The Emerging Electrical Markets for Copper
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The Impact on CopperThe copper content of desalination can be huge. It is found mainly in two of the main parts of the desalination system, the evaporator and the pumps. The evaporator is comprised mainly of tubing, while the pumps systems contain winding wire, mechanical and housing parts. There is also a significant use of energy cable in a desalination unit. Where copper alloys are used, by far the greater amount of copper is used in the evaporator, although use in pumps and related electrical equipment is significant. The choice of desalination technology is highly significant for copper. Copper tends to be used in evaporators using the thermal (distillation) process, not in reverse osmosis. As a relatively small consolation, reverse osmosis tends to require higher pump content. Over time, copper has lost share in evaporators. For the less demanding environment of reverse osmosis units, stainless steel is usually, but not always, the material of choice. Copper has lost out in the shift of the market to reverse osmosis, which accounts for over 70% of new capacity installation today. Where the distillation process is employed, copper is used mostly in the form of copper nickel alloys. These are usually 90/10 and 70/30 alloys, some with manganese and iron. Even in this market, copper has lost share to titanium. For pumps and electrical systems, the outlook for copper is more positive. The key components that comprise the heart of any reverse osmosis system are the seawater intake pump, high pressure feed pump and reverse osmosis membrane. The two main pumps required here are now being supplemented by auxiliary pumps, used for seawater pre-treatment. These additional pumps are designed to extend membrane life and improve the quality of the potable water produced. Pump technology has not been static. Replacing reverse running pumps with pelton turbines and then with pressure exchange devices to recover energy from the brine has brought significant efficiency improvements to the pumping system (from around 70% to 95% efficiency). Also, pump manufacturers increasingly have to use higher grade materials due to greater water salinity. Copper is used for the operating electrical components of the pumping system. In addition, the pump impeller and shaft may be of nickel copper, while pump casing of nickel aluminium bronze is a favoured option. Our forecasts of copper use in desalination, split by technology and application, are given in Figure 80. Figure 80: Forecast Copper Use in Desalination (kt Cu) 
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