Water. Desalination + reuse
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REGIONS REGIONS Interest in membrane technology is increasing, proved by the launching of the Argentinean Desalination & Water Reuse Association last year. The International Water Association is also holding its 3rd Specialist Conference on Membrane Technology in Buenos Aires on 3-6 December 2012. Figure 3: 75 MLD SWRO plant for Petroleos de Venezuela in Maracaibo (photo-imaging) still for a capacity of about 100,000 m3/d. It will be interesting to see if it progresses this time, but one should expect a long process. In the meantime, the existing larger seawater desalination plants in Peru are those at Bayovar, Milpo mine, Talara Refinery and for Shougang Hierro Peru at Marcona, plus two for combinedcycle power-generation at Chilca. All are between 5,000 m3/d and 10,000 m3/d capacity and the first three are being expanded. The largest at the moment remains the one at Bayovar, built by Perenne of Brazil, which is about to be doubled. It serves the phosphate plant of Brazilian mining giant Vale in the northern part of the country. (See Figure 4) ARGENTINA Whereas there are several large brackishwater RO plants in Argentina, like that at Matanzas with a capacity of 42,000 m3/d built by Aguas y Processos (see Figure 5), there are no large seawater desalination plants. However, this may change soon if plants were to be built for the coastal cities of Patagonia, like Commodoro Rivadavia mentioned above. BRAZIL I already mentioned Brazil with regard to the RO plants in the dry north-east. Apart from the large offshore plants, mainly using nanofiltration membranes for sulphate removal and built by Veolia, there are very few land-based SWRO applications in Brazil. Indeed, the best known is that serving the island of Fernando de Noronha in the middle of the Atlantic and a fabulous tourist destination. Its capacity is just about 1,500 m3/d. However, the membrane industry is strong in Brazil and all the various types of applications are well represented. Apart from the traditional industrial applications of low-pressure RO in boiler make-up and the beverage and paper industries, there are instances of all the other membrane applications as well. Also in the field of microfiltration (MF) and UF, many plants have been built in various sectors in Brazil, the elements being provided by all the major manufacturers. For instance Veolia has built several for applications in Petrobras refineries. As an example, in the refinery of Reduc, a UF plant treats 450 m3/h of river water before it is fed to an ion-exchange plant. In addition, Veolia has also built several electrodialysis reversal (EDR) plants with a range of capacities from 60 m3/h to 510 m3/h. These plants are used to reduce salinity in the feed to ion-exchange and polishing, which consists of reused water coming from the biological treatment. The use of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is well established, for instance, in the refineries of the national oil company Petrobras: Two plants are already in operation: l REVAP with a capacity of 300 m3/h, using GE-Zenon hollow-fiber membranes l CENPES, with a capacity of 45 m3/h, using Kubota flat-sheet membranes. Two more are in construction: l REPAR with a capacity of 450 m3/h, using Siemens-Memcor membranes l RNEST with a capacity of 600 m3/h, using Kubota flat-sheet membranes. Two more are to be built: l COMPERJ with a capacity of 550 m3/h, with GE-Zenon hollow-fiber membranes l REDUC, with a capacity of 800 m3/h, still to be tendered. Figure 5: 42 MLD RO plant to treat underground/ superficial water at Matanzas, Argentina reclaimed water to four municipalities and businesses along the 17 km of its pipeline. Also in the municipal area, Brazil is moving ahead with significant MBR applications. Inima/OHL was chosen by Sao Paulo State water utility Sabesp to build the wastewater treatment plant for the mountain resort of Campos de Jordao. The capacity corresponds to the 76,000 peak population at the height of the tourist season. Another notable application is that of the Aquapolo reuse project in Sao Paulo, a joint venture between Sabesp and Odebecht/ Foz do Brazil, which gained a Global Water Intelligence award in 2011. With the capacity to produce 1,000 L/s of highquality industrial water, Aquapolo aims to supply industrial water to the petrochemical complex of Capuava and eventually | 28 | Desalination & Water Reuse | November-December 2012 NORTH AMERICA Americans value water availability over price ��� GE survey More than 80% of Americans are more concerned about the availability of water in the future and its quality than they are about its price, origin and treatment. This is one finding of a Water Reuse Survey undertaken by GE and published on 23 October 2012. While an online survey naturally self-selects a more educated population, promoters of water-reuse will take heart from the finding that 80% or more surveyed Americans were in favor of using recycled water for power generation; landscaping; industrial processing and manufacturing; toilet flushing; car washing; and agricultural irrigation. Oddly, while 51% were in favor of swimming in recycled water and 51% agreed that it was drinkable, only 30% supported drinking it. Americans also see the connection between energy and water ��� 86% understood that energy was needed to deliver water and 74% were aware that water was needed to create energy. However, Americans��� understanding of the water lifecycle and solutions lags behind that of those surveyed in China and Singapore. For example, 31% of Americans do not know where their water comes from, compared with only 14% of those in China and 15% of those in Singapore. When it comes to paying more to protect future generations from water shortages, less than half (44%) of Americans were prepared to do it, and the older the respondent the less they were prepared to pay ��� US$ 17 for under-30s and US$ 10 for those in the baby-boom generation. Consumers in both China and Singapore demonstrated far greater understanding of water cycles and terminology than Americans ��� by nearly 20% on most topics. When asked about a series of terms relating to water, Americans had the least familiarity with the terms ��� recycled water (60%) and ��� water reuse (51%), demonstrating a lack of familiarity with solutions to water scarcity. Conversely, more than 80% of respondents in China were familiar with these terms, and felt more positive about them. The above facts were taken from the report���s executive summary for the USA. The summaries for Singapore and China have not yet been released by GE. CH2M Hill reports on industrial water use Figure 6: MBR plant at the Esmeralda Food Processing industrial unit, Lima, Peru It must be noted that MBR, UF/MF and EDR are not only applied in Brazil. Several applications, both municipal and industrial exist in the region, from Mexico to Colombia, from Argentina to Peru. One example outside Brazil is the Esmeralda plant in Lima, which has 22 Toray modules installed. The plant treats effluent from a diversified food processing plant. The product water is being used for irrigation but can be returned to the estuary, which is a bird sanctuary (See Figure 6). lSee Final Word (inside back cover) for some afterthoughts on this article, Latin America and climate-change from the author. l Water reuse is one of a number of trends for water usage in American industry identified in a report just published by engineering company CH2M Hill for the US Environment Protection Agency. The paper, The Importance of Water to the US Economy, focuses on identifying the water challenges faced by selected industrial sectors, and showcases some of the approaches that are being taken to address them. Says the report, ���There is every indication that with water being squeezed from both ends - climate change altering supply and population growth increasing demand water issues will continue to increase.��� CH2M Hill examined the critical role water plays in industrial production and the US economy, and how the value of water is changing in five industrial sectors: semiconductor manufacturing, thermal power generation, mining, chemicals, and oil and gas. Case studies on how Intel, Rio Tinto, Dow Chemical, Chesapeake Energy and Southern Company engage in water policy decisions, assess and report on water use, and are improving water process efficiency to derive the maximum value from the water they use are included in the report. Although water���s influence on corporate decisions and the use of water varies across sectors, the authors say the industries examined face some common challenges and opportunities in managing water resources and ensuring the availability of water for their operations: ��� Increasing competition for water ��� Increasing awareness of water usage (measurement and reporting) ��� Potential for business disruption because of changes in volume or quality of water ��� Efforts to increase water efficiency and to plan for contingencies (developing engineering or economic solutions, including investing in public or private infrastructure, depending on such factors as cost and availability of water resources and rights) ��� Innovation (technological, financial, and collaboration via partnerships). Water reuse grant applications invited in US The US Bureau of Reclamation has invited bids for the latest round of grants to be issued under the Title XVI Water Reclamation & Reuse Program which will provide cost-shared funding for planning, design or construction of authorised projects. Reclamation anticipates providing no more than $4,000,000 per applicant. This is subject to WaterSMART���s final Fiscal Year 2013 appropriations, project funding capability and the amount remaining under the appropriations ceiling for each authorized project. Approximately 5-10 awards are expected to be made this year. Proposals must be submitted as indicated on www.grants.gov by 12 December 2012. It is anticipated that awards will be made in spring 2013. ASIA & PACIFIC Doosan donates SWRO plant to Vietnam A 200 m��/d desalination facility has been donated to An Binh Island in Vietnam by Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd of South Korea. A ceremony on 31 August 2012 on the island in Ly Son prefecture was attended by 300 people including several Vietnamese central government officials. The Doosan facility includes two seawater reverse-osmosis units, two generators, which will provide the island with its first electricity, and freshwater storage facilities. It will produce drinking water for 500 people on the island. The donation was made after the Quang Ngai provincial government, which was seeking to address the drinking water shortage on An Binh Island, requested the assistance of Doosan Vina. In a bid to fulfill its corporate social responsibility as a local firm in Vietnam, Doosan Vina accepted the province���s request, signed a memorandum of understanding one year ago, broke ground on An Binh in May 2012 and completed the construction in three months. November-December 2012 | Desalination & Water Reuse | 29 |