Helping to reduce CO2 emissions through seawater desalination using RO membranes

Toray Industries, Inc.

Outline

To help solve water shortage and pollution problems around the world, Toray has internally developed a wide range of high-performance membranes, utilizing the company's expertise in organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and nanotechnology. Toray also offers systems globally for customers to secure sustainable water sources.

Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes are used to produce drinking water from seawater by separating out salt and impurities. Seawater can be desalinated through a process of forcing H2O from a region of high solute concentration (seawater) through an RO membrane to a region of low solute concentration (drinking water) by applying pressure in excess of the osmotic pressure.
Compared with the evaporation method of desalination that requires heating, seawater desalination using an RO membrane can reduce CO2 emissions by 172.57 million tons. This is the estimated CO2 emissions avoidance from anticipated seawater desalination plant construction worldwide in 2020 (*).

*P28 Contributing to Avoided Emissions through the Global Value Chain
https://www.keidanren.or.jp/en/policy/vape/gvc2018.pdf

Toray will help reduce CO2 emissions by expanding the areas where seawater desalination based on RO membranes can be used, while increasing the supply system for RO membranes, and developing even better energy-saving technologies.