SolarSpring GmbH | membrane solutions

SolarSpring systems provide clean water for domestic and industrial applications using only clean energy.  Water desalination and purification are driven with solar thermal heat, waste heat or PV power.  Pumping and electrical needs are also solar powered. 

Solar energy is a clean but cyclical power source.  SolarSpring systems are engineered for intermittent operation and intelligently adapt to changing conditions.  The combination of clean energy and proven water technologies provide a range of systems for reliable, decentralised water treatment.

SolarSpring desalination solutions are based on membrane distillation (MD), a technology ideally suited for solar energy or waste heat.  Our spiral-wound MD modules are low-fouling and operate over a wide range of salinities.  The resulting clean energy desalination systems are low maintenance, require little pre-treatment, and are effective under varying operating conditions.

SolarSpring water purification solutions are based on ultrafiltration, ultraviolet (UV) disinfection or anodic oxidation (AO) disinfection technologies. Ultrafiltration membranes filter out particles and microorganisms, making tainted water safe to drink. UV disinfection uses high intensity ultraviolet rays to destroy microorganisms in drinking water supplies. Anodic oxidation (AO) is based on an electrolytic process in which the necessary disinfectant is produced from the minerals in the water.

A SolarUF plant has been installed in April 2012 for the Hope Project in Delhi, India. The Project includes a school and a community health centre amongst others for which it requires the highest standards of drinking water. It has been installed on the roof of the building to supply the whole project with safe and pure drinking water.

SWINGS project (titled "Safeguarding Water Resources in India with Green and Sustainable Technologies") started in September 2012 due to the interest of implementing integrated and optimized solutions for wastewater reuse in different areas of India. A consortium of 10 partners from Europe and 11 partners from India, consisting of R&D, companies, SME, NGO and local body organisations with complementary expertises to improve the water reuse and sanitation in developing regions in India using low cost, easy to adopt, sustainable and zero discharge methodology based on biological and natural systems.

SolarSpring  joins the european-indian consortium of SWINGS to supply India with clean water. At a time with an urgent need to conserve water resources, efficient sanitation systems,  water recycling and re-use  play a key role in sustainability. They can ensure that the vital resource Water is recovered from waste and can be re-used at the same time as protecting human health and the environment. In particular, the SWINGS project will enlist already optimized municipal WW treatment concepts and combine "green" and sustainable technologies. The result will be enhances water recycling and re-use, decreased energy consumption, and production of useful by-products from the process as secondary resources. Thus, treated WW will be transformed to soil enrichment resource, to irrigation water, to aquaculture farm feed, via sustainable sanitation that safeguards the local drinking water supply in India.  The starting point of the SWINGS project will be anaerobic digestion (AD) and constructed wetlands (CW) that will be configured with environmentally sustainable disinfection technologies.

SolarSpring GmbH  has installed a new solar desalination laboratory system at the University of Almería (UAL). The system was ordered by Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA) and researchers of different Institutes will work with the system to further advance the membrane distillation technology.

Results already made with the previous system, already in operation at PSA were being presented by researchers from the team of Guillermo Zaragoza at the EDS (European Desalination Society) Conference on Cyprus in May 2014. At the same conference the Action Group "Renewable Energy Desalination” will be introduced, in which SolarSpring is also taking part.