Orders to supply reverse osmosis (RO) membranes to two separate facilities in the UAE could help build regional confidence in the technology, said Toray Industries.
Traditionally, thermal evaporation desalination has been the technology of choice in the Middle East, mainly due to high salt content and temperature of the Arabian Gulf, as well as available funds from rising crude oil prices.
Toray said the plants in Al Zawra (Emirate of Ajman) and Ghalilah (Emirate of Ra’s al Khaymah) in the UAE could also help change the perception that RO is a “difficult process to run”.
The Al Zawra plant is an RO seawater desalination plant in the Emirate of Ajman and will have a capacity of 45,000 m3/d. The contract for the plant construction was won by Cadaqua S.A. of Spain and is under the Federal Electricity and Water Authority of (FEWA) of UAE.
The Ghalilah plant will also use RO technology in the Emirate of Ra’s al Khaymah. The contract for the plant construction was won by Aquatech Eastern of UAE and is also under UAE’s FEWA.
With these two orders, Toray said it will be supplying its membranes to desalination plants in the UAE for a total capacity of 480,000 cubic meters of water per day.
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