feasible to build an offshore desalination facility in the Gulf of Mexico that delivers finished water to onshore facilities? A recent assessment identifies and integrates appropriate treatment strategies, including pretreatment, low- and high-pressure membrane filtration, posttreatment, treated water transmission, and concentrate disposal processes based on local source water quality and finished water goals. Operational and regulatory considerations were evaluated at 25-, 50-, and 100-mgd production rates. Results demonstrated the constructability of an offshore desalination facility and established the requisite platform design and resulting treatment system arrangement. Construction, operating strategies, and costs illustrate the economic, environmental, and technical challenges of constructing an offshore desalination platform facility.