Rochdale Business Wins £140,000 Grant

A Rochdale company has won a DTI Research and Development Grant to develop a water purification system for use on board ships, Small Business Minister Nigel Griffiths announced today.

The £142,800 development award will enable Salt Separation Services Ltd, of Gorrell Street in Rochdale to develop a water purification system that will enable ships to become more self sufficient whilst at sea.

Enabling ships to become more self-sufficient by producing more water at sea for drinking and reuse in the laundry results in more efficient water management, reduced operating costs and waste discharges.

Most ships have the ability to make their own water, utilising waste heat from their engines. However, cruising has become very popular, and tour operators are now offering different locations daily, which is wonderful for holidaymakers but poses potential problems for ships' engineers due to shortfalls in water production because the ships are not at sea long enough.

In the past it was not unreasonable to take water onboard in every port to make up the shortfall. However if five or six ships a day arrive, each carrying up to 2,000 passengers, water demand can suddenly be a problem, which results in it becoming an expensive commodity. The result is that ships do 'extra' miles in the night, using more fuel, which in turn produces more exhaust emissions.

Reverse Osmosis desalination has been around for approximately 20 years. However, most countries have guidelines in place for how far from land a ship can be before it can make water due to possible contamination.

Salt Separation's project aims to develop and marinise land based water treatment technology, improving reliability, performance and operability of existing seawater. Reverse Osmosis systems will enable production of water on ships close to shore, and to recycle laundry water for reuse to reduce overall water demand onboard.