Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/133796
PROJECTS PROJECTPROGRESS SWCC'S Rabigh PlanT Will bE laRgEST SWRO dESalinaTiOn The approval of the world's largest seawater reverse-osmosis plant in Rabigh was reported by the Saudi government-controlled Saudi Press Agency on 11 February 2013. The governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim, approved a plant for Rabigh on the Red Sea coast with a capacity of 600,000 m3/d of desalinated water. Construction will start next year, with completion scheduled for 2018. The director-general of SWCC in the western coast, Muhammad Ayidh Al-Thubaiti, is quoted as saying that the production of the existing Rabigh desalination plant would also be raised to 20,000 m3/d so as to supply Khulaiss and Rabigh governorates. The new plant will meet the needs of northern Jeddah, Makkah and Taif. aRizOna RO PlanT OPEnS SOlaR-EnERgy SySTEm A 459 kW photovoltaic (PV) solar power system has been completed at the Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Facility for the Town of Gila Bend, Arizona, by Solon Corporation, the company announced on 13 February 2013. The system is expected to offset the energy usage of the water treatment facility by 86%, which will save money for the municipality through reduced utility bills. Solon engineered, designed, constructed and commissioned the fixed-tilt system. As a full-service system provider, Solon will continue to operate and maintain the system on behalf of Gila Bend. "As part of our strategic focus on renewables and PV to drive down electric costs incurred by the Town of Gila Bend, our water treatment facility was selected because it had the largest electric draw of any town-owned facility," said Frederick Buss, town manager. "This system will mitigate those costs greatly. Solon has done a tremendous job yet again." The project development and system ownership was financed through a State of Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority grant awarded for drinking water infrastructure improvements. mOJavE dESERT uTiliTy TO build TWO mbR PlanTS Two identical membrane bioreactor plants are being planned by the Victor Valley Water Reclamation Authority (VVWRA) on the edge of the Mojave desert east of Los Angeles, USA. Having recently been given necessary permits, approval by VVWRA's own commission is the last step for the projects at the Hesperia and Apple Valley water reclamation plants. Once that happens, the agency is ready to release a bid to construct the projects, which have been in planning for two decades. VVWRA's Ryan Orr told D&WR that both plants would have an initial capacity of 1 MGD (3,785 m3/d) rising to 4 MGD (15,140 m3/d). | 20 | Desalination & Water Reuse | May-June 2013 "It should be noted that due to the conservation efforts and geography in our area, the local water contractor estimates that two households live off of one acre foot (1,234 m3) per year," Orr points out. "Although the plants will only be producing recycled water for secondary uses — primarily irrigation, I find it useful to illustrate the offset in potable use." The water supply in the High Desert is primarily groundwater, which is currently overdrafted. The Mojave Water Agency (MWA) has an entitlement to State Water Project water, but has historically not taken its full entitlement. A stipulated judgment ( January 1996) requires the agency to provide "makeup water" to achieve a water balance between its subareas. Water reclamation will help to reduce the burden upon the groundwater supply and State Water Project by increasing the efficiency at which the groundwater is used by offsetting some nonpotable water demands. Recycled water also tends to be less expensive than potable water and, as such, provides an economic benefit to the end-user. The MWA has identified water recycling by VVWRA as a significant management tool in its water management plan. FEaSibiliTy STaRTEd FOR SOuTh aFRiCan dESalinaTiOn PlanT A feasibility study is underway in South Africa's Northern Cape for a 7,000 m3/d desalination plant at Abraham Villiers Bay close to the town of Kotzesrus. Royal HaskoningDHV (formerly SSI Engineers & Environmental Consultants in South Africa) is conducting the study to establish the Zandkopsdrift seawater desalination scheme on behalf of Sedex Desalination (Pty) Ltd a subsidiary of Frontier Rare Earth Pty Ltd. The plant will supply potable and process water to the Zandkopsdrift Mine. The study will determine the configuration, sizing, phasing and lowest possible life-cycle cost of the project, while minimising the impact on the physical and social environments. The scheme's key aspects have been identified as: • Marine works (comprising the sea intake and outfall works) • Desalination plant (based on reverse-osmosis and including suitable pre- and post-treatment) • Bulk water supply infrastructure • Bulk power supply infrastructure (to supply desalination plant and product water booster pumps with electricity from the mine) • Road access (to desalination plant, transfer pipeline and power lines) Project manager Jack McGhie outlines the scheme: "The study envisions that potable water will be withdrawn from a 20,000 m3/d capacity storage reservoir at the seawater desalination plant and pumped via a rising main to 191 m above mean sea level, over a distance of 6.8 km. The potable water will then gravitate a further 10.66 km to Kotzesrus, at 167 m above mean sea-level (MSL).