Round Up: Al Ansab MBR plant undergoes testing

Al Ansab MBR plant undergoes testing

The Al Ansab submerged Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) sewage treatment plant (STP), in Muscat, Oman, has been successfully tested, reports The Oman Daily Observer. Billed as one of the world’s largest submerged MBR facility, the Al Ansab STP will treat an ultimate equivalent population of 900,000 people or 220,000m3/day. The initial contract is to treat a flow of 76,000m3/day. The plant utilises 304 Kubota EK400 double-deck modules or a total of 121,600 panels. Haya Water’s decision to use MBR technology was dictated by the need for high-quality effluent, mainly for irrigation reuse and the limited availability of land at the existing site. ACWA UK was awarded the technology contract to supply the membrane units, carry out process design and assist with detailed design, engineering, installation and commissioning of the plant.

AWARD
Public health champion receives 2010 Stockholm Water Prize

Dr Rita Colwell, distinguished Professor from the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, in the United States, has been awarded the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate. Dr Colwell’s pioneering research on the prevention of waterborne infectious diseases has helped protect the health and lives of millions. Dr Colwell, 76, made exceptional contributions to control the spread of cholera, a waterborne pathogen that infects three to five million people and leads to an estimated 120,000 deaths each year. Her work has established the basis for environmental and infectious disease risk assessment used around the world. In the 1960s, Dr Colwell observed that the causative agent for cholera, Vibrio cholera, could survive by attaching to zooplankton. This led to her groundbreaking discovery that certain bacteria, including the Vibrio species, can enter a dormant stage that could revert to an infectious state under the proper conditions. This means that even when there are no disease outbreaks, rivers, lakes and oceans can serve as reservoirs for these bacteria. These findings counteracted the conventional wisdom held that cholera was only spread from person to person, food or drinking water and that its presence in the environment could only be due to the release of sewage. As a result of her work, scientists are now able to link changes in the natural environment to the spread of disease. In the 1990s, Dr Colwell was the first scientist to research the impacts of climate change on the spread of infectious diseases.

 New head for Siemens Water Technologies

Dr Lukas Loeffler will head Siemens Water Technologies, part of Siemens Industry Solutions (IS) Business Unit headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania. He is taking over from Chuck Gordon, who is leaving the company at his own request. “Lukas Loeffler has extensive technical experience and great integrative capability,” said Jens Wegmann, CEO of Siemens IS. “His expertise will help him to continue strengthening our position in the international water business.” Loeffler has been a member of Siemens management since 2005, and was the head of the Business Unit Infrastructure Logistics, based in Arlington, Texas, and part of the Mobility Division.

Jochen Kallenberg joins inge watertechnologies

Jochen Kallenberg has taken over as Vice President of Sales at inge watertechnologies AG. His was previously Sales Manager at Toray Membrane Europe. At inge, Kallenberg will be drawing on his experience in strategic customer acquisition and the development of existing customer relationships in the membrane-based water treatment market. Kallenberg started his career at Sandoz in 1987 in chemical production and pharmaceutical chemical development. He spent 11 years at the Swiss water treatment specialists Ropur, subsequently renamed Toray Membrane Europe, where he headed up a number of areas including the management of key accounts and distributors.

FO membranes launched

Hydration Technology Innovations (HTI), the world’s only commercial manufacturer of Forward Osmosis (FO) membranes, modules and systems has launched the OsMem family of FO membrane products for municipal and industrial customers. The OsMem family of products includes all of HTI’s proprietary FO membranes configured for various uses from Membrane Bioreactors (MBR) to oil and gas wastewater filtration. OsMem spiral wound membrane modules are available in standard module sizes ranging from 2.5’ X 21’ to 8.0’ X 40’. The membrane is also available in flat sheet cartridge plate modules for very difficult waste streams.

Desal start-up raises €3.6 million

Voltea has completed a €3.6 million financing round to support the commercial roll-out of its breakthrough Capacitive Deionisation (CapDI) technology. The funding was led by Rabo Ventures and included existing investor Pentair. During desalination and softening of water, the existing technologies employed to remove salts, minerals and toxic metals from the water typically consume large amounts of energy, chemicals and produce large volumes of wastewater. Voltea claims that its CapDI technology will offer clean desalination systems that are capable of high water recovery and chemical-free operation, while consuming substantially less energy than alternatives. Voltea is backed by Unilever Ventures, the venture capital arm of Unilever, and is headquartered in London. The operational side of the business is based in Leiden, the Netherlands.

Saudi ruler inaugurates Makkah water project

The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, opened a state-of-the-art purification station to maintain the quality of Zamzam water in Makkah, Arab News reports. The SR700-million station will purify five million litres of Zamzam water, every day, through two main purification lines, each using a number of filters and a sterilisation unit. Minister of Water & Electricity Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayen said 10 million litres would be stored in a tank, from which water will be pumped to the Grand Mosque through four, 200-millimetre-diameter stainless steel pipes. He said another two million litres would be pumped every day to a nearby factory, which will package the water. Once the Zamzam water is treated and stored, it is automatically pumped to 42 distribution stations. Pilgrims and visitors would be able to obtain 10-litre containers of the water at these points by inserting coins in special machines. According to the Al Hayat daily, SR1-billion or $266.7 million worth of water and sewage projects are currently being implemented in Makkah by the Ministry of Water & Electricity.

PV system to reduce CO2 emissions

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has completed the installation of a 191-kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic (PV) system at Nabeya-ueno Waterworks in Nagoya, Japan’s fourth largest city. Electricity generated by a total of 1,008 PV modules, installed over a surface area of 1,430 square metres, will partially cover the air conditioning and lighting requirements at Nabeya-ueno Waterworks. The system is expected to generate approximately 192 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity annually and reduce 91 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. The 191kW system will contain a 146kW sub-system composed of 768 PV modules installed on the lid of the filtration system, as well as a 45kW system made up of 240 modules installed on the building roof. The PV system will be equipped with a total of five three-phase PV inverters: two 50kW, one 40kW and two 30kW inverters that will convert the generated electricity into AC current.

Water leaks cost Saudi Arabia millions

Water leakage in pipeline networks across Saudi Arabia results in losses amounting to SR3,075 million annually, reports The Saudi Gazette, citing a study conducted by the Centre for Clean Water and Clean Energy, a joint research group comprising personnel from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The current capacity of desalination plants within the Kingdom is estimated at six million cubic meters per day, which expected to increase to over 10 million m3/day over the next five years. The centre estimated that 30% of the water transported daily across the country via pipelines, mainly to Riyadh, Jeddah and Madina, is lost due to leakage. Based on a rate of SR2.8 per cubic metre, the cost of water wastage has been estimated at SR3,075 million.

According to the study, the problem of water leakage not only causes clean water and energy losses, but also increases water contamination from hazardous chemicals and metals. Medical doctors from the Department of Oncology at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh have reported that water contamination is causing esophageal cancer in Qassim region, and is now considered a major health problem. To address the problem of leaking pipelines, the centre has proposed the development of conceptual designs of water leak and water contamination detection systems, including the building of working prototypes for both leak and contamination sensing, testing in a laboratory pipe network, and exploring new methods of monitoring the water distribution system.

AFED’s annual conference to be held in Beirut

For the 3rd consecutive year, the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) will hold its annual conference and present its annual report on water, highlighting the need for more sustainable management of a scarce resource. The conference, scheduled for November 4-5, 2010 at Habtoor Grand Hotel and Convention Centre in Beirut, will discuss the report, prepared by AFED and edited by former head of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Dr. Mohamed El-Ashry. The report is designed to contribute to the discourse on sustainable management of water resources in the Arab world, stressing the urgent need for policy reforms. Due to increase in population growth and bad management, the average annual per capita share in the Arab world is declining from below 1,000 cubic metres now, already below the level of water scarcity, to below 500 cubic meters as early as 2015, defined as severe water stress. The world average is 6,500 cubic meters. Major water sources are from outside Arab borders or shared, and most available water resources are already developed. As needs exceed availability, it is urgent to apply rational use of available water resources, and develop new sources, such as innovative desalination technologies. More than 30 ministers and heads of international and regional organisations as well as top researchers and scientists have confirmed their participation in this year’s conference.

Jordan to host Efficient 2011

Jordan will host the sixth IWA Specialist Conference on Efficient Use and Management of Water (Efficient 2011). The conference will be held under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein under the theme, ‘Water Demand Management: Challenges and Opportunities’, from March 29 to April 2, 2011 at the Movenpick Hotel in the Dead Sea. The IWA Efficient 2011 Conference targets experts and professionals involved in all aspects of water demand management and water conservation programmes. Participants will include utility managers, water resource planners and engineers, conservation professionals, academics, private consultants, research institutions, NGOs, contractors, environmentalists, and water sector regulators and policy makers.

Panel discussion outlines global trends

As part of World Water Week in Stockholm, six water/wastewater industry experts presented a seminar on ‘The Future of Global Water Technologies,’ on September 7, 2010. The seminar explored future sustainable solutions while anticipating the most efficient and effective ways to overcome social, financial or environmental hurdles.

In his presentation, panellist Dr Giulio Boccaletti, Expert Associate Principal, McKinsey & Company pointed out the challenge facing the world in meeting its need for water: if nothing is done, demand for water in 2030 will outstrip current supply by 40%. He felt that the old approach, focused on supply-side interventions, is not enough to solve the problem. However, closing the gap will be possible, and at reasonable cost, provided all sectors of the economy contribute.

Dr Ruediger Knauf, Vice President of Research & Development for Siemens Water Technologies addressed the role of technology and service providers in leading the effort to achieve total water management with highest resource efficiency and lowest environmental impact. Knauf discussed integrated solutions for water treatment, reclamation and re-use, based on six innovation platforms, in order to achieve this holistic approach.

Paul Street, Director of Sustainable Solutions for Black & Veatch’s global water business emphasised how the water/wastewater industry is unique in having the potential to produce much of its own energy. However, there is currently a wide variation in energy-efficiency and natural resource use by the industry. He recommended that industry leaders work together to maximise the opportunities for holistic and integrated solutions that exist at the nexus of water and energy.

John Williamson, President of ITT Water & Wastewater discussed key trends that will help propel the water and wastewater industry forward. Integration, he explained, is leading to a consolidation of different technologies into single, value-added solutions. This, in turn, is helping lead to a convergence of industry focus. Williamson also discussed the potential to accelerate innovation and access to advanced technology through the decentralisation of decision-making, in regards to water quality and delivery.

The seminar was moderated by James Clark, Vice President for Black & Veatch’s global water business. It was sponsored by Black & Veatch’s global water business, ITT Corporation, Siemens Water Technologies and the Water Environment Federation (WEF).