030-2009 Desalination Plants+' ~_...
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MIAMI BEACH ~,z`,' ~:~..~~~~~ ~~ ~~ ~L~
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
MEMORANDUM
no.030-2009
TO: Commissioner Ed Tobin
FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager;-_,.,,
DATE: May 22, 2009 ~r_._...--/
i
SUBJECT: DESALINATION PLANTS
Pursuant to your request, attached please find a variety of resource material relative to
desalination plants in the United Stated and worldwide.
It is indicated in the attached information the use of desalination plants to provide fresh
water is a worldwide phenomenon. There are somewhere in the vicinity of 21,000 plants in
operation. The largest producers of water through desalination processes are found in
Saudi Arabia.
In the United States there appears to be in excess of 1,400 desalination plants in operation.
Information on some of the largest in the United States and worldwide is included in the
attached material.
I am sure that more inquiry through a web search will provide you with additional information
on this topic.
While the materials indicate several of the contractors that build desalination plants, it is not
possible to recommend which would be the best of the companies.
If you should have further questions, please feel free to contact me.
JMG \ m
F:\c gr\$ALL\BOB\DesalinationPlantmemo1.doc
Attachments
c: Mayor and City Commission
Poseidon Resources
_.._...
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Desalination, often thought to refer only
to the removal of salt from seawater,
actually removes virtually any mineral
and most biological or organic chemical
compounds to produce quality water
suitable for drinking.
Desalination has long been used in
regions of the world where fresh water
is in short supply. In fact, the process dates to ancient times when Greek sailors
purified seawater by evaporation.
Today, desalination has evolved into a desirable water supply alternative. The
technology, available for decades, is at work in many grid areas of the world,
including the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
In fact, desalination equipment is now in use in over 120 countries, including Italy,
Australia, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Japan, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Oman,
United Arab Emirates, Malta, Gibraltar, Cape Verde and Cyprus.
There are over 21,000 desalination plants worldwide, producing over 3.5 billion
gallons of potable water a day. Overall, desalination plant capacity has increased
exponentially over the past 30 years.
Saudi Arabia leads the world in desalination and relies on it to meet 70 percent of
the country's drinking water needs.
Modern day reverse osmosis
technology used in desalination was
born out of San Diego's General
Atomics in the 1960s. Today San Diego
County is home to much of the
international desalination industry, with
over 35 desalination-related companies
employing 2,200 people and generating
over $200 million in annual revenue.
Page 1 of 1
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http://www.poseidonresources.com/desal_1 O1.html 5/13/2009
Home ~ About tJs ~ Environmental Stewardship ~ Desal 101 ~ Experience j Links ~ News ~ Contact Us
Desalination
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Desalination
Page 1 of 4
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Desalination Plants Worldwide
Of the more than 12,500 desalination plants in operation worldwide, 60%
are located in the Middle East. Total world capacity is approaching 30 million
m3/day of potable water (almost 8 billion gallons per day).
The world's largest plant in Saudi Arabia produces 128 Million Gallons a Day
(MGD) of desalted water. In contrast, 12% of the world's capacity is
produced in the Americas, with most of the plants located in the Caribbean
and Florida. To date, a limited number of plants have been built, primarily
because the cost is generally higher than the costs of other water supply
alternatives available (e.g., water transfers and groundwater pumping).
However, as drought conditions occur and concern over water availability
increases, desalination projects are being proposed at numerous locations
around the world.
http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com/desalination.html 5/13/2009
Desalination
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IDE Technologies Ltd. has recently signed a contract for the
provision of two 'desal' units for a power plant in Kazakhstan.
Desalination Technologies
Page 2 of 4
Desalination is a process that removes dissolved minerals (including but not
limited to salt) from seawater, brackish water, or treated wastewater. A
number of technologies have been developed, including reverse osmosis
(RO), distillation, electrodialysis, and vacuum freezing. These methods are
described below.
• Reverse Osmosis (RO) In RO, feedwater is pumped at high pressure
through permeable membranes, separating salts from the water. The
feedwater is pre-treated to remove particles that would clog the
membranes. The quality of the water produced depends on the pressure, the
concentration of salts in the feedwater, and the salt permeation constant of
the membranes. Product water quality can be improved by adding a second
pass of membranes, whereby product water from the first pass is fed to the
second pass.
• Distillation In the distillation process, feedwater is heated and then
evaporated to separate out dissolved minerals. The most common methods
of distillation include multistage flash (MSF), multiple effect distillation
(MED), and vapour compression (VC).
In MSF, the feedwater is heated and the pressure is lowered, so the water
"flashes" into steam. This process constitutes one stage of a number of
stages in series, each of which is at a lower pressure. In MED, the feedwater
passes through a number of evaporators in series. Vapour from one series is
subsequently used to evaporate water in the next series. The VC process
involves evaporating the feedwater, compressing the vapour, then using the
heated compressed vapour as a heat source to evaporate additional
feedwater. Some distillation plants are a hybrid of more than one
desalination technologies. The waste product from these processes is a
solution with high salt concentration.
Costs
Desalination typically requires large amounts of energy as well as specialised
expensive infrastructure, making it very costly compared to the use of fresh
http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com/desalination.html 5/13/2009
Desalination Page 3 of 4
water from rivers or wells (bores). Most plants today use fossil fuels as a
power source, and thus they contribute to increased levels of greenhouse
gases. The major technology in use is the multi-stage flash (MSF) distillation
process using steam, but reverse osmosis (RO) driven by electric pumps is
increasingly significant.
With brackish water, RO is much more cost-effective, though MSF gives
purer water than RO. A minority of plants use multi-effect distillation (MED)
or vapour compression (VC). MSF-RO hybrid plants exploit the best features
of each technology for different quality products.
Desalination is energy-intensive. Reverse Osmosis needs about 6 kWh of
electricity per cubic metre of water (depending on its salt content), while
MSF and MED require heat at 70-130°C and use 25-200 kWh/m3. A variety
of low-temperature heat sources may be used, including solar energy. The
choice of process generally depends on the relative economic values of fresh
water and particular fuels.
Some 10% of Israel's water is desalinated, and one large RO plant provides
water at 50 cents per cubic metre. Malta gets two thirds of its potable water
from RO. Singapore in 2005 commissioned a large RO plant supplying
136,000 m3/day (36MGD) or 10% of needs, at 49 cents US per cubic metre.
Environment
Regardless of the method used, there is always a highly concentrated waste
product consisting of everything that was removed from the created fresh
water. This is sometimes referred to as brine, which is also a common term
for the byproduct of recycled water schemes that is often disposed of in the
ocean. These concentrates are classified by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency as industrial wastes.
With coastal facilities, it may be possible to return it to the sea without harm
if this concentrate does not exceed the normal ocean salinity gradients to
which osmoregulators are accustomed. Reverse osmosis, for instance, may
require the disposal of wastewater with a salinity twice that of normal
seawater. The marine community cannot accommodate such an extreme
change in salinity and many filter-feeding animals would be destroyed when
the water is returned to the ocean. This presents an increasing problem
further inland, where one needs to avoid ruining existing fresh water
supplies such as ponds, rivers and aquifers. As such, proper disposal of
concentrate needs to be investigated during the design phases.
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http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com/desalination.html 5/13/2009
Desalination plants quench cities' thirst ~ Technology ~ Water sources -American City & ... Page 1 of 2
H_ome» wa_te_r» Treatment» Desalination plants quench cities' thirst
Desalination plants quench cities' thirst
Jan 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Ed Brock (edward.brock@penton.com)
Technology gives communities fresh, new water sources.
In 2007, the use of desalination, the derivation of fresh water from seawater or brackish water, grew by 43
percent globally, according to the Topsfield, Mass.-based International Desalination As_s_.o...ciation (IDA). In the
United States, 65 new plants are planned or under construction, including one in Carlsbad, Cali, which will be
the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
Interest in desalination is greatest in areas near the ocean, such as southern California and Florida, but it also is
becoming a more viable option for communities where saltwater has begun intruding into freshwater aquifers,
says IDA Secretary General Patricia Burke.
Of the 1,416 desalination plants operating in the United States, 53.8 percent are used to filter brackish water,
according to IDA. For example, the 27.5 million-gallon-per-day @gd) Kay Bailey_Hutchison desalination,
facilities. that opened in 2007 in El Paso, Texas, treat brackish water to supplement the city's fresh water supply
from the Rio Grande.
In southern California, agricultural use strains the Colorado River that supplies fresh water for much of that
region and Mexico. That is one reason why Carlsbad, Calif, officials were the first of nine agencies to sign on
as customers fora 50 mgd desalination plant that Stamford, Conn.-based Poseidon Resources plans to open in
2011. Water from the desalination plant will reduce the amount the city will need to draw from the San._Dego
County Water Authority, reducing demand on the Colorado River.
Because the new plant is privately owned and operated, the city has not had to invest any capital in the project.
"The citizens are not underwriting the risk of the desal plant, and that's what we wanted," says Jim Elliott,
Carlsbad deputy city manager. "What [the desalination plant] gives us is a drought proof source of water [at no
extra cost]."
The growth of desalination is linked to the improvement in the quality of the filtration membranes used in the
process. The latest membranes are designed to reduce the amount ofpre-treatment that is required, reduce the
number of times the water passes through filters and last longer than early versions. "Because of the better-
quality membranes, the amount of energy used to produce the desalination becomes a lot less, [reducing the
treatment's cost]," Burke says.
Catch the Wave
Municipalities make up 68 percent of desalination plant customers worldwide, according to IDA, and the
United States is the third largest user of the technology.
Ac_c__eptable Use_Policy
http://americancityandcounty.com/water/treatment/desalination-plants-city-water-source-2... 5/ 13/2009
Featured Plant Page 1 of 2
Featured Plant
PROJECT PROFILE: SINGSPRING DESALINATION PLANT,
SINGAPORE
A Model for Cost and Energy Efficiency
The SingSpring Desalination Plant is the frst seawater desalination
plant in Singapore. Built by HyFlux Ltd, the S$200 million plant was
completed some three months ahead of schedule, and was officially
opened on September 13, 2005. It now supplies close to 140,000
m3/day of desalinated water to Singapore's national water agency,
Public Utilities Board (PUB), to meet approximately 10 percent of the
country's water needs.
Using cost-and-energy-efficient reverse osmosis (RO) technology, the SingSpring Desalination Plant is one of
the largest membrane-based seawater desalination plants in Asia. In addition, it also has one of the largest RO
trains in the world. The plant also clinched the Distinction Award for Desalination Plant of the Year at the
Global Water Awards 2006 for its high cost and energy efficiency.
At the SingSpdng Desalination Plant, seawater goes through three main processes of treatment: pre-treatment,
RO and post-treatment, before the water is pumped into Singapore's potable water distribution system.
In the pre-treatment stage, seawater intake passes through filter screens that remove debris. It is then pumped
into the Dissolved Air Flotation [sic) Filtration (DAFF) units, where oil, grease and other suspended solids are
removed. The DAFF is a floatation process in which dissolved air assists the natural floatation effect induced
by coagulation. The water then passes through a sand filtration process to remove finer suspended solids and
silt.
In the RO stage, the SingSpring Desalination Plant uses atwo-pass RO system to ensure that fhe treated
water always complies with PUB's drinking water standards. The pre-treated water is pumped at high pressure
through semi-permeable RO membranes. Nomicro-organisms, or dissolved minerals passes through the
membranes.
Some 45 percent of the inFluent seawater is recovered from the first-pass RO and goes through the second-
pass RO. An energy recovery system ensures that [he residual energy from the first-pass RO is fully utilized for
the second-pass RO, which further treats the water and recovers 90 percent of the water.
In the post-treatment stage, minerals and fluorides are added into the treated water to balance its pH level, so
that the drinking water quality meets the PUB and World Health Organization's drinking water quality
standards.
###
IDA wishes to thank Hyflux Ltd for providing this plant profile. Founded in 1989, Hyflux Ltd (HyFlux) is dedicated
to turning innovations into leading membrane-based environmental solutions to mitigate global water scarcity
and rapid depletion of natural resources. Hyflux has been named Water Company of the Year, and SingSpring
Desalination Plant awarded the Distinction Award for Desalination Plant of the Year, by Global Water
Intelligence at the Global Water Awards 2006. For more information, please visit ~.~rv~.v.hy5uxr..om.
(Image courtesy of HyFlux Ltd)
International Desalination Association, PO Box 387, 94 Central Street, Suite 200, Topsfeld, MA 01983 USA
(T) 978-887-0410 (F) 978-887-0411 (E) in(o~ti-i<i~ccsa! ora
Copyright m 2009 International Desalination Association. All rights reserved.
http://www.idadesal.org/t-idainfo_OOS.aspx 5/13/2009
El Paso Water Utilities -Public Service Board ~ Desalination Plant :: Page 1 of 4
Water
EI Paso is the site of the world's largest inland
desalination plant. This plant represents aforward-
looking strategy in water supply -not only for a region
but also for a world that is increasingly challenged by
short supplies of fresh water.
A joint project of EI Paso Water Utilities and Ft. Bliss, EI
Paso's desalination facilities produces 27.5 million
gallons of fresh water daily (MGD) making it a critical
component of the region's water portfolio. Using a
previously unusable brackish groundwater supply, the
Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant is creating a
new supply of water -water from water.
In addition to providing a supply of fresh water, the facilities provide other important benefits.
• The facilities serve as a model and center of learning for other inland cities facing diminishing supplies of fresh
water.
~ The water pumped to the desalination plant protects EI Paso's and Ft. Bliss' fresh groundwater supplies from
brackish water intrusion by capturing the flow of brackish water toward freshwater wells.
• This desalination process not only removes salts, but also is the most comprehensive water treatment technology
available, removing other potential pollutants from the water.
~ The facilities augment existing supplies to make sure EI Paso and Ft. Bliss have sufficient water for growth and
development for 50 years and beyond.
The desalination facilities increase EI Paso Water Utilities' fresh water production by approximately 25%, based on current
demand, and include astate-of-the-art desalination plant, a learning center, groundwater wells, transmission pipelines,
storage and pumping facilities and the disposal of concentrate, the residual that remains after the desalination process.
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EI Paso's water sources include groundwater from
bolsons (aquifers) and surface water from the Rio
Grande. Water from the Rio Grande is only
available during the spring, summer and early fall
months and is further limited in years of drought.
The Hueco Bolson, on the east side of the Franklin
Mountains, is also the source of water for Ciudad
Juarez in Mexico and other communities in the
area. Historically, pumping from the bolson has
exceeded the recharge rate and water levels in
the bolson have declined.
EI Paso Water Utilities has long recognized the
need to diversify its resources and to reduce
http://www.epwu.org/water/desal_info.html 5/13/2009
El Paso Water Utilities -Public Service Board ~ Desalination Plant :: Page 2 of 4
reliance on water from the bolsons and has made
significant strides in recent years toward that objective.
EPWU's conservation initiatives have been very successful, setting benchmarks for cities across the Western United States.
Additionally, EPWU's reclaimed water programs are extensive, with its strategic plan calling for reclaimed water to reach
15% of the annual potable water use by 2012. However, knowing that additional fresh water sources would be needed, EI
Paso Water Utilities began exploring the idea of desalinating the brackish water in the bolsons in the early 1990s.
The amount of brackish water in the Hueco Bolson exceeds the amount of potable water by approximately 600%. The
brackish water contains more salt than is allowed in drinking water, but significantly less than ocean water.
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ire iat spirit std mew i,n: V"i~io
When new technology reduced the cost of the reverse osmosis process, EI Paso Water Utilities began to plan the
construction of a desalination plant. Because Ft. Bliss was considering a similar facility, apublic-public partnership was
formed. The two entities recognized the benefits of a partnership in the complex process of building what will become the
world's largest inland desalination plant with the capacity to meet the needs of both Ft. Bliss and EI Paso Water Utilities.
This is the largest public-public project of its kind in the country involving the Defense Department and a local community.
Desalination plants near oceans are becoming more common. They have the benefit of an ample supply of consistent water
and can return the concentrate to the ocean.
An inland desalination plant presents significantly more challenges. For the EI Paso facility, test wells were needed to find a
stable and consistent supply of brackish water. Hydrogeological studies were needed to determine the flow of the brackish
water in the Hueco Bolson. Considerable testing, studies and pilot projects were performed to determine the most
economically and environmentally sound means of disposing of the concentrate.
The desalination plant uses reverse osmosis to
obtain potable water from brackish water drawn
from the Hueco Bolson. Raw water from new and
existing wells is pumped to the plant and filtered
before being sent to reverse osmosis membranes.
Through a pressurized process, raw water will
pass through fine membranes that separate salts
and other contaminants from the water.
Approximately 83% of the water is recovered
while the remainder is output as a concentrate.
At the conclusion of the reverse osmosis process,
the permeate, or desalted water, is piped to a
storage tank and the concentrate is routed to a
disposal facility. The permeate will be blended
with water from new wells. Following pH
adjustment and disinfection, the finished water is
sent to the distribution system.
http://www.epwu.org/water/desal_info.html 5/13/2009
:: El Paso Water Utilities -Public Service Board ~ Desalination Plant :: Page 3 of 4
~.1
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To ensure success of the project, considerable study and research were needed to assure the validity of the design and better
understand the environmental effects.
In 1997, EPWU and the Juarez water utility, the Junta
Municipal de Aqua y Saneamiento, along with other agencies
on both sides of the border, commissioned the U.S.
Geological Survey to conduct a detailed analysis of the
amount of fresh water remaining in the Hueco Bolson, the
amount of brackish water available, plus a determination of
the flow patterns. EPWU used data from the model to
determine where to locate the desalination plant and source
wells and obtained critical information needed to characterize
the injection well site. Without these groundwater models and
the technology associated with the information, it would have
been very difficult to determine where best to locate these
facilities.
In 2002, EPWU drilled and monitored nine test
wells to characterize a section of the aquifer
selected to provide the blend water. EPWU
consultants also completed an extensive
analysis of existing wells that might be used to
supply the desalination facility. A reverse
osmosis pilot plant was constructed to test the
chemicals, filters, and membranes used in the reverse osmosis process and determine which worked best with I~
water. In February 2005, U.S. Army consultants completed environmental studies and published the Final Envirc
Impact Study.
The most complex studies, however, were directed toward the problem of concentrate disposal. A comprehensiv
study examined six alternatives for disposal. Two methods were determined to be the most feasible: evaporatioi
deep-well injection. EPWU then tested evaporation methods, including conventional evaporation ponds, evapora
misting equipment and evaporation ponds with concentrators.
Deep-well injection was selected as the preferred method of disposal, and the concentrate is placed in porous,
underground rock through wells. The sites would confine the concentrate to prevent migration to fresh water, pr
~` ~` storage volume sufficient for 50 years of operation and meet all the requirements of the Texas Commission on
~~.
~ J*~~ Environmental Quality.
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Membrane Deep-well injection entailed extensive study of local geological and hydrological conditions as well as the examin
existing data, including seismic analysis and water samples. The University of Texas at EI Paso conducted a geophysics study t
EPWU used to create a geologic model and the Army drilled four wells to test for geological formation.
The extensive preparation needed to proceed with the construction of the facilities -studies, pilot plants, research, and the st
federal permitting processes -assures the success of the project and will be of great benefit to other communities in developi
inland desalination plants.
http://www.epwu.org/water/desal_info.htrnl 5/13/2009
:: El Paso Water Utilities -Public Service Board ~ Desalination Plant :: Page 4 of 4
allexte~-
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The availability of fresh water is a serious challenge facing not just the desert Southwest but the world. The demand for a
reliable and secure supply of water for a growing region must be met by the carefully selected and economically efficient
development of new water. The Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant is a reflection of these realities.
http://www.epwu.org/water/desal_info.html 5/13/2009
440,000 m3/day - SWRO desalination plants in Spain saving energy with PX® technolog... Page 2 of 5
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440,000 m3/day - SWRO desalination plants in Spain saving energy with PX®
technology
Source: Energy Recov_ery Inc•
Jan. 9, 2008
Two of Europe's largest Desalination Plants, Torrevieja and Barcelona were
Designed with ERI® Solution.
San Leandro, Calif. -Energy Recovery, Inc. (ERI®), the global leader of ultra-
high-efficiency energy recovery products and technology for reverse osmosis (RO),
receives energy recovery contract awards for the largest desalination plants in
Spain. The Torreviej a Desalination Plant, located in Alicante Spain, has a total
capacity of 240,000 m3/day (63.3 million gallons per day). Spain's largest SWRO
facility, also considered to be one of the
largest in the world, will be built with PX Pressure Exchanger® (PX®)
Technology. The Barcelona Desalination Plant, providing 200,000 m3/day (52.8
MGD) of potable water to the coastal region is also being equipped with ERI's
energy recovery devices.
The Torrevieja plant, built by a Spanish consortium lead by Acciona Agua, will
have an initial production capacity of 240,000 m3/day of which half will be used
for irrigation purposes. The project will include over 300 ERI PX-220 Pressure
Exchanger devices to produce an extremely dependable and affordable water
solution for the region. Utilizing PX technology significantly reduces power
consumption costs which in turn reduces bioclimatic and environmental impacts.
Torrevieja is expected to produce desalinated water by the end of 2008.
The Barcelona plant from UTE Dessaladora Barcelona, a consortium consisting of
Agbar, Degremont, Dragados and Drace which is designing and building the plant
for Aigues Ter-Llobregat (ATLL), singled out ERI's PX Technology as the energy
recovery solution. Also, one of the largest SWRO desalination plants in Europe and
the Mediterranean, the Barcelona Desalination Plant will provide 20% of the city's
water supply to its population. The Barcelona plant is a principal and essential
source for producing water for urban consumption in the city, allowing lower
extraction levels from the rivers Ter and Llobregat. It is intended to guarantee and
complement the water demand for the Barcelona metropolitan area. The plant is
projected to start production of potable water in 2009.
Borja Blanco, ERI Vice President, Large Projects Group, stated "To win these
outstanding projects is truly gratifying. This propels the company's technology to
unprecedented levels, with a substantial percentage of new plants in Spain and
around the world being built with PX technology. We are extremely pleased to
http://www.erwironmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease.aspx?cid=2632&codi=2503... 5/13/2009
440,000 m3/day - SWRO desalination plants in Spain saving energy with PX® technolog... Page 3 of 5
provide EPC contractors and end users alike with an environmentally responsible
solution for their water needs. "
Earlier this year, ERI was awarded the Global Water Awards 2007 Environmental
Contribution of the Year by desalination industry leaders. In addition, the Company
was named the 2006 and 2007 U.S. Export-Import Bank and US Commerce
Department's "Environmental Exporter of the Year," an honor awarded for its
technological leadership and innovation in bringing costeffective desalination to
nations around the globe. The San Leandro, California-based company also
received the European Desalination Society's prestigious Sidney Loeb Award for
outstanding innovation in 2006.
Currently, ERI's patented PX technology is making cost-efficient desalination of
seawater possible in over 30 countries world-wide, covering six continents.
About ERI® and the PX®
Energy Recovery, Inc. (ERI) is the global leader in high efficiency energy recovery
products and technology. Our PX Pressure Exchanger® (PX) energy recovery
device is making desalination affordable. The PX device is rotary positive
displacement pump that recovers energy from the high-pressure waste stream of
SWRO desalination systems at up to 98% efficiency with no downtime or
scheduled maintenance. Since its introduction in 1997, PX technology has emerged
as the industry standard solution for SWRO desalination. There are currently over
5,400 PX units installed or contracted in SWRO plants worldwide, significantly
reducing the cost to produce over 4.5 million cubic meters of fresh water per day,
and saving customers an estimated 502 MW of energy or $264 million a year in
operating costs.
ERI's headquarters is situated in the San Francisco Bay Area; San Leandro,
California USA with offices around the globe including: Sunrise, Florida; Madrid,
Spain; Dubai, UAE; Shanghai, China; and service representatives in Sydney,
Australia, India, Korea, North Africa, Mexico, Taiwan and the Caribbean.
MARKET NICHES
Membrane Filtration - Reverse_Osmosis, Water Desalination
RELATED KEYWORDS
desalination, desalination_~lant, displacement_pu_ mp, environmental impact,
irri ation, positive displacement pump, potable water, reverse osmosis, seawater,
water supply_
RELATED NEWS
http://www.erwironmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease. aspx?cid=2632&codi=2503... 5/ 13/2009
100 Largest Desalination Plants
Planned, in Construction, or in
Operation
Descriptioll
January 1, 2005
Desalination provides fresh water through various processes. Chapter 3 provides an
update on the status of desalination worldwide. This table shows the 100 largest plants
proposed, in construction, or in operation as a function of capacity, location, source of
water, and estimated construction and operation dates, as of January 1, 2005. 'These
plants represent more than 40 percent of all desalination capacity. This table includes
desalination plants that use seawater, brackish water, river, pure, and other sources of
water, not exclusively seawater desalination plants. Extreme care should be taken in
using these figures, because many of the largest plants in this database are not in
operation, or even under construction-only proposed. Indeed, it is likely that many of
these plants will not be built, or will be built at a far later date than indicated in this
table.
Limitations
These data were collected from a wide range of sources, from desalting plant suppliers
to plant operators to urban planners, and therefore depend on the accuracy of the
information supplied. This list includes plants that have been ordered but never built,
built and never operated, operated but then shut down, or are still operating. For
example, one of the largest plants on this list is a plant that is supposed to begin con-
struction in the San Francisco, California, region in 2006 at a capacity of 454,000 cubic
meters per day. No such plant is even close to construction anywhere in California (see
Chapter 3). A separate list of plants that are in operation is not available, but we
estimate that more than half of the plants in the table will not be in operation in 2006.
Source
Wangnick/GWI. 2005. 2004 Worldwide desalting plants inventory. Global Water Intelligence.
Oxford, England. (Data provided to the Pacific Institute and used with permission)
310
Data Section
DnTa TABLE 21 311
100 Largest Desalination Plants Planned, in Construction, or in
Operation, January 1, 2005
Total Estimated Planned
Capacity Source Construction Operation
Country Location (m3/d) of Water Start Year
Saudi Arabia SA Shuaiba III 880,000 SEA 2004 2007
Saudi Arabia SA Ras Al-Zour 800,000 SEA 2004 2007
Saudi Arabia SA AI Jobail II Ex 730,000 SEA 2004 2007
UAE AE Jebel Ali M 600,000 SEA 2008 2011
Kuwait KW Al-Zour North. 567,000 SEA 2004 2007
iJAE AE Shuweihat 455,000 SEA 2001 2004
UAE AE Shuweihat 2 454,600 SEA 2004 2006
USA US CA SanFrancisco 454,200 SEA 2006 2008
tJAE AE Fujairah II 454,000 SEA 2004 2007
UAE AE Qidfa 454,000 SEA 2004 2006
Saudi Arabia SA AI Jobail 408,600 SEA 2004 2007
Israel IL Ashkelon 395,000 SEA 2001 2004
Saudi Arabia SA Shuaiba III 390,908 SEA 2000 2003
UAE AE Jebel Ali L-2 363,200 SEA 2004 2007
USA US TX Pt. Comfort 340,650 SEA 2004 2006
UAE AE Jebel Ali L-1 317,800 SEA 2003 2005
UAE AE Jebel Ali N 300,000 SEA 2010 2013
Kuwait KW Sulaibya 300,000 WASTE 2001 2003
India IN Minjur Chennai 300,000 SEA 2005 2006
UAE AE Taweelah B III 295,490 SEA 2005 2008
UAE AE Fujairah. 295,100 SEA 2001 2003
UAE AE Umm Al Nar 284,125 SEA 2000 200L
iJSA US PR Puerto Rico 284,000 SEA 2004 2006
UAE AE Mirfa 277,000 SEA 2004 2007
Bahrain BH Flidd 3 272,400 SEA 2004 2006
Saudi Arabia SA Al JobaIl I Ext 272,000 SEA 2004 2007
Saudi Arabia SA Al Jobail III 272,000 SEA 2004 2006
Saudi Arabia SA Al Khobar IV 272,000 SEA 2004 2006
Saudi Arabia SA Shuaiba IV 272,000 SEA 2004 2007
USA US CA Orange Count 265,000 RIVER 2004 2007
USA US CA Fountain Val 264,950 WASTE 2004 2006
Libya LY Tripoli 250,000 SEA 2004 2006
UAE AE Taweelah Al Ext 239,680 SEA 2000 2003
UAE AE Taweelah C RO 227,300 SEA 2003 2006
Saudi Arabia SA Ras Az Zawr 227,000 SEA 2004 2006
Qatar QA Ras Laffan 227,000 SEA 2006 2009
Kuwait KW Subiya 2 227,000 SEA 2004 2006
Kuwait KW Subiya 227,000 SEA 2003 2007
USA US CA Carlsbad 189,250 SEA 2005 2008
USA LJS CA 1-hmtington B 189,250 SEA 2004 2006
USA US CA San Diego 1.89,250 SEA 2004 2006
UAE AE Jebel Ali K II 182,000 SEA 2000 2002
Saudi Arabia SA Al Bahah I 182,000 SEA 2004 2006
Qatar QA Ras Laffan 1.82,000 SEA 2001 2004
Qatar QA Ras Laffan 2 181,840 SEA 2004 2007
UAE AE Fujairah 170,000 SEA 2001 2004
continues
312 The World's Water 2006-2007
DATA TABLE Z) continued
Country
Location Total
Capacity
(m3/d)
Source
of Water Estimated
Construction
Start Planned
Operation
Year
Spain ES Malaga 165,000 BRACK 2001 2003
Kuwait KW Shuwaikh 163,000 SEA 2004 2006
Saudi Arabia SA Al Wasia 153,000 BRACK 2002 2004
Israel IL Negev Arava 152,000 BRACK 2004 2006
USA US PL Boca Raton 151,400 RIVER 2001 2003
Libya LY Benghazi South 150,000 SEA 2004 2006
Spain ES Murcia 147,000 SEA 2003 2004
Jordan JO Zara Maain 145,344 BRACK 2003 2005
Jordan JO Zara Maain 145,000 BRACK 2003 2005
China CN Yantai 143>000 SEA 2004 2006
Israel IL Ashdod. 137,000 SEA 2004 2007
Israel IL Iladera-Caesarea 136,260 SEA 2004 2007
Singapore SG Singapore I 1.36,000 SEA 2003 2005
Iraq ]Q 130,000 BRACK 2004 2005
Mexico MX I-Iermosillo 128,690 SEA 2001 2004
Australia AU WA Perth 123,300 SEA 2004 2006
Spain ES Carboneras 120,000 SEA 2000 2001
Singapore SG Ulu Pandan 116,000 WASTE 2004 2006
UAE AE Umm Al Nar IWPP 1.15,244 SEA 2003 2007
Egypt EG Sinai 113,650 SEA 2004 2006
Trinidad To. TT Point Lisas 113,636 SEA 2000 2002
Saudi Arabia SA Tabuk I 113,636 SEA 2004 2007
USA US FL Palm Beach 3 113,550 RIVER 2002 2004
UAE AE Jebel Ali G RO 113,500 SEA 2005 2007
Kuwait KW Al-Zour North 113,500 SEA 2004 2006
Saudi Arabia SA Shuqaiq II 109,000 SEA 2004 2006
LISA iJS TX EI Paso 104,088 BRACK 2004 2006
USA US CA Dana Point 102,195 SEA 2004 2006
UAE AE Mirfa 102,000 SEA 2000 2001
Algeria DZ Algiers Djinet 100,000 SEA 2004 2006
Algeria DZ Algiers Zeralda 100,000 SEA 2004 2006
Algeria DZ Mostaganem 100,000 SEA 2004 2007
iJSA LIS TX Brownsville 94,625 SEA 2005 2007
USA US TX Freeport 94,625 SEA 2005 2007
USA US FL Tampa Bay II 94,625 SEA 2004 2007
USA US TX Corpus Chris 94,625 SEA 2004 2006
USA US FL Tampa Bay 94,625 SEA 2001 2003
USA US FL S. Miami Ilei 94,625 RIVER 2004 2006
Pakistan PK Karachi 94,625 SEA 2004 2006
Pakistan PK Gwadar 94,625 BRACK 2004 2006
Iran IR Bandar Imam 93,600 BRACK 2000 2002
Singapore SG Bedok 92,000 SEA 2004 2006
Saudi Arabia SA Buraydah 91,000 SEA 2003 2004
Qatar QA Ras Abu Font B1 91,000 SEA 2004 2007
Oman OM Barka 90,920 SEA 2000 2003
Algeria DZ Arzew 88,888 SEA 2003 2005
Algeria DZ Arzew 88,000 SEA 2001 2003
Data Section
313
Total Estimated Planned
Capacity Source Construction Operation
Country Location (m3/d) of Water Start Year
Israel IL Ilaifa 83,270 SEA 2004 2006
Israel IL Palmachin 83,270 SEA 2004 2006
Israel IL Palmahim 83,270 SEA 2003 2006
Israel IL Ashdod 82,190 SEA 2003 2006
Israel IL Shomrad 82,1.90 SEA 2003 2006
Libya LY Azzawiya 80,000 SEA 2004 2006
Libya LY Misurata 80,000 SEA 2004 2006
Total Capacity 21,404,184