The Sur Desalination Plant, designed and built by Veolia and in service since 2009 has been extended in September 2016 to reach a total production of 29 MIGD (131,800 m3/day).
The extension project, awarded in 2014 to SIDEM, is an Independent Water Project (IWP) developed on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis by Sharqiyah Desalination Company (SDC) and is located next to the existing reverse osmosis plant.
The 84,000 m3/day original plant was designed and built by OTV-Major Projects Group, our former sister company with which SIDEM has merged in 2013.
A LOW FOOTPRINT PRE-TREATMENT
The extension draws seawater through a 700 meter pipe equipped with passive screens, cleaned daily with an air blast system.
Pre-treatment consists of Dissolved Air Floatation (DAF) system followed by our new Media & Cartridge Filter (M&C Filter). Both technologies are owned and patented by Veolia.
While the DAF units protect the RO membranes from the natural algal blooms event, M&C Filters remove suspended solids, turbidity and SDI15, thus reducing the risk of membrane biolouling.
The combination of two filtration steps into a single process unit reduced the footprint of the pre-treatment.
A LOW ENERGY CONSUMPTION PLANT
The pre-treated seawater is fed to a one-pass reverse osmosis stage. The brine’s energy is recovered using high-efficiency isobaric pressure exchangers before being blended with the first plant’s brine and diffused to the sea.
Thanks to a dedicated team of engineers, the performance-oriented design of the plant succeeded in reducing the energy consumption of the extension plant down to only 3.2 kWh/m3.
The permeate produced is then sent to the existing post-treatment for mixing, remineralization and final disinfection.