The Island of Aruba's drinking water requirements have changed significantly since the early 1930s, when seawater desalination was first used to gain sufficient fresh water for its growing population of 17,000. Today, the island is populated by 100,000 people and attracts more than 700,000 international visitors annually. Desalination continues to provide the island's only source of water, and as Aruba continues to move forward, it is quickly adopting the latest seawater desalination technology to produce more affordable, high quality water.
The island is building a new 24,000 m3/day (cubic meters per day)/ 6.34-MGD (million gallons per day) desalination facility to treat seawater from beach wells.
This desalination project, which is being performed on a 22-month schedule, will use the latest reverse osmosis (RO) technology to replace the island's existing thermal desalination units. The contract was issued by Water en Energiebedrijf Aruba N.V. (W.E.B. Aruba N.V.), the island's electric and water utility.
Five prospective firms had been shortlisted for the project based on initial indicative pricing. Following the results of the official tender, two Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (VWS) companies: N.A. Water Systems (N.A.WS) and OTV, were awarded the contract. The proposal included performance guarantees for water production and quality, minimal downtime, as well as electrical and chemical consumption. N.A. Water Systems is responsible for VWS design-build and desalination projects in the Americas, and OTV has been involved in conducting and executing large-scale desalination projects worldwide.
The new plant is being built next to the existing thermal desalination plant and the island's power plant, which are located in an industrial area. The thermal desalination units operate with low pressure steam from steam turbines powered by fuel fired boilers. The new facility will use cost-and-energy-efficient reverse osmosis (RO) technology, which will make it more economical to operate. The new plant will provide the island community with a more efficient treatment process and enable Aruba to phase out its older desalination units. The goal with the new desalination plant is to maintain the online availability throughout the life of the facility, while achieving an economical cost of water.
Three Main Processes
Seawater will go through three main processes at Aruba's new desalination plant: pre-treatment, RO, and post-treatment, prior to delivery to the island's potable water distribution system. Pre-treatment prior to membrane systems is the single most important factor in long-term, low-cost operation of RO. Seawater is pumped from 10 beach wells, where natural filtration occurs, and passes through strainers to remove any debris. It will then be pumped into a series of cartridge filters to remove suspended solids larger than five microns.
Two-Pass RO
The plant will use a two-pass RO system to ensure that the treated water is always compliant with the island's stringent drinking water standards. The pre-treated water will be pumped at high pressure through semi-permeable RO membranes. No microorganisms or dissolved minerals pass through these membranes. The new system will employ both SWRO (Seawater RO) and BWRO (Brackish Water RO) stages. Four membrane trains will be employed to maximise plant availability and flexibility during sequenced maintenance activities or changes in production demand.
