Water. desalination + reuse

IDA WORLD CONGRESS REVIEW TIANJIN l CHINA l OCTOBER 2013 by Rachel Wilson. She and Max Fazel have been working on this system for three years and chose Tianjin to unveil their findings. Multiple cleaning mechanisms - detergent, surfactant, chelant and effervescent – are employed to remove deposits from RO and nanofiltration membranes. Soaking with high ionic strength cleaners causes movement of permeate through normal osmosis across the membrane, gently lifting the foulant layers. Air is then introduced and in combination with the cleaners creates a pulsing stream of microbubbles, which mechanically disrupt deposits on the membrane surface. Missing from the congress were the numerous evening functions that usually accompany it, and, although ERI had a very successful party on the second night, everyone was by and large left to find their own entertainment. Some other interesting new equipment was launched in Tianjin, which can be seen in the Congress Showcase below, but one or two manufacturers preferred to keep their powder dry until the Aquatech exhibition in Amsterdam two weeks later. The next world congress will be in San Diego, California, from 29 August to 4 September 2015. l SWCC chief elected as IDA president Dr Abdullah Al-Alshaikh, deputy governor for planning and development of Saudi Arabia's Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) will become president of the International Desalination Association (IDA) on 24 October 2013 serving for the 2013-15 term. The new president was elected at a meeting of the new IDA board on 20 October 2013. In addition, IDA announced two new vice presidents: Emilio Gabbrielli, vice president business development of Toray Membrane (1st VP); and Miguel Angel Sanz, director of development and innovation of Degrémont (2nd VP). Dr AI-Alshaikh has been a member of the IDA Board of Directors CONGRESS SHOWCASE These are some of the items that were on show at the Tianjin IDA World Congress. BWA TO lAuNCH ANTIsCAlANT dOsE-CONTROl pROgRAm BWA Water Additives introduced the new Belgard® Optimax™ program at the IDA Congress. The new program, which is primarily aimed at volume users of antiscalant, combines Belgard® chemistries with dose-optimization and plant performance monitoring to ensure that distiller units are neither under- or overdosed. "Our new service is the first of its kind in the desalination industry and will help large users benefit from precise dosing of high performance Belgard antiscalant to ensure the optimal balance of water production, energy savings and plant protection," says James Argyle, group vice president for BWA's Middle East region. "Belgard Optimax is a complete system, which really makes it better than the best desalination chemistry." BAlANCE-Of-plANT pIpINg sOluTIONs uNvEIlEd By vICTAulIC Victaulic unveiled its line of balance-of-plant piping solutions for desalination and reverse osmosis facilities at the IDA Congress. Anchored by grooved options for Victaulic MTS plug and check valves and the Victaulic StrengThin™ Piping System, Victaulic balance-of-plant piping solutions compress the construction schedule and reduce the direct and indirect costs of desalination plant construction. Compared with weld/flange piping fabrication, Victaulic balance-of-plant piping solutions reduce risk, eliminate since 2009 and has served as chairman of the IDA R&D Committee since that time. Additionally, in 2006 he was elected a vice chairman of the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) and chairman of the Project Management Chapter. In 2009, he was elected a chairman of project Management chapter at the SCE for the second time. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, and a Master of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, USA. In 2004, he was awarded a PhD degree in Business Administration by Hull University, UK, for his thesis, A Contract Model for Private Sector Participation in Water Resources Management: The Case of Saudi Arabia. construction inefficiencies and deliver cost and time savings. The StrengThin system enables a reduction in pipe to Schedule 10S or Schedule 20 and reduces the number of flanges required, resulting in material cost savings. Victaulic balance-of-plant piping solutions are available in sizes ranging from 2 to 16 in (50-400 mm) and are rated for pressures of up to 1,200 psi (8,200 kPa). gE lAuNCHEs NEW pAIR Of ulTRAfIlTRATION mEmBRANEs New pressurised and submerged ultrafiltration (UF) membranes designed for pretreatment prior to seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) systems were announced on 21 October 2013 by GE at the IDA Congress. The new technology includes GE's ZeeWeed 1000 and ZeeWeed 1500 hollow-fiber membranes that provide a reduced plant footprint and lower installed cost than earlier ZeeWeed products. The new membranes offer a reduction in cost greater than 25% and a reduced footprint of 10-25%. "GE offers a wide range of products for the desalination industry, and these new technological advancements to our ZeeWeed family work in tandem to maintain a highly efficient water treatment process," said Yuvbir Singh, general manager, engineered systems–water and process technologies for GE Power & Water. Immersed ZeeWeed 1000 UF membranes are ideal for larger treatment systems, where the footprint, energy and chemical savings are significant. The immersed design also aligns well with dissolved air flotation technology and directly couples to SWRO. Pressurized ZeeWeed 1500 UF membranes are ideal for small-to-medium sized plants as they provide a packaged solution with quick delivery and installation. November-December 2013 | Desalination & Water Reuse | 45 |

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