We design, build, factory-test and ship complete dissolved-air-flotation pilot plants for seawater reverse-osmosis (SWRO) pre-treatment — inside a single ISO container, on a road skid, or on a towable trailer. One delivered envelope proves your coagulation chemistry, validates DAF loading rates, and de-risks the full-scale plant before a single membrane is bought.
From algal-bloom (HAB) intake protection to TEP and oil removal ahead of UF and RO, these are the pilot rigs our process engineers run on real seawater — the same units that scale directly to a permanent plant.
Real seawater, real chemistry, real numbers — before you commit to the full plant
A seawater intake is the single biggest risk in any desalination project. Algal blooms, transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), oil, and seasonal turbidity foul reverse-osmosis membranes faster than any other failure mode — and you cannot model your way out of it. You have to run the water. A containerised DAF pilot lets you do exactly that: it sits at the intake, treats live seawater for weeks or months, and produces the coagulant dose curves, DAF loading limits, and downstream SDI₃ / fouling data that a full-scale design can be built on. We engineer, fabricate, wire, program and factory-test the whole rig in our works, then ship it as one piece. You connect feed, power and drain — and start logging data.
Jar tests lie at scale. The pilot finds your real ferric / coagulant dose, flocculation time and pH window on actual intake water across a full bloom cycle.
Confirm DAF surface and hydraulic loading rates, recycle ratio and saturator pressure that hold float quality when the algae count spikes.
Measure the SDI₃, turbidity and TEP delivered to UF/RO so the membrane warranty and CIP frequency rest on data, not assumption.
A signed-off pilot report is what unlocks financing, regulator sign-off and the EPC tender for the full plant. We deliver that report.
Granular media and UF blind off under a bloom. DAF floats algae cells and the organics they shed upward, protecting downstream filtration when it matters most. Removal of algae routinely exceeds 95%.
Transparent exopolymer particles are the prime biofouling precursor for RO. DAF with the right coagulation removes 60–80% of TEP that filters alone leave behind.
Harbour and refinery-adjacent intakes carry hydrocarbons that destroy membranes. Flotation removes free and emulsified oil that settling never will.
High-rate DAF operates at 0.3–0.5 kWh/m³ and 8–40 m/hr surface loading — compact enough to containerise the whole pilot train.
Read the full DAF-for-SWRO process page → · UF pre-treatment · RO protection
Pick the envelope that fits the site, the campaign length and the logistics chain
A full DAF (and optional UF/RO) train inside a weatherproof, lockable, climate-controlled 20ft or 40ft ISO container. The right choice for long campaigns, hostile climates and any site a container ship reaches.
View ConfigurationsThe complete triple-barrier desalination pilot: coagulation → DAF → ultrafiltration → cartridge → RO, with full instrumentation and permeate sampling. Proves the entire treatment chain end to end.
See the TrainA road-legal towable or compact skid for the fastest possible mobilisation — ideal for harmful-algal-bloom rapid response, multi-site comparison trials and tenders that need a rig on the water in days.
Mobile OptionsHover and click components to explore the rig
Self-priming duplex-SS feed pump draws live intake water. VFD-controlled to set the pilot throughput precisely from the HMI.
Ferric chloride day tank with flow-paced metering pump and calibration column. The pilot sweeps dose to find the optimum on live water.
Two-stage tapered flocculation with variable-speed paddle mixers. Adjustable G-value and retention to grow floc that floats cleanly.
The heart of the rig. Micro-bubbles released from the saturator attach to coagulated solids and float them to a surface float layer skimmed off the top. Clarified water leaves from the base.
Pressurised saturator dissolves air into a recycle stream at 4–6 bar; depressurisation at the inlet nucleates the micro-bubble cloud. Recycle pump and compressor included.
Downstream UF rack takes DAF-clarified water to a guaranteed SDI₃ for RO. Automatic backwash and CEB sequences logged to compare flux decline.
5 µm cartridge filter as the final RO guard, with differential-pressure logging to track loading between DAF/UF and the membranes.
A small single-element or single-vessel RO array proves permeate quality, flux and fouling rate directly on pilot-treated water — the ultimate verification of the DAF pre-treatment.
PLC/HMI runs the rig and logs every parameter — dose, pressures, flows, turbidity, SDI₃, ΔP — to a trended dataset with remote access for the engineering team.
Bench with jar-test apparatus, turbidimeter and SDI₃ kit so the operator characterises every stage on-site without shipping samples away.
IP55 motor-control centre with VFDs, single point of power connection and optional generator interface for off-grid intakes.
Indicative layout — the UF and RO stages are optional bolt-ons. See the integrated DAF–UF–RO train for the full chain.
A complete, factory-tested rig — not a box of parts
Coagulation, flocculation, saturator and DAF cell pre-piped and pre-wired, plus any UF/RO option.
PLC/HMI, instrumentation, data historian and remote access — configured and tested.
Jar-test bench, turbidimeter, SDI₃ kit and per-stage sample points.
Witnessed factory acceptance test on clean water before dispatch, with documentation pack.
Site start-up, operator training and a defined test programme run by our process engineers.
Analysed dose curves, loading limits and scale-up basis — the deliverable that justifies the full plant.
| Stage | What Happens | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Process Scope | Seawater quality review, bloom history, jar tests and selection of DAF / UF / RO scope and capacity. | 1–2 weeks |
| 2. Detailed Design | P&ID, container/skid 3D layout, instrument schedule and control philosophy issued for approval. | 2–3 weeks |
| 3. Fabrication | SS316 / duplex fabrication, container fit-out, piping, wiring and PLC programming in our works. | 4–6 weeks |
| 4. FAT | Witnessed factory acceptance test on clean water; functional, control and leak checks signed off. | 3–5 days |
| 5. Ship & Commission | One-piece transport to site, connection, start-up and operator training. | Per logistics |
| 6. Test Campaign | Structured trial programme on live seawater; data logged, analysed and reported. | 4–26 weeks |
| Parameter | Compact (Skid / 20ft) | Full Train (40ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Throughput | 2–15 m³/hr | 15–50 m³/hr |
| Process scope | Coag–floc–DAF (± UF) | Coag–floc–DAF–UF–cartridge–RO |
| DAF surface loading | 8–40 m/hr (variable) | 8–40 m/hr (variable) |
| Saturator pressure | 4–6 bar | 4–6 bar |
| Coagulants | FeCl₃, PACl, polymer | FeCl₃, PACl, polymer, acid/caustic |
| Materials | SS316 / duplex / HDPE | SS316 / duplex / HDPE |
| Control | PLC + HMI + remote | PLC + HMI + historian + remote |
| Power | 400 V 3-ph, single inlet | 400 V 3-ph, single inlet, gen-ready |
| Energy | 0.3–0.5 kWh/m³ (DAF) | train-dependent |
De-risk pre-treatment design before committing to a large desalination plant.
Prove bloom resilience on coastlines with seasonal red tides.
Hydrocarbon-bearing harbour and refinery seawater for injection or cooling.
DAF vs media vs UF head-to-head on the same water for a tender.
University and R&D programmes needing a controllable, instrumented rig.
The same train adapts to brackish-water RO and difficult reuse feeds.
From a few weeks for a focused dose-optimisation study to a full season (4–6 months) where capturing a complete bloom cycle is essential. We scope it to your decision deadline.
Both. Many clients hire the pilot for a campaign; others purchase, then re-deploy the unit to the next intake. The container shell outlasts any single trial.
Yes — loading rates, coagulant dose and recycle ratio are dimensionless or area-based, so they translate directly. The pilot report states the scale-up basis explicitly.
Yes. The rig accepts a generator feed and can be specified with solar-assisted control power for remote intakes.
Five focused guides on how these rigs are specified, built and run
Form factors, process trains, chemistry and capacity — the full menu we build from.
View PageTell us the seawater — location, bloom history, target capacity — and our engineers will scope the rig, the campaign and the deliverable report. We have built these before, and we will build yours.
Our expertise spans multiple industries with sector-specific water treatment solutions.
Explore closely-related tools, references and guides
Send your influent analysis and our engineers assess your process and recommend a tailored treatment solution — free, confidential and no obligation.
Select the regulatory standard for your country — it sets which parameters we need for a compliance-aware process assessment.
Required parameters for the chosen standard are flagged on the sample form. You can still submit a partial set and we will advise what else to test.
Your sample is stored against your company so we can track the project. Provide a company name or email as a minimum.