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Desalination Facts
- As of June 30, 2008 there were 13,869 "contracted desalination plants" worldwide, according to Global Water Intelligence and the International Desalination Association.
- Top 10 desalination countries as of June 30, 2008, accordng to Global Water Intelligence and the International Desalination Association.
1) Saudi Arabia 10,759,693 m3/d 17% 2) UAE 8,428,456 m3/d 13% 3) USA 8,133,415 m3/d 13% 4) Spain 5,249,536 m3/d 8% 5) Kuwait 2,876,625 m3/d 5% 6) Algeria 2,675,958 m3/d 4% 7) China 2,259,741 m3/d 4% 8) Qatar 1,712,886m3/d 3% 9) Japan 1,493,158 m3/d 2% 10) Australia 1,184,812m3/d 2%
Desalination News
Also visit Desalination Resources
Food & Water Watch critique of Marin County, California's desalination plan; June 4, 2009
Food & Water Watch report on desalination; 2009
Desalination: A national perspective; U.S. National Research Council April 24, 2008; pdf download
Desalination: option or distraction for a thirsty world; WWF June 2007 report pdf
2006 Pacific Institute California desalination report and overview
The Long Beach Water Department will receive more than $3 million in federal stimulus funding for its water desalination project, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced Wednesday. Funding will go toward a $20 million desalination testing program. The department hopes to complete testing of the technology, which converts sea water into potable water, as early as the end of 2010. Based on the results, water commissioners will then decide whether to seek approval to build a desalination plant somewhere in Long Beach, Alsop said. Long Beach Press Telegram_ 7/2/09
Marin County, California water board accepts desalination report, but not all of its findings
The Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors agreed with assertions of a new report that said conservation is important, but didn't fully embrace the notion that it would be enough to satisfy Marin's future water needs. The report, "Sustaining Our Water Future," was issued earlier this month by the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit consumer organization Food & Water Watch. The report concludes that the district doesn't need to build a desalination plant and could instead employ conservation measures, curb leaks and improve reservoir operations to meet future water needs. Most of Marin's water supply comes from reservoirs on Mount Tamalpais and if they go dry, so can the count. That happened in 1976-77, but a pipeline placed over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge delivered water from the East Bay. That pipeline is long gone and no longer an option. In February, the MMWD Board of Directors directed its staff to keep open the possibility of a controversial 5-million-gallon-a-day desalination plant as part of a package of steps to address the county's future water needs. But a final decision on desalination won't come until 2011. Marin Independent Journal_ 6/25/09
Hyflux to build two desalination plants in Libya
Water treatment company Hyflux Limited said yesterday it has signed an agreement to build two water desalination plants in Libya, a deal which analysts say could be worth more than $1 billion. While details of project cost and financing are yet to be hammered out, based on the estimated $632 million cost of Hyflux's existing desalination plant now under construction in Magtaa in neighbouring Algeria, the two new plants in Libya could cost a total of $1.2 billion, said Kim Eng analyst James Koh. The agreements, signed yesterday with General Desalination Company (GDC), the commercial arm of Libya's Ministry of Utilities, will also see Hyflux taking a 49 per cent stake in the two plants which have a total design capacity of at least 900,000 cubic metres a day. GDC will own the majority share. One plant will be east of Tripoli, the country's capital city. The other will be in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city. Singapore Business Times_ 6/25/09
Switzerland's ABB Ltd. wins $28 million electrical contract for Oran, Algeria desalination plant
ABB Ltd. said in a news release today it won a $28 million order from Hyflux to supply a complete, highly-optimized electrical package for the Magtaa desalination plant, expected to be the world's largest seawater reverse osmosis project when it is completed in 2011. The plant is in Oran, Algeria, on the Mediterranean coast. The news release said the ABB system will boost energy efficiency and cust maintenance downtime from weeks to days, compared to current industry practices. The plant will produce up to 500,000 cubic meters of drinking water a day, enough to meet the daily requirements of about five million people, and will be the largest seawater desalination plant in the world using reverse osmosis technology. It is being built, owned and operated for a period of 25 years by Hyflux. ABB will electrify the plant and provide a 220-kV outdoor substation connecting it to the Algerian power grid. News Release_ 6/23/09
Dubai, Abu Dhabi plan $40 billion desalination projects to boost production
The two biggest emirates in the country have "significant" future desalination production investments pegged at up to $40 billion (Dh146.8 billion) to "produce a river of water" and meet increasing water demand, a leading desalination expert has said. Abu Dhabi plans to double its current daily production of 630 million gallons at a cost of $20 billion, while Dubai will increase current production by 600 million gallons a day, at a cost of between $10 billion and $20 billion over the next decade, said Leon Awerbuch, past president of the International Desalination Association. Gulf News_ 6/15/09
New studies show impact of desalination waste on Arabian Gulf water
The desalination of Gulf sea water to make it fit for human consumption creates waste water that can be harmful to the sea, new studies report. Countries around the Gulf are increasingly turning to desalination to meet the thirst of their growing populations, but new studies reveal that some of the waste products from the process, such as heavy metals, chemicals and highly salty and unnaturally warm water can harm the local marine environment. Currently there are 45 multi-stage flash plants, 32 multi-effect desalination plants, and 41 reverse osmosis plants in the Gulf, according to a recent study by Sabine Lattemann, a researcher from the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), at the University of Oldenburg in Germany. The Media Line_ 6/15/09
Desalination impact on Arabian Gulf
To quench the thirst of the United Arab Emirates, the equivalent of four billion bottles of water is desalinated every day. The biggest plant in the world, the Jebel Ali Phase 2 plant, with an annual production of 300 million cubic metres, is currently in the making. In his research paper "The Effect of Water Scarcity on the Future Growth in the Desalination Industry in GCC Countries" published in 2002, Mohammad Dawood, acting manager of Water Resources Management at the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi said current production is already estimated at 4380 million cubic metres. GCC stands for the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the Arabian Peninsula nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman. Desalination plants dotting the coast line from Dubai to Kuwait are legally flushing brine, or waste water, carrying chlorine and metals into the Arabian Gulf by the tonne every day. Antiscalants to reduce scale formation in desalination plants can produce increased and harmful algae growth when pumped back to the ocean and recent links to devastating red tide have been made between the industry and the marine environment. Brine's increased salinity can reduce vitality and biodiversity while chlorine is very toxic for many organisms in the mixing zone - an area where effluents are diluted before flushing. Gulf News_ 6/14/09
WaterWebster.org Staff Report
June 8, 2009
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Pall Corporation announced today that it won a $14.7 million contract to design and install the Philippines's first large-scale membrane filtration plant, a 100 million liters per day project in Manila. The contract was awarded by Maynilad Water Services and the project will begin producing water in 2010. East Hills, New York-based Pall will install a Pall Aria™ integrated microfiltration (MF)/ reverse osmosis (RO) membrane water treatment system. (Full Story)
Philippines appeals court rejects local law requiring industry to desalinate seawater
The Court of Appeals has struck down a Batangas City ordinance that ordered heavy industries to invest in desalination plants to tap sea water for operations instead of using groundwater. In a 30-page decision penned by Associate Justice Andres B. Reyes, Jr., the court’s fourth division said provincial ordinance 3-2001 "looked more of a moneymaking scheme of the local government than an ordinance intended for higher ideals." The 2001 ordinance required heavy industries along Batangas Bay to install a plant that would convert sea water for industrial purposes. Residents had claimed the industries were drying up wells. Business World_ 6/8/09
Biggest U.S. desal plant ‘by far’ made public by San Diego, California water agency
WaterWebster.org Staff Report
May 14, 2009
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A San Diego County Water Authority committee Thursday unveiled plans to build a seawater desalination plant on the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton that would be ‘by far’ the largest in the U.S. The 50 million-to-150 million-gallon per day project will cost more than $2 billion, if built to full capacity. And, it could supply enough additional water to meet the needs of 24 agencies, including the city of San Diego, that buy water wholesale from the county authority, said Water Resources Manager Bob Yamada. At full capacity, the proposed reverse osmosis plant would be three times larger than the $300 million Poseidon Resources plant in near-by Carlsbad, according to the Water Authority’s summary feasibility study. (Full Story)
Poseidon wins final approval for San Diego County, California, desalination plant
The San Diego Regional Water Quality Board unanimously approved a plan today to build a desalination plant in Carlsbad capable of producing 50 million gallons of drinking water a day. Poseidon Resources, the project's developer, said the decision clears the way for construction on the desalination plant to begin. The company said it hopes to complete the more than $300 million project by 2012. When it's finished, the desalination plant will be capable of converting enough ocean water into drinking water to meet the needs of 300,000 residents, about 50 million gallons a day. The SDRWQB's decision comes one day after a Superior Court judge ruled against two environmental groups who sued in an effort to halt the construction of the desalination plant. San Diego Suburban News/Del Mar Times_ 5/13/09
Siemens launches chemical-free water deionizer
A subsidiary of China’s Siemens launched a new, high-purity water treatment system today that has the potential to replace chemically regenerated mixed-bed deionization systems. Warrendale, Pa.-based Siemens Water Technologies' new Vantage VNX system is intended for the power, microelectronics and industrial markets. The modular skidded system use reverse osmosis to produce 50 to 900 gallons per minute of deionized water. Reverse osmosis is the dominant water purification form in the cleantech sector, but it’s criticized because of its large energy requirement and infrastructure cost. cleantech.com_ 5/13/09
Australia's Western Eyre Peninsula desalination plant vetoed
Funding for the proposed Western Eyre Peninsula Water Desalination Integrated Plan has been rejected, with the state Department of Trade and Economic Development suggesting the Eyre Peninsula can source more water from Adelaide. The Eyre Regional Development Board (ERDB) had sought $85,000 for the water plan and $100,000 for the proposed Eastern Eyre Peninsula mineral export hub. Member for Flinders Liz Penfold said previous promises that the Whyalla desalination plant was going to supply potable water to Whyalla and Eyre Peninsula makes the $48.6 million spent on extending the River Murray pipeline to Kimba “another government farce. The reason given for the pipeline extension, which further stresses the River Murray, was that it would be used for the delivery of desalinated water to Eyre Peninsula in the future.” Eyre Peninsula Tribune_ 5/13/09
California Coastal Commission has questions about permit for Poseidon's desalination plant
Just as Poseidon Resources, the developer of an ocean-water desalination plant proposed for San Diego County's Carlsbad's coast, thought it was about to get its final permit, the California Coastal Commission staff says it wants to reconsider a permit it issued previously. The company will go before the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board tomorrow for final approval on a plan to make up for the number of fish and other organisms that its desalination process would kill. However, Peter Douglas, executive director of the state Coastal Commission, wrote the water quality board last week saying information Poseidon provided that panel was inconsistent with information it provided the commission last year, and it wants to review Poseidon's permit. Poseidon criticized the Coastal Commission's conclusion, saying the information has not changed, and there's no need to revise the permit. San Diego Union-Tribune_ 5/12/09
Executives at Poseidon Resources Corp., which is partially owned by Citigroup Inc.'s Citi Sustainable Development Investments, insist their financial prospects are solid despite the economic uncertainty. The company recently sent its financial package to a short list of lenders looking to play in the fledgling desal market, and according to Scott Maloni, a vice president at Poseidon, "a half-dozen proposals" were returned. Though he refused to identify prospective lenders, Maloni said "all the big players still standing" are intrigued by the company's model. He said he expects to secure an 80-20 debt-to-equity deal within six weeks of gaining the permits to break ground. But Tom Pankratz, director of the International Desalination Association, said such a deal would fly in the face of an international trend of stalled projects. Pankratz noted that larger desalination projects in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Australia have been left flailing for financial partners at crucial junctures. For their part, Poseidon executives say they have no interest in pursuing public money. New York Times_ 5/11/09
City commissioners voted today not to pay $6 million due to Palm Beach County Wednesday for water reserves and instead move forward with a reverse-osmosis water treatment plant. A 4-1 majority on the Lake Worth commission chose not to honor a contract with the county that would have reserved 2 million gallons a day and provided a back-up supply for 40 years. Mayor Jeff Clemens cast the dissenting vote. "My only worry is we start moving in a direction here and don't give ourselves any options," he said. The reverse-osmosis plant is projected to be completed by 2012 and estimated to cost about $25 million. Palm Beach Post_ 5/5/09
Saudi Arabia launches world's largest desalination plant
At a grand ceremony in Jubail Tuesday attended by top cabinet members, bureaucrats and businessmen, King Abdullah pushed a series of buttons to mark the formal opening of SR54 billion in development projects, including the world’s largest desalination and power generation plant. The massive investment in Jubail-II is aimed at capitalizing on the Kingdom’s abundant hydrocarbon resources to optimize economic and social benefits for the Kingdom and to further strengthen an already globally competitive petrochemical industry. Maher Al-Sharhan, CEO of Marafiq, said the new water-cum-power plant in Jubail would supply 2,750 megawatt of electricity and 800,000 cubic meters of water daily to cities in the Eastern Province. Jubail Industrial City was conceived by the Royal Commission more than 30 years ago. Before that it was a sleepy coastal village, which relied on fishing and pearl harvesting to drive the local economy. In 1983 the city was cited in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest engineering and construction project ever attempted. In 2009, it is still getting bigger. Arab News_ 4/29/09
Jacksonville, Florida, looks toward desalination
With one desalination plant operating in Tampa Bay and another in the works for Flagler County, the practice of turning seawater into fresh drinking water is drawing increasing attention. And this week, the St. Johns River Water Management District declared that a desalination plant has an almost-certain future in Jacksonville, too. The water we use to drink and water our lawns currently comes from an underground aquifer - that's the case in almost all parts of Florida. But levels in the aquifer are declining as utilities pump more and more to meet growing demand. Desalinating and treating seawater can cost triple or more what it costs to treat fresh groundwater. And desalination poses its own environmental threats, something acknowledged even by activists concerned about taking water from the St. Johns River. Jacksonville Times-Union_ 4/24/09
Saudi government to take back Ras Azzour desalination plant
The Saudi government appears poised to appoint a government body to oversee the project, following the withdrawal of one company from the preferred bidder's consortium to build the independent water and power plant (IWPP). Saudi Arabia's Water & Electricity Company (WEC) announced at the end of October 2008 that the consortium of Sumitomo Corporation/Aljomaih Automotive Co/Malakoff International was its first-ranked bidder for Ras Azzour IWPP. Since then, however, Malakoff from Malaysia has pulled out of the consortium and a replacement has proved elusive. Desalination and Water Reuse_ 4/21/09
Corrosion hits Australia's Tugun desalination plant
Just two months after the taps were finally turned on, the State Government's $1.2 billion desalination plant will be shut down for five weeks for repairs. The plant at Tugun on the Gold Coast has been besieged with problems, and is still months away from being officially handed over to Water Secure - the government body that will own and run it. Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe confirmed "the planned shutdown in late April will go ahead, to carry out work such as the replacement of corroded couplings. Water Secure will not take delivery of the plant until all these issues are fixed. This is about protecting taxpayers' dollars - now and in the future." Courier Mail_ 4/19/09
California's Santa Cruz County needs desalination, officials say
Santa Cruz County is using water faster than rainfall can recharge local aquifers, and if the drought continues, a new desalination plant will be key to maintaining the quality of life, water officials said Wednesday. Officials of the city of Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District said a plant could be built in 2012, although no cost was given. Desalted seawater would be used in drought emergencies and would not take the place of traditional water sources. Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District rely on underground aquifers, and surface supplies like the San Lorenzo River and the Loch Lomond Reservoir, for about 95 percent of current water supplies. The county also has approximately 3,000 unregulated water wells used by private users. Santa Cruz Sentinel_ 4/17/09
Desalination plan's foes hit with a legal setback
Two environmental groups that oppose a proposed ocean-water desalination plant on the Carlsbad coast lost a round in San Diego Superior Court yesterday. Judge Judith Hayes issued a tentative ruling rejecting arguments by Surfrider Foundation and the Planning and Conservation League that the California Coastal Commission misapplied state law when it gave Poseidon Resources a coastal development permit to build the plant. The environmental groups challenged the Coastal Commission's decision on several grounds, including that it failed to require Poseidon to reduce the amount of fish and marine organisms that would be killed in the desalination process. Hayes said the commission's decision was reasonable based on the evidence presented at its November 2007 hearing. Signon SanDiego_4/10/09
Poseidon Resources close to final approval for Carlsbad, California, desalination plant
The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board on Wednesday all but approved an ocean-water desalination plant proposed for Carlsbad's coastline, but said it will give the project a final green light at a later meeting. The decision brings Poseidon Resources to the brink of financing and building its $300 million plant on the south shore of Agua Hedionda Lagoon, six years after it began working its way through a labyrinthine permitting process. The decision also essentially ended a debate over whether Poseidon had under-calculated the number of fish that would be killed by the desalination process. Poseidon Senior Vice President Peter MacLaggan said the project will go out to bid next month and begin construction by the end of the year. Poseidon plans to begin delivering water in 2011. Union-Tribune_ 4/8/09
Laredo, Texas plans brackish water desalination plant near border
Laredo is almost to the limit in the amount of water it can draw from the Rio Grande River. As a result, city leaders have agreed to spend $1.6 million to build a pilot plant that will field test a new method of desalinating brackish water. Mark Holtzapple, a chemical engineering professor at Texas A&M University, developed the new method. Terrabon LLC commercialized the technology. The Texas Engineering Experiment Station and the Center for Applied Technology will function as the technology integrator and analyst for the project. Both entities are part of the Texas A&M University System. Terrabon, a Houston-based energy and water-treatment technology company, will design and construct the plant. American Water’s Applied Water Management Group in Hillsborough, N.J., will operate and monitor the plant as a subcontractor. San Antonio Business Journal_ 3/18/09
Lux Research sees new technologies challenging reverse osmosis
The global desalinated water supply will grow at a CAGR of 9.5% over the next decade, reaching 54 billion m3/year (cubic meters per year) in 2020 -- 54 trillion liters/year -- or triple what it had been in 2008, according to a new report from Lux Research entitled "Desalination's Future Champions." According to Lux's report, the demand for desalinated water will foster a rising wave of new water treatment technologies, all aiming to challenge the incumbent reverse osmosis (RO) in desalination's three market segments -- seawater desalination, inland brackish water, and water recycling. RO dominated the desalination equipment market with a 54% revenue share as of 2008, and the relative success of its challengers will vary by market segment. marketwire/MSNBC_ 3/17/09
Membrane technology increases for water and wastewater treatment in South Africa
Most industrial water users are switching to membrane technology as effluent discharge policies become more stringent; companies are required to treat their wastewater before discharging it into the environment. The shortage of surface water sources has forced most industrial water users to resort to wastewater recycling. With water and sewer regulations becoming more stringent, industrial water users are increasingly looking towards wastewater recycling, which in turn, is driving the demand for membrane technology. iStockAnalyst_ 3/16/09
Japanese desalination pioneer to retire
Dr Totaro Goto, former managing director of the Water Re-use Desalination Center (WDRC) in Japan and a former member of the Desalination &Water Reuse Editorial Board, is to retire from the center at the end of March. He is author of countless papers and articles on desalination and the International Desalination Association gave him its Achievement Award in 1997. He will remain active in the Japan Desalination Association, but says that the IDA World Congress in Dubai in November 2009 will be his last. Desalination & Water Reuse_ 3/15/09
Desal executive: Mexico's Baja California state out of money to fund desalination projects
Mexico's federal government has apparently run out of funds to carry out water infrastructure projects in Baja California Sur state, Mexican/US water desalination technology manufacturer Coast Marine Services co-owner Raúl Cervantes told Business News Americas. On March 9, environment ministry Semarnat and the government of Baja California Sur state announced they will spend 733mn pesos (US$48.3mn) to carry out potable water and wastewater treatment works. "We have worked with Baja California Sur's water department and their desalination division. I recently got a call asking me to update our prices for a list of parts to get their units back and running in good order, for roughly US$156,000. After doing so, I asked if they were going to buy, but they replied the state cannot come up with any money," Cervantes said. Business News Amercas_ 3/13/09
Marin County, California indefinitely delays desalination project
Marin water officials have indefinitely postponed key decisions about a controversial desalination plan amid growing opposition. Also driving the delay is concern among water officials that a new proposal for water rate hikes is causing the public to mistakenly link the increase with the proposed $105 million desal project. Last month the board directed its staff to pursue a controversial 5 million-gallon-a-day desalination plant as part of a package of steps to address the county's water needs. At a meeting Wednesday the board was to give formal approval to an environmental impact report on desalination and consider securing permits for various facilities to be able to operate a plant. But the item was put off until the March 18 meeting. Now, district officials say it will not appear at that meeting either, and no new date to consider the item has been set. Marin Independent_ 3/6/09
February, 2009
Allen Stanford, accused of fraud by the SEC, once saw fortunes to be made in desalination
Texan billionaire Allen Stanford’s financial empire is in chaos after the SEC charged that he and his partners were perpetrating a “massive” fraud, but only four months ago things appeared much sunnier, at least in a glowing Forbes profile that described his investment strategy as “sure and steady." The profile, “Crazy for Cricket,” was part of the Forbes 400 ranking of the richest Americans (Stanford was #205). At the time, he was eyeing desalination plants in developing countries like China: “We’re very bullish on making a lot of money on water in the next 20 years." Reuters_ 2/18/09
Malaysia relief agency to raise funds for Gaza desalination plant, water wells
Global Peace Mission Malaysia (GPM), an international relief and development agency, will set up a special fund for the reconstruction effort in Gaza, Palestine, which came under heavy bombardment by Israel last month. GPM president Muhammad Nor Anuar Hashim said the fund was to bear the cost of building desalination plants, boring of wells and a bakery. Bernama_ 2/18/09
California water agencies debate desalination
From Marin County to San Diego, small and large projects that turn Pacific Ocean seawater into tap water are gaining favor with about 20 water agencies, propelled by events unprecedented in California's history: worsening drought, dwindling species of freshwater fish, crumbling plumbing systems and unyielding demand. "People are worried about water supply," said Michael Carlin, assistant general manager of water at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. "Desalination is for drought supply, for an emergency, and it augments existing supply - it's another tool in our toolbox." But critics argue that desalination is an expensive, environmentally questionable last resort in a sprawling state that misuses one of its greatest assets. San Francisco Chronicle_ 2/15/09
Oasys Water raises $10 million for its reduced energy desalination system
Oasys Water Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, says it hopes to market a process that reduces by 90 percent the amount of energy needed to convert saltwater to drinking water, compared with current methods that use reverse osmosis - the filtration of water through a membrane. The Oasys technique was developed by Yale University researchers. Oasys said the financing was led by venture capital firms Flagship Ventures of Cambridge, Advanced Technology Ventures of Waltham, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson of Menlo Park, Calif. Oasys estimates the cost of treating a cubic meter of water - the equivalent of 262 gallons - will be 30 to 50 cents using its technology, compared with 90 cents to $1 for current methods that rely on electricity-intensive reverse osmosis. While reverse osmosis desalination requires high pressure to force water through a membrane, Oasys says its technique uses forward osmosis, which draws out salt and other substances and uses far less energy. Boston Globe_ 2/14/09
Final vote on Carlsbad, California desalination plant delayed until April
An expected vote by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board on Poseidon Resources' controversial desalination plant has been delayed until April 8. The board asked Poseidon for more information. The delay won't affect construction plans, the company said Thursday. Besides regulatory matters, financing for the $300 million project is also a hurdle. Poseidon has said it expects financing to be in place by this summer. North County Times_ 2/12/09
January, 2009
Israel publishes tender for new desalination plant
Israel published a tender for its largest ever desalination plant on Tuesday, as it continues to grapple with low rainfall and dwindling water resources. The 2 billion shekel plant will be in the Soreq region, south of Tel Aviv near the Mediterranean, and will produce 150 million cubic meters of water a year, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. Four unnamed groups have already passed an initial check and will be in the bidding process for the plant, which the ministry said would be one of the largest in the world. Reuters_ 1/20/09
CH2M Hill delivers desalinated water to the UAE
A third desalination plant for the Authority is currently under construction by CH2M Hill, and is expected to be online by mid-2009. Located in the rapidly developing United Arab Emirates, the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority is responsible for providing reliable and affordable electricity and water to the Emirate of Sharjah. As water demands increase, the authority is turning to SWRO membrane desalination to diversify and augment the region's potable water supplies. CH2M Hill has served as the single-source of responsibility for engineer-procure-construct services for the three new desalination plants, which will provide more than 60,000 cubic meters (16 million gallons) per day of high-quality desalinated water to the people of Sharjah. The Layyah and Khor Fakkan SWRO desalination plants began exporting desalinated water in October 2008. AME Info_ 1/20/09
Centriforce Technology successfully tests less expensive desalination technology
Centriforce Technology Corp. (OTC:CNFO - News) announced today the successful testing of its desalination vapor-jet technology. This new technology allows the Company to convert salt water into vapor at very low cost. The vapor is then condensed into fresh water for consumption. The demand for desalination technology is exploding worldwide as water shortages are becoming more prevalent with economic, political and social effects. The new technology under development by Centriforce is designed to reduce the cost of desalination, and therefore, justify the development of more desalination projects worldwide. News Release/Business Wire_ 1/20/09
Frost & Sullivan see wastewater recycling and seawater desalination gaining momentum in North China
In November 2008, China issued a stimulus package that involves construction of sewage and rubbish treatment facilities to preserve water resources in key areas as well as accelerate green belt and natural forest planting programs. According to Frost & Sullivan's China Consultant of Chemicals, Material & Food Vivian Chen, the investment includes RMB120 billion in Q4, 2008 and RMB4 trillion in 2009. In the 4th Quarter of 2008 about ten percent, RMB12 billion, was devoted to energy saving and ecological projects. In 2009, 8.8 percent, about RMB350 million is planned for the improvement of ecological environment. She adds that a series of investments are allocated in various regions nationwide in detail, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Qinghai, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, and Jilin. A lot of these projects are relevant to water conditions and are stimulating the demand for the water and wastewater treatment equipment in China. News Release/PRNewswire_ 1/19/09
Oceanside, California to pursue cheaper desalination idea
Oceanside officials will ask federal authorities next month for money for a project that they say could make water desalination cheaper and require a less-cumbersome approval process. The city is studying whether it can desalinate water pumped inland from wells near Oceanside Harbor. It's something all coastal cities might be able to do, Mayor Jim Wood said yesterday. A consultant, Tetra Tech of Pasadena, has drilled a test well in a parking lot near the harbor. It's studying the quality of the water and possible pipeline alignments to the city's plant about two miles inland. Wood said the concept could be a blessing for cities because land away from the coast is much cheaper. Cities might also avoid having “to do battle with the state Coastal Commission” over large structures along the coast. San Diego Union-Tribune_ 1/16/09
Yale University scientists develop energy-efficient desalination system
Yale doctoral student Robert McGinnis and his advisor Menachem Elimelech, Chair of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, have designed systems that harness the power of osmosis to harvest freshwater from non-potable sources, including seawater and generate electricity from low-temperature heat sources, such as waste heat from conventional power plants. Yale University is commercializing their desalination technology through a newly-established company, Oasys. Their approach, which requires only one-tenth the electric energy used with conventional desalination systems, was featured in the December issue of Environmental Science & Technology. Using a new twist on an old technology, the engineers are employing “forward osmosis,” which exploits the natural diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane. Their process “draws” pure water from its contaminants to a solution of concentrated salts, which can easily be removed with low heat treatment — effectively desalinating or removing contaminants from water with little energy input. Health News Digest_ 1/13/09
Floating desalination plant coming to Limassol, Cypress
Following yesterday’s news that a desalination plant was under construction in the Kouklia area of Paphos, it has just been announced that the Cyprus Ministry of Agriculture plans to build a floating desalination plant off the Germasogia coast at Limassol. Throughout the past summer Limassol, which is on the south coast of Cyprus, was totally dependent for its drinking water on supplies brought in by tankers from Greece. If everything goes according to plan, the plant will come on-line in June and will produce between 20,000m3 and 50,000m3 of water a day for the following five years. After that, the permanent desalination plant planned for Episkopi will take over. Cypress Property News_ 1/9/09
GDF Suez gets $900 million financing for Abu Dhabi desalination plant
GDF Suez said on Tuesday it had secured $900 million financing for the Shuweihat 2 power generation and water desalination project, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA). The French energy group said lenders to the deal included Bayern LB, Calyon, KfW, Natixis, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered. Completion and start-up of the plan, which will deliver 1,500 MW of electricity generated from natural gas, and 454,610 cubic metres per day of water, is scheduled for 2011, the company said. Reuters/Interactive Investor_ 1/6/09
Texas desalination plant too expensive, for now
The Rio Grande Valley has moved a step closer toward turning seawater into an abundant drinking-water source. But an originally planned, $180 million desalination plant will have to wait. In a recently released report from the Texas Water Development Board, officials confirmed that the Brownsville Public Utility Board has completed an 18-month pilot study on seawater desalination, and now is planning to build a larger "demonstration project" at the Port of Brownsville. However, the full-scale plant officials initially planned to build is just too expensive to construct all at once, and so the utility is planning to build it in phases, engineers said. Brownsville Herald_ 1/3/09
India to build sea water reverse osmosis plant in Chennai
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today gave its approval for the construction of one '100 MLD Sea Water Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant' at Nemmeli near Chennai at a total cost of Rs.908.28 crore. Of the total amount, Rs.871.24 crore will be borne by the Central Government and will be given as grant to the Government of Tamil Nadu for implementing the aforesaid project. The project is likely to be completed by 2010-11 and will be implemented by Chennai Metro Water Supply Sewerage Board. Chennai is an important economic centre in the country and has been fast developing as an IT hub. It has a sizable industrial establishment and is among the 10 top car manufacturing centres in the world. The city of Chennai has faced acute shortage of water in the past and the year 2004, water had to be transported to the city through tankers and rail. New Kerala_ 1/2/09
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