The desalination process

Take a look under the hood of the Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Plant

Intake

A local power plant already uses seawater for cooling, so the plant plumbs into the existing intake.

Return

Salty water is mixed with seawater from the powerplant cooling system before it is returned to the sea.

Fine filtering

The water is passed through fine cartridge filters to remove any small particles that could clog the reverse osmosis membranes.

Solid waste

Any solid particles removed from the water are taken away for disposal.

Energy capture

Concentrated salt water is returned to the sea via a turbine, generating electricity as it passes through.

Reverse osmosis

Filtered seawater is passed across semipermeable membranes under pressure, separating the water from the salt.