About
Yan Kunczynski and Sisyan
The engineer, the research company he founded, and the Baja California Sur pilot from which the demand-response design developed.
Sisyan developed and operated photovoltaic seawater reverse-osmosis systems in Baja California Sur, Mexico.
The off-grid pilot described in the white paper consisted of three 3 hp modules sharing a beach well, sourcing pump, 0.03-micron ultrafiltration, permeate collection, brine disposal, water storage, an 18 kWp photovoltaic array, and a battery bank.
Over more than twelve years, the system produced more than 68,000 m³ — 18 million gallons — of permeate below 300 TDS from seawater at 33,000 TDS. Those are the measurements reported in the paper; this archive does not extend the operating record beyond it.
Analysis of that pilot led to the proposed grid-integrated M-30 module and the larger argument for flexible, multi-module desalination.
Measured water quality
From 33,000 TDS seawater to below 300 TDS permeate
The logarithmic scale keeps both measured concentrations legible. The permeate contained less than 0.91% of the feed-water TDS.
Reported TDS value (logarithmic scale)
Measured T-1 module flow
What happens to 21.5 L/min of feed seawater
The paper identifies 33% as the most cost-effective measured yield for the pilot.
- Permeate
- 7.1 L/min
- Brine
- 14.4 L/min
- Pressure
- 680 psi average
The founder
Function and quality first
Over more than fifty years, Yan designed, built, and deployed original machines. A licensed California 'A' contractor since 1963 and named inventor on more than twenty patents, he was known first for pioneering aerial tramways and automatic people movers before turning his attention to water. The paired axial-piston pump and motor for high pressure and brine-energy recovery was central to Sisyan's documented module design.
“Conceptualize the basic design, draw it, analyze it and, if possible, prototype it and test it. Then, definitely simplify it.”
Yan's design notes are a better guide to the spirit of this site than any new slogan: define the objective, think independently, learn from the people who make things, evaluate performance and cost honestly, and simplify.
Read Points on the Design ProcessThe pilot
Equipment shown in the original paper
