Baihuipu Commissions Second Train at Coastal Desalination Plant
Baihuipu has commissioned a second train at a coastal desalination plant, taking site capacity from 800 to 1,600 m3 per day. The work finished last week after a staged desalination plant commissioning programme that kept the first train producing throughout, a condition set by the operator because the site has no alternative water source during the dry season. The new train shares the existing intake, outfall and product tank, so the engineering work concentrated on hydraulic balance, control sequencing and a cutover that did not interrupt supply.
Key Features and Benefits
Expansion Without New Civil Works
The original intake and outfall had been sized for a second train, but the as-built drawings were fifteen years old. We surveyed the actual header pressures and the outfall dilution before connecting, then set the new high-pressure pump and energy recovery device to the measured conditions rather than the original design sheet. For the reuse angle specifically, Baihuipu Starts Pharmaceutical Oxidation Pilot Line goes further than we can here. We set out the wider process route in containerized seawater desalination.
The new membrane rack sits in the existing building bay. Pipework was prefabricated off site and installed during a short window when the shared header could be isolated, which kept the outage to hours instead of days. We have written about the downstream implications separately in Baihuipu Launches Containerized MVR Evaporator Series system.
A Cutover in Stages
Commissioning ran in four steps: wet test of the new train on a recirculation loop, permeate-to-drain operation, partial feed to the product tank, then full parallel operation with the first train. Each step had an acceptance point on conductivity, flow and differential pressure before the next one started. Much of this mirrors the situation set out in Baihuipu Releases DTRO Membrane System for Leachate system.
The control system was extended so both trains can be run together, singly, or with either one on standby. Load sharing follows the product tank level rather than a fixed split, which avoids short cycling when demand drops at night.
Records for the Next Expansion
Normalised permeate flow, salt passage and specific energy were recorded for both trains at the same feed conditions, giving the operator a baseline that separates new-membrane performance from ageing on the original train. That comparison is useful when the next cleaning or replacement decision comes up.
Updated as-built drawings, the revised control philosophy and the commissioning test sheets were handed over together. The site now has one current set of documents instead of an original pack plus years of handwritten notes.
Technical Specifications
Site figures before and after the second train entered service:
| Item | Before Expansion | After Commissioning |
|---|---|---|
| Installed capacity | 800 m3/d | 1,600 m3/d |
| Operating trains | one | two, with standby flexibility |
| Intake and outfall | existing | reused after hydraulic survey |
| Supply during works | at risk | first train kept in service |
| Documentation | original as-built | updated drawings + test sheets |
Why Choose Baihuipu as Your Manufacturer
Picking a supplier for this kind of plant is mostly about who carries the risk when something goes wrong. We have built this equipment for more than twenty years, and we are the ones who fabricated it, programmed the controls and will still answer the phone three years from now.
Manufacturing Base in Guangdong
Owned production lines mean we control tolerances, materials and delivery. Standard modular units and bespoke skids are both built by our own people, so schedule commitments are ours to keep.
Documentation You Can Actually Audit
Each system ships with as-built drawings, material certificates, welding records and a functional specification. If a client's own consultant wants to review the process calculation basis, we hand it over rather than treating it as proprietary.
Two Decades of Field Data
Food and beverage, chemicals, electroplating, textile dyeing, mining, municipal work — we have commissioned across all of them. The useful part is not the project count, it is having seen how plants fail in year seven and designing those failures out.
We Engineer the Whole Train
Screening, equalisation, biological or chemical treatment, membranes, evaporation, brine handling — the complete line comes from one organisation. Process design, mechanical, electrical and PLC programming sit under the same roof, so there is no gap for finger-pointing at handover.
Spares, Service and Commissioning
Membranes, dosing pumps, diffusers, instrumentation and blowers are stocked for the systems we sell. Our control systems support remote diagnostics, and we can put an engineer on site for commissioning, training or an unplanned shutdown.
Twenty-Plus Export Markets
We have shipped to the United States, Canada, Russia, Indonesia, India, Nigeria and Vietnam among others. Crating, export documentation and certificates are handled in-house, which keeps customs surprises to a minimum.
Certification and Export Practice
CE marking is standard and we work to ISO 9001 procedures. Where a project calls for specific material grades, pressure vessel certification or ATEX-rated equipment, we build to that standard and ship the full documentation pack.
Let's Look at Your Numbers
Share your water analysis and site constraints and we will give you a straight assessment of the process route and the realistic operating cost before you commit to anything. Contact our engineers at WhatsApp: +86 13631765076, or find us at hkbhp.com.
WhatsApp: +86 13631765076
Customer FAQs
Can a desalination plant be expanded without shutting down?
Usually, if the intake, outfall and product header have spare capacity and the tie-ins can be isolated in a short window. The survey of actual header pressures matters more than the original drawings.
What does a staged commissioning programme include?
A wet test, permeate-to-drain operation, partial feed to the product tank, then full parallel running. Each stage has an acceptance point on conductivity, flow and differential pressure.
Do both trains need the same membrane type?
Not necessarily, but the control set points and normalisation must reflect the actual loading in each rack. Mixing types without adjusting the comparison makes performance trends misleading.
How is load shared between trains?
In this project it follows product tank level, with either train able to run on standby. That avoids short cycling at night and lets the operator take one train out for cleaning without losing supply. The operating detail behind this sits in brackish water RO system.
Readers planning similar projects often also read Baihuipu Upgrades Integrated MBR Sewage Treatment Unit system and baihuipu completes zero liquid discharge retrofit project for the process detail behind these systems.
