DESALINATION, SEAWATER AND BRACKISH WATER
The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) of Saudi Arabia has targeted a massive expansion of its desalination capacity during the current Sixth Five Year Plan period, offering billions of riyals worth of business opportunities to local and foreign companies in the Kingdom. The move is intended to boost the production of desalinated water in the Kingdom.
The SWCC Governor Farad Balghunaim has identified 29 new desalination and water distribution projects, which will shortly be announced. These 29 projects, to be located in various parts of the Kingdom, constitute 15 desalination projects and 14 water distribution system projects. Also, there are two distribution system projects currently under bidding formalities.
The move will substantially raise the production of desalinated water. Saudi Arabia, currently the largest producer of desalinated water in the world with a daily production capacity exceeding 520 million gallons, has set up 24 desalination plants on the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea. Its water desalination output amounts to 30% of the total world output.
The SWCC operates 23 small and large desalination plants at 15 locations on the east and west coasts of the Kingdom. Aside from producing 520 million gallons of water, these plants produce some 3600MW of power.
Referring to future expansion plan, SWCC's Governor Balghunaim said the company plans to produce some 800 million gallons of water daily in foreseeable future.
"The capacity will exceed even 800 millions gallons, if the four plants currently under construction become operational", he said. The plants include Shoaibah Phase-II with a capacity of 100 million gallons daily and 340MW of power. This project will substantially increase the supply of water to Makkah and Jeddah. The Madinah-Yanbu Phase II will produce 60 million gallons of water for Madinah, Yanbu and the surrounding areas.
The Jubail R.O. plant under construction with a capacity of 24 million gallons will supply water to Al-Qassim, Sudair and Al-Wahem regions while the Al-Khobar Phase III project with a capacity of 60 million gallons will feed Khobar, Dammam, Dhahran, Qatif and Saihat regions
"We have many projects under study and under consideration and we hope many of them will be carried out to construction stages during the Sixth Plan period," remarked Governor Balghunaim. He said the company's goal is to reach new areas of the Kingdom. The SWCC currently provides 70% of drinking water in areas where its services are available.
The SWCC's efforts in this regard are especially significant in view of the fact that more than 430,000 tankers of water are used in the Kingdom to supply water to remote mountainous regions. The above mentioned expansion plans of SWCC will boost the supply of water for drinking and agriculture purposes.
Several factors, including the increase in population, the non-availability of rivers or lakes together with scanty and erratic rainfall, have compounded the problem of water shortage in the Kingdom. That is why, on the new research projects undertaken by SWCC in the field of water and desalination, Balghunaim says, research efforts are directed toward achieving many short-term and long-term goals.
The SWCC has aimed at reducing the cost of desalinated water by optimizing chemical consumption, improving process construction, studying improved design feature and exploring improved methods of desalination processes. "We are working to develop this industry through major studies and research programs, which have yielded successful results until now," remarked Balghunaim.
A consistent SWCC research plan aims to extend life-expectancy of the equipment of desalination plants by failure analyses, suggesting remedial measures, monitoring corrosion and evaluation of materials under marine environment. This is expected to cut the cost of production and ensure regularization of water supply to many parts of the Kingdom.
Recently several research projects have been undertaken by the SWCC. They include subjects like the quality of drinking water, atmospheric and marine environments, optimization of the feed pretreatment in reverse osmosis plants, bio-fouling of membranes, thermodynamic modeling and simulation studies of the desalination process.
SWCC's research and development efforts basically aim to help the operation and maintenance of the desalination plants by identifying problem areas and suggesting solution. A few leading companies like Metito Arabia Industries have been supporting SWCC's drive to conserve water and to provide commercially viable solutions to organizations and individuals.
A Saudi company, Metito Arabia Industries with ISO-9001, has constructed some 172 wastewater treatment plants between 1982 and 1995 with varying range of capacity. All these plants have been serving various purposes in different organizations including in residential compounds, hospitals, tourist cites, big establishments and sports clubs.
A study conducted by Metito officials Kassem M. Mazloum and Hani Tarazi indicate that wastewater treatment plants treat and produce a quantity of wastewater equal to 154,801 cubic meter per day and that the quantity of treated wastewater that is being reused for agriculture and industrial operation is 113,960 cubic meter per day, which means a 73.6% reuse ratio.
Referring to the joint research programs between SWCC and major international water and desalination bodies, which will help SWCC officials to map out the future strategy to ensure substantial supply of water in Saudi Arabia, Governor Balghunaim said that the SWCC has several ongoing cooperation projects including one with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The SWCC has established a research and training center in the industrial city of Jubail for carrying out R&D works on the one hand and for upgrading the technical skills of the Saudi nationals on the other. Saudi Arabia has already emerged as a leading nation in terms of desalination technology. The Kingdom, for the first time, adopted this technology in 1965.
The desalination technology will help Saudi planners a great deal in coping with the growing consumption of water. The study conducted by the Metito Arabia Industries, however, says that the reuse of wastewater is increasingly becoming a necessity especially in countries where water resources are scarce.
The study has suggested that the wastewater resource should be considered during the preparation of development plans related to water in order to gain efficient use of this resource.