Water Desalination Report
Transcript of Water Desalination Report
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Water Desalination ReporT
Tom Pankratz, Editor, P.O. Box 75064, Houston, Texas 77234-5064 USA
Telephone: +1-281-857-6571, www.desalination.com/wdr, email: [email protected]
2013 Media Analytics. Published in cooperation with Global Water Intelligence
Volume 49, Number 32
The international weekly for desalination and advanced water treatment since 1965
Company News
SWT deal likely to be announced at weftecSiemens Water Technologies (SWT) celebrated 100 yearsof water treatment innovation and industry leadership last
week, marking the centennial of the installation of Wallace
& Tiernans rst chlorine gas metering unit. Ironically, SWT
press releases announced the anniversary even as CEO Lukas
Loefer was meeting with private equity rms interested in
buying the company, which includes its remaining Wallace
& Tiernan assets. SWT has already sold off the Wallace &
Tiernan ChemFeed product line to Andy Seidels Under-
ground Solutions.
Rumors as to who the new owners might be and what they willdo with the companys assetswhich include the Memcor
Membrane Products group and a recently developed low-
energy seawater desalination processabound. However,
the names of four private equity rms keep cropping up:
Platinum Equity, Advent International, CCMP Capital and
Golden Gate Capital. Although none of the four rms appear
to have a clear water industry focus, at least one is understood
to have some water company connections.
Platinum Equity is thought to be the front-runner, and some
reports indicate that all of the other participants had either
dropped out or were thrown out by SWT, only to re-enter the
process. Someone familiar with such acquisitions told WDR,
It is eminently feasible, and likely, that one or two of the
suitors that have dropped out could be invited back to the
bargaining table. After all, Goldman Sachs [SWTs nancial
advisor] would want to make sure that they dont oversee a
failed process similar to what happened when Veolia sold
Culligan in 2004. That deal ended with all but one bidder
dropping out, and that bidder was left to control the pricing.
Industry expectations are that a nal deal will be announced
at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition
and Conference (WEFTEC), which will be held in Chicago
beginning on 5 October.
Libya
Desal is part of massive rebuilding effort
Libyas massive post-revolution rebuilding program is
expected to help the countrys economy grow by 16.5 percent
this year. The development and modernization of damaged
9 September 2013
and aging infrastructure is one area that needs immediate
attention.
By the end of this year, the General Desalination Company
of Libya (GDCOL) expects to hire a consultant to provide
project supervision and technical studies to expand existing
plants and build at least three new SWRO plants with
combined capacities of over 1 million m3/d (264 MGD).
The projects currently under consideration are:
PlantNew or
expansion
Capacity,
m3/d (MGD)
Expected
Technology
Benghazi New 400,000 (106) SWRO
Misrata New 85,000 (22.5) SWRO
Tripoli East New 500,000 (132) SWRO
Tobruk Expansion 13,333 (3.5) MED-TVC
Tobruk 2 New 40,000 (10.6) SWRO
Bomba Expansion 30,000 (8) MED-TVC
Zliten Expansion Undetermined MSF or MED
Prior to the revolution, plans called for the new desal plants
which are now in the conceptual or permitting stageto
be delivered as BOT projects. However, Global WaterIntelligence has reported that the current plans indicate that
they will employ EPC contracts.
Chile
Escondida mine will do it Gangnam style
Doosan has conrmed that it has received a $103 million
contract to supply a 220,000 m3/d (58 MGD) SWRO plan
for the $3 billion Escondida Copper Mine, southeast of
Antofagasta, Chile. Kansas City-based Black & Veatch wil
serve as the projects Engineer of Record and will manage
the procurement for BHP Billiton, a 57.5 percent owner of
the mine.
Although most large-scale desal projects are delivered under
an EPC or a BOT contract, Doosan Heavy Industries
based in Seoul, Koreas Gangnam Districtwill deliver the
project under a design and supply arrangement, which wil
reportedly be delivered FOB Korea, with Doosan supervising
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Page 2 WATER DESALINATION REPORT 9 September 2013
combined production capacity of the facility will be 232,000
m3/d (61.3 MGD).
Egypt
Ancient city gets 21st century water plantSpains Desalia has completed the commissioning of a
24,000 m3/d (6.3 MGD) SWRO project at Marsa Matrouh
240km (148 mi) west of Alexandria. The city, which is now a
major Egyptian tourist resort, was founded as a small shing
town and is the site of the ruins of a temple of Rameses II
that dates back to 1200 BC.
The desal plant was built on a turnkey basis for the
Armament Authority of the Ministry of Defense of Egypt. It
is the largest such project to be developed by the government
through the state-owned Armament Authority that provides
potable water to the civil population.
Feedwater for the plant is obtained via a 1200mm (47 in)
diameter HDPE pipe that extends 625m (2,050 ft) into the
sea, while the RO concentrate is discharged through a 325m
(1066 ft) long, 800mm (31.5 in) diameter pipe. Pretreatment
for the four-train RO system consists of conventional, dual
media ltration followed by cartridge lters. The plant is
equipped with Energy Recoverys PX ERDs.
According to Manuel Latorre, Desalias managing director
the systems permeate quality is 200 mg/L. The actual
energy consumption for the high-pressure and booster pumpsis 2.17 kWh/m3 (8.2 kWh/kgal) and the energy consumption
for the whole plant, including pretreatment, post-treatment
product distribution and auxiliaries services is 3.1 kWh/m3
(11.7 kWh/kgal).
Desalia has a ve-year contract to operate the plant.
Research: USA
Nine projects will share $1.1 million
A combination of laboratory- and pilot-scale research pro-
jects will receive up to $200,000 in funding under the Bureauof Reclamations Desalination and Water Purication
Research Program. Successful applicants were chosen
through a competitive, merit-reviewed process. With the
exceptions of institutions of higher learning, entities must
cost-share at least 75 percent of the project cost.
The projects selected for funding this year are:
Membrane Structural, Transport Fundamentals The
feasibility of low-energy membranes for inland water
treatment applications will be considered in this lab-scale
project by Penn State University. $95,467.
the erection and commissioning. A project construction
contractor has not yet been announced.
The plant will consist of nine single-pass SWRO trains, and
its pretreatment will include a two-stage media ltration
system to treat seawater collected at an intake depth of morethan 20m (65 ft).
Desalted water will be delivered to the mine, which is located
in the Atacama Desert at an elevation of 3,100m (10,170 ft),
via a 170km (106 mi) pipeline from Puerto Coloso.
The plant, which will be the rst large-scale plant Doosan
has furnished outside the Middle East, is scheduled to begin
producing water by the end of 2016.
Bechtel is the program manager for the current Escondida
expansion, and was the EPC contractor for mines Phase 3.5
and Phase 4 expansions, which were completed in 1998 and
2002, respectively.
India
Facility to add 3 MED-TVCs
An industrial client in northwest India has awarded IDE
Technologies a $75 million contract to add three new MED
units with a combined production capacity of 72,000 m3/d
(19 MGD). According to IDE, the units will ensure that the
facility can meet its increased boiler feedwater requirements
and provide potable water for local consumption.
Each of the new 11-effect units will be equipped with a
thermal vapor compressor (TVC) and will operate at a GOR
of 11.3 and a top brine temperature of less than 70C (158F).
IDE had previously furnished nine MED units at the site:
four 12,000 m3/d (3.2 MGD) units in 1998, one 14,400 m3/d
(3.8 MGD) unit in 2005 and four 24,000 m3/d (6.3 MGD)
units in 2008. Following the installation of the new units, the
Existing 24,000 m3/d MEDs
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Rural ZLD Desal System Trussell Technologies will
perform a process evaluation study of a unique ZLD desal-
ination system that was developed for use in small, rural
communities. $149,446.Microbial-Deionization System The University of
Tennessee will investigate the use of microbial electrolysis
deionization to treat wastewater while recovering energy
and nutrients. $150,000.
Barometric Evaporator Sephton Water Technologies will
test a prototype barometric evaporator for application to
provide steam generation for a vertical tube evaporator to
treat water at the Salton Sea. $29,836.
Autonomous Cyclic RO System The University of Southern
California will evaluate the operational exibilities of a newcyclic RO concept to treat a wider range of salinities using
less energy. $150,000.
Commercial Solar Still Operation Suns River will construct
a larger solar desal still and continue last years research,
which was conducted on a small-scale unit. $45,022.
A New Polymer-based NF/RO Membrane The Universityof Colorado will investigate scale-up and economical aspects
of a new, TFC lyotropic liquid crystal polymer membrane
system. $134,544.
Texas BWRO/SWRO Pilot Study The City of Corpus
Christi will assess the feasibility, options, cost information
and operating parameters of a full-scale SWRO facility and/
or brackish groundwater supply. $200,000.
Halophyte Farming with RO Concentrate Building on
previous research, the University of Arizona will construct
an agricultural research facility to conduct a pilot study that
will evaluate the use of salt resistant crops in RO concentrate
management. $148,053.
For more information of the Bureau of Reclamations
advanced water treatment funding programs and projects,
visit www.usbr.gov/awt.
Company News
TurboChargers get an upgrade
Energy Recovery has introduced a new, more efcient
Advanced TurboCharger (AT) line of energy recovery devices
for RO plants. According to Eric Kadaj, the companys
senior technical manager for centrifugal products, the ATs
internals have been entirely redesigned with replaceable
PET-P volutes and a new rotating assembly that maximizes
efciency gains and increases operational exibility.
Page 3 WATER DESALINATION REPORT 9 September 2013
Kadaj said that eld tests have shown an efciency gain of
3 to 4 percentage points over previous designs. We now
have the most efcient and reliable centrifugal ERD, and the
patented removable hydraulics [volute inserts] allow for rapid
customization and quick, onsite change-out of hydraulics
if required, he said, noting that the units are backwards
compatible with thousands of HALO TurboChargers now
in operation.
Research: Australia
Four desal projects selected for fundingAfter reviewing 47 expressions of interest, and shortlisting
nine, the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination
Australias (NCEDA) Research Advisory Committee
has approved funding of four new projects under its fth
Funding Round. The projects are valued at over $2.5 million
including cash and in-kind contributions, and join nearly
50 other projects worth more than $80 million under way
across Australia.
Fibre-Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor This
project will develop a low-cost prototype sensor to detect
specic chemical contents and microbes in water. Theprincipal investigator (PI) is Professor Kamal Alameh
from Edith Cowan University, and the project is valued at
$844,540.
Alternative RO Membrane Disposal Methods Victoria
Universitys Dr Marlene Cran will serve as PI for this
project, which aims to nd alternative uses for end-of-life
RO membranes with a focus on recycling materials for
other industries. The project is valued at $324,444, and the
University of New South Wales and Dow Water and Process
Solutions will participate.
Inserting the replaceableTurboCharger volutes
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Page 4WATER DESALINATION REPORT 9 September 2013
Validation of a FO Concept Associate Professor Pierre Le-
Clech of the University of New South Wales is the PI for this
project to further validate a recently developed FO concept
and develop a detailed energy model. Ghent University
(Belgium) will collaborate on this $381,500 project.
Development of Bio-organic Hybrid Membrane Professor
Michael Monteiro of the University of Queensland will
lead a project to develop a novel, biomimetic membrane
with high selectivity and permeation rates and low energy
requirements. Stanford University (USA) will participate in
this project valued at $953,718.
The NCEDA is funded by the Australian Governments
Water for the Future initiative. More information is available
at http://tinyurl.com/max6279.
In briefThe Advance Program for this years IDA World Congress,
which will be held in Tianjin, China, from 20-25 October, is
now available on the IDA website at http://www.idadesal.org/
world-congress/. The World Congress technical program
will include 324 oral and poster presentations in 32 sessions,
exhibitors from 23 countries and three facility tours.
Nebraska-based Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN) has
completed the acquisition of privately-held, California-
based Claude Laval Corporation, also known as LAKOS
Separators and Filtration Solutions, whose annual
revenues are $25 to $30 million.
As part of its annual Center of Excellence (CoE) scholarship
program, the Middle East Desalination Research Center
(MEDRC) and Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) have
awarded scholarships to 16 Gaza students to study for MSc
degrees in subjects relevant to desalination and reuse. The
award of 12 more scholarships to West Bank students is
now underway. The Al Azhar, An Najah, Birzeit and Al
Quds Universities are involved in the program, and, since
it was started last year, the MEDRC-PWA CoE program has
awarded 21 MSc scholarships.
The American Membrane Technology Association
(AMTA) is offering funding opportunities for graduate level
research fellowships, undergraduate research and AMTA
event registration. The grants have been made possible by
a donation from the Affordable Desalination Collaboration
(ADC), which was organized to demonstrate that desal is
an affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible
source of fresh water. In March 2012, at the conclusion of its
activities, ADC directors donated its remaining reserves to
AMTA toprovide funding on an annual basis, through 2018
For details, visit http://tinyurl.com/nagtjnw.
On 5 September, Singapores PUB issued Tuaspring Desa
Plant a PCOD (Project Commercial Operations Date)
Certicate. Hyux delivered the 318,500 m3/d (84 MGD)
SWRO project under a DBOO model and is contracted to
deliver water to PUB for 25 years. Black & Veatch served as
PUBs engineer on the project.
The National Water Research Institute (NWRI) has
released two reports evaluating different aspects of
Californias recycled water criteria. The rst report,Review
of Californias Water Recycling Criteria for Agricultura
Irrigation, addresses whether recycled water used to irri-
gate food crops is sufciently protective of public health
Download at http://tinyurl.com/nyjuq8d. The second reportBDOC as a Performance Measure for Organics Remova
in Groundwater Recharge of Recycled Water, evaluates
an analytical technique to assess water quality during the
treatment process. Download at http://tinyurl.com/msht7nq
ACWA Emirates has installed two portable MBR wastewater
treatment systems at GASCOs Habshan 5 gas processing
and sulfur production facilities southwest of Abu Dhabi. The
units are tted with Kubota membranes and treat up to 980
m3/d (258,916 GPD) of domestic waste from a construction
camp housing up to 5,000 workers. MBR efuent is stored
in a holding tank for use in toilet ushing, dust dampeningand concrete production. About 45 m3 (12,000g) of sludge is
removed for disposal every three days.
Carnegie Water Energy said that it has signed a cooperation
agreement with the Water Corporation of Western Australia
which allows the Water Corporation to provide support of its
wave powered SWRO plant on Garden Island.
LANXESS has relocated its group headquarters from
Leverkusen to Cologne, Germany. It now occupies the
LANXESS Tower at Kennedyplatz 1 in the Deutz district.
People
Amy Childress, formerly a professor and department chair
at the University of Nevada, Reno, has been appointed
professor of civil and environmental engineering at the
University of Southern California. She is now based in Los
Angeles and may be contacted at [email protected].