Digital Twin Technology Improves Maintenance

Frits van Rooiji is OT Manager for IDE Americas, part of IDE Technologies, which is a world leader in water treatment solutions and has had a long-standing relationship with Rockwell Automation. IDE develops, engineers, builds and operates advanced water treatment and desalination plants for municipal and industrial customers.

Desalination is an important technology to meet the world’s fresh water needs. Most of the planet’s water is salted with an average salinity rate too high for drinking, industry or agriculture. Seawater desalination removes salt and dissolved solids and is an alternative and reliable water source to deliver water sustainability.

The Western Hemisphere’s largest desalination plant is in Carlsbad, California run by the San Diego County Water Authority. The award-winning plant uses IDE and Rockwell Automation technologies to help produce 54 million gallons of clean water a day for about 300,000 people.

“We take the water from the ocean, separate it from the salt, filter it, and add the right minerals to produce excellent drinking water,” Frits explains.

The plant uses Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane desalination to remove salt and other impurities by transferring water through a series of semi-permeable membranes. But a major challenge for the plant and the desalination industry as a whole is biofouling, which is the fouling of equipment underwater. That includes membrane fouling, which impedes permeability.

“It’s mainly due to seasonal blooms,” Frits says. “It shortens the lifespan of membranes and can get quite expensive. It can take plants out for a long period of time, which means you can’t produce.”

Watch the Video