Infiltration Seawater Intake System

There are several ways to supply the required capacities of raw water for power generation, seawater desalination, municipal systems, fish farms, and for the oil industry. These utilities have been getting their supply of raw water through open intake systems. The need has become apparent in the last 40 years to radically modify these systems in order to comply with stricter environmental regulations imposed by governments around the world.

In Elmosa, we invested heavily in finding an alternative to open channel intake systems. We conceived and researched the idea of pre filtration at the water source. We set up models and conducted model studies in advanced hydraulic labs. We made a breakthrough in the water intake system technology by developing an infiltration system. The Infiltration became the brand name of this modern intake system.

Why Should utilities use Infiltration?

  • Shore Installation
  • Modular filter bed systems makes it easy to transport and install.
  • Infiltration area design flexibility.
  • Expandability without the need for system shutdown.
  • Minimal or no maintenance:
    • no backwash
    • no air purging
    • no cleaning
    • no treatment
    • no scrapping
    • no replacement, recharging or rehabilitation
  • No moving parts, nothing to rust, to tear or to wear.
  • Reduction of surface water user operation and maintenance costs.
  • Absence of metal parts in any stage of the system making it adequate for reverse osmosis raw water supply and for fish farms.
  • Total exclusion of marine life and debris including Zebra Mussels, fish, fish eggs and larvae, seaweed, sand, and trash.
  • Continuous supply of clean water in sufficient quantities to virtually run any system capacity.
  • System performance and flowrates unaffected by violent breaking of waves on the beach during storms.
  • Oil slick resistance.
  • Takes only few days to install and commission.
  • Lower maintenance cost, lower initial cost.

What makes Infiltration cost effective?

    • No ongoing operation or maintenance expenses associated with the system.
    • Costs are largely limited to initial materials and installation.
    • Capacities are virtually unlimited.
    • Pre filtered water with low silt density index (SDI) reduces the pretreatment costs for reverse osmosis systems:
      • Need for coagulation and flocculation minimized.
      • Pretreatment chemical consumption reduced.
      • Residence time is reduced, resulting in smaller and cheaper buffer tanks.
    • Expenses reduction of operation and maintenance in power plants as a result of the absence of eroding materials that are usually present in raw water supplies
    • Biological fouling is reduced.
    • entrained air is reduced.
    • Pumping energy is reduced.
    • Low capital investment.

The savings made by the lower costs of operation and maintenance of fish farms, reverse osmosis and power plants are estimated to pay off the initial system costs in a short period of time after start up.

What makes Infiltration environmentally safer?

  • It utilizes the site resources for its construction and operation.
  • It employs natural forces for its operation and maintenance.
  • It preserves the natural conditions and habitats; best for environmentally fragile sites.
  • Simplicity of design, construction, operation and maintenance.
  • Lower maintenance cost, lower initial cost.