Peter Taboada tailors energy-efficient wellboat SWRO with flexible Danfoss technology

Peter Taboada’s extensive experience in the marine sector led to its involvement in some of the first wellboats built for delousing salmon with freshwater treatments.

“SWRO plants for wellboats are similar to many other marine projects,” says Peter Taboada’s marine sector manager, Jacobo Perez.  “However, due to wellboat design and the quantities of fresh water that operators need to produce, making maximum use of minimum space is even more critical. And because wellboat operators don’t make money when their vessels are in port for maintenance, near-constant uptime and system reliability are a must. Finally, of course, energy efficiency is essential for both financial and environmental reasons.”

“Because of all of these factors, we approach each wellboat project with fresh eyes. We work closely with shipbuilders, wellboat operators and our vendors to maximize the ROI of every wellboat SWRO plant. Rather than one-size-fits-all plants, we try to meet or exceed customer requirements by customizing each design to the specific conditions. Often, these solutions can produce more water, more flexibly than the original brief stipulated.”

To meet these challenges for its latest two wellboat projects, Peter Taboada’s engineers designed a two-train 5000 m³/day SWRO plants based on Danfoss technology. Each 2500 m³ train builds on two APP 65 high-pressure pumps and two iSave 70 energy recovery devices.  

“Danfoss’s range of compact components works well with modular designs,” says Perez. “In addition to energy efficiency, Danfoss pumps and ERDs are also known for their reliability and long service intervals. When this dependability is combined with the system redundancy enabled by a multiple-train design, operators are ensured of consistent supply in almost any situation. This assured uptime is a big advantage for wellboat operators who invest heavily to serve the salmon industry.”

At the time this case was written, the Spanish water-treatment specialist had already completed four wellboat projects, including this and two other                5000 m³/day plants and one 3000 m³/day plant. The next two, which will be commissioned in 2024, will have even higher capacities of 15,000 m³/day and 10,000 m³/day.  

“We have also specified Danfoss high-pressure pumps and ERDs for these latest projects,” explains Perez, “and we continue to work with them after the plants are up and running. We monitor our plants remotely to constantly improve service and maintenance. Danfoss components and people make this easier. We share data with them, and they share their insights with us so we can both better understand trends proactively. Everyone is prepared for success but not necessarily for problems. This is how you measure the quality of your partnerships – when there is a problem, partners need to move fast to solve it, and we can count on Danfoss to do this.”