Integrated UF–SWRO Desalination for Coastal Clean Water Supply: Design and Performance in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17794/rgn.2027.1.2Keywords:
Ultrafiltration, Seawater Reverse Osmosis, Coastal water supply, HOMER, UF-SWROAbstract
Water scarcity in remote coastal areas of Indonesia, despite abundant seawater resources, is still a persistent issue. For this reason, this study presents the design of a decentralized desalination system integrating ultrafiltration (UF) and seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) for Sulamu District, East Nusa Tenggara, and evaluates the system’s performance. The evaluation has been conducted through a combination of membrane process modeling using DuPont WAVE and hybrid energy system simulation with HOMER Pro to assess the system’s technical performance and economic feasibility. A UF–SWRO configuration with a capacity of 25 m³/h has been designed to treat tropical seawater with high turbidity and seasonal variability. Simulation results showed that the UF unit could reduce turbidity to ≤0.1 NTU and produce SDI15 ≤2.5, thus supporting SWRO to operate stably. The reverse osmosis unit achieved a recovery rate of 45%, salt rejection of more than 99.6%, specific energy consumption (SEC) of 4.98 kWh/m³, and permeate TDS of 129 mg/L. In the four energy scenarios analyzed, the levelized cost of water (LCOW) ranged from 1.68–3.33 USD/m³. Among all configurations, the PV–Diesel–Battery (PV–DG–BESS) hybrid system showed the best compromise between cost (2.41 USD/m³), renewable fraction (40.3%), and reduced fuel dependence. These findings indicated that the integration of UF–SWRO with a hybrid PV system is a technically feasible and economically competitive option for decentralized clean water supply in remote coastal areas.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Arbye S, Sella Antesty, Sigit Mujiarto, Hery Teguh Setiawan, Wahri Sunanda
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