Water. desalination + reuse

DWR FebMarch 2015

Water. Desalination + reuse

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PROJECTS February-March 2015 | Desalination & Water Reuse | 21 | PROJECTPROGRESS agreement between the Ghana Water Company and the Befesa Desalination Development to help transform seawater into potable water for Ghanaians. According to the minister the project was planned to serve about 500,000 people in the Teshie-Nungua area. It was implemented through a Build, Operate, Own and Transfer mechanism. The project is complete "save for minor installations," Kwakye- Ofosu said. In a related development, the deputy minister indicated that about three, similar water-related projects have been completed and were awaiting commissioning. They included Kpong water supply expansion project, Kpong intake rehabilitation project, and Accra-Tema Metropolitan area water supply project. Hyflux CuTS RibbOn aT algERian 500,000 m³/d REvERSE OSmOSiS PlanT Singapore-based desalination company, Hyflux, has officially opened its recently completed 500,000 m³/d desalination plant at Magtaa, Algeria. The facility is Africa's biggest and contains the largest ultrafiltration pre-treatment facility in the world according to its builder. Hyflux has a 25-year contract with local utility, L'Algérienne Des Eaux, and African oil and gas giant, Sonatrach, to operate and maintain the S$ 632 million (US$ 494.6 million) plant. It will supply drinking water to Algeria's second largest city, Oran, and surrounding provinces. The plant is equipped with Hyflux's Krystal ultrafiltration technology in pre-treatment along with Toray reverse osmosis membranes for the separation stage. The Magtaa desalination plant "strengthens our presence in the region," said Hyflux executive chairman and group chief executive officer, Olivia Lum, speaking at the plant's opening ceremony. "It also demonstrates our technology as well as our engineering and construction capabilities for municipalities in need of sustainable and cost-effective water solutions," she added. Hyflux subsidiary, MenaSpring Utility, in 2008 won the bid to build Magtaa which was then to be the world's largest seawater desalination plant. Hyflux has a 47% equity stake in the project with L'Algérienne Des Eaux holding the remainder. The Magtaa plant is Hyflux's second project in Algeria. It followed the 200,000 m³/d Souk Tleta desalination plant, which began operating in 2011. gdf SuEz kiCkS Off miRfa PROJECT Paris-based GDF Suez has begun work on the desalination component of its Mirfa gas-fired power and water project. Mirfa is a key component of Abu Dhabi's efforts to up power and water output amid a reduction in subsidies introduced to quell growing demand. From 1 January, energy and water tariffs were increased in the emirate, in a bid to rein in consumption. Deputy chief executive at engineering, procurement and construction consortium member, Suez Environnement, Marie- Ange Debon, said construction would start in February but engineering and procurement for the desalination plant had already begun. "It took time for the final decision and we were granted the project about six months ago, so now we're really in the process [of getting construction underway]," she said. She estimated that the plant would be complete in 2017. Suez said in October that the reverse osmosis desalination part of the project, which includes the design and construction of the plant, and a seven-year operating contract, was worth Dh 677 million (US$ 184 million). Suez built and operates the reverse osmosis plant at the Fujairah 1 independent water and power plant – the largest of its type in the region. Fujairah 1 deploys a hybrid of reverse osmosis and multi-stage flash distillation. Suez said the Mirfa deal shows that reverse osmosis technology continues to gain ground against other desalination systems. It now accounts for the bulk of new projects in the Arabian Gulf region. The United Arab Emirates are expected to double water and power bills by 2020 to quell its consumption rates which, according to government figures, run at about 550 litres of water and 20-30 kWh of electricity a day compared to an international daily average of less than 300 litres and 15 kWh. Meanwhile oil prices have slumped by as much as half since June 2014. Nevertheless Suez Environment sees the GCC as a growth area in 2015. Debon said: "The economy today is not as good as it was, but I still believe that the fundamentals are very strong." bElvilE Planning givES gO aHEad fOR REvERSE OSmOSiS PlanT A request by US local water utility, H2GO (Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer), for an amendment to allow for the building of a reverse osmosis brackish water purification plant has been approved unanimously by the planning authority at Belville, North Carolina. Belville's positive response followed rejection of a similar plan by H2GO for the plant at a site in neighbouring town, Leland. The Lower Peedee Aquifer at 130 m depth and the Black Creek Aquifer at 220 m are the planned water sources for the plant. The water is brackish and high in chlorides according to H2GO. The plant will require extensive environmental permits. It is scheduled to be operational by 2018. H2GO was advanced in its plans for the Leland site with US$ 700,000 invested over several years, land acquired, and test wells completed before it requested re-zoning of the site in August last year. Leland town council voted against the request by a majority. Directly after the disappointment at Leland, Belville mayor, Mike Allen, began talks with H2GO about relocating the plant to Belville. H2GO executive director Bob Walker said that North Brunswick County's Cape Fear River allocation could face a reduction and water costs were destined to increase about 3% a year. H2GO was seeking an alternative source, he said. "By building the plant, the [water] cost will be less than the wholesale purchase of water. The result – a plateauing of water cost increases," he added.

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