on oct 10, the caofeidian seawater desalination project, china's largest seawater desalination project that uses the membrane separation method with a daily output of 50,000 tons, produced the first of the desalinated water. xie zhenhua, deputy director of national development and reform commission, ji lin, vice mayor of beijing and zhao yong and the executive deputy provincial governor witnessed the successful moment. the project, constructed by hangzhou development center of water treatment technology affiliated with chemchina, marks that the company's independent seawater desalination technology has reached an internationally advanced stage.
caofeidian boasts a seawater desalination capability of 50,000 tons per day, desalinating seawater from the bohai sea for water utilization under the municipal administration. the project is under an international tender bid by domestic companies. the success holds great importance to the water supply of the caofeidian industrial zone. it also sets an exemplary model in the application of ultra-large seawater desalination projects conducted under a municipal administration.
seawater desalination is one of china's emerging marine industries. since the hangzhou water treatment center was successfully constructed as one of china's first facilities with daily output of 5,000 tons in 1997, china's seawater desalination technology has achieved swift development in the past 15 years and is increasingly referred to by the state and government at each level. proposals for the 12th five-year plan made by the cpc central committee as well as the planning outline on marine science and technology development during china's 12th five-year plan period, which were jointly issued by the state oceanic administration, the ministry of science and technology, the ministry of education and the national natural science foundation of china, clearly encourages seawater desalination and the acceleration of the technology. therefore, the caofeidian seawater desalination project, which adopts the membrane separation method and can yield 50,000 tons per day, will provide strong confidence and technical support for future applications.
the hangzhou water treatment center, one of the earliest institutions to use the membrane separation method in seawater desalination, is taking the lead in the field with market shares of over 70 percent. in the past 15 years, the center has reduced power consumption from 10 kwh per ton to below 4.5 kwh per ton of water through continuous technique improvement. this reduction has lowered more than half of the cost of investment, enabling the expanded use of seawater desalination technology.
furthermore, the success of the project manifests that china's seawater desalination technology and costs are attractive to international investors.