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Anonymous Poster

Desalinating Ocean Water for Swimming Pools

05/20/2008 2:38 PM

Some time ago, I was swimming in a pool in El Salvador with a swimming pool contractor from Canada. He told me that it was economically practical to take ocean water (salt water) and desalinate it using it in large swimming pools. I find that to be questionable as I suspect that even use of RO water from such a source to be very costly. Is his comment accurate?

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Guru
Engineering Fields - Electrical Engineering - New Member

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#1

Re: Desalinating Ocean Water for Swimming Pools

05/20/2008 6:10 PM

All you have to do is separate the sodium from the chlorine and you've got a fresh water self-chlorinating pool.

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Guru
Panama - Member - New Member Hobbies - CNC - New Member Engineering Fields - Marine Engineering - New Member Engineering Fields - Retired Engineers / Mentors - New Member

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#2

Re: Desalinating Ocean Water for Swimming Pools

05/20/2008 10:59 PM

Here in Panama, I know of a couple of installations that use raw sea water, no treatment, for the swimming pool. The water is changed daily. This seems quite a bit more cost effective than desalinating the water first, and adding chlorine. I have also heard reports, unsubstantiated so far, that there are people in the US using salt added to fresh water to maintain chlorine levels. I do not know if this is practical. What I do know is that desalinization is not generally an economical option- power required is significant.

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Power-User

Join Date: Dec 2006
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#6
In reply to #2

Re: Desalinating Ocean Water for Swimming Pools

05/21/2008 10:07 AM

Using electrolysis to automatically generate Cl2 for pools is becoming more common. Only a small amount of salt is required in the pool water. I think it is below the level that most people can taste.

Here is one example:

http://www.poolandspashop.net/saltelec.html

Tad

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#3

Re: Desalinating Ocean Water for Swimming Pools

05/21/2008 12:10 AM

In India we use Nuclear energy to convert sea water to potable water. The hard water of sea is passed through nuclear reactor and steam generated are cooled and is converted to potable water. This conversion is very costly issue.

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Guru
United Kingdom - Member - Indeterminate Engineering Fields - Control Engineering - New Member

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#4

Re: Desalinating Ocean Water for Swimming Pools

05/21/2008 3:14 AM

The operating cost of RO to produce swimming pool water comes out at about 4.0-4.5kWh per m3, as a rough-and-ready figure.

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Anonymous Poster
#5

Re: Desalinating Ocean Water for Swimming Pools

05/21/2008 7:15 AM

How ironic - some people pay to add salt to their pools, other people want to take it out.

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#7

Re: Desalinating Ocean Water for Swimming Pools

05/27/2008 6:37 AM

For your info:

On board of seagoing ships, a freshwater generator (ex. mfg. Atlas Denmark - www.atlas-danmark.com ) is generally used for the production of freshwater from seawater; this desalinated ocean water is also used for the swimming pool on board. Freshwater is produced at low cost: cooling water of the main-engine is used to warm-up, under vacuum, the freshwater generator…

Best regards

John Sijs / 2 John

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