FLOATING DESALINATION PLANTS: A NEW LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY FOR WORLD WATER SUPPLY

By Mr. Fady Juez, Managing Director, Metito

The Growing Gap Between Water Supply and Demand

The global population has tripled from 2.5 billion in 1950 to over 7.9 billion in 2021. The United Nations (UN) predicts that this figure will continue to rise to an estimated peak of 11 billion in 2,100 [1]. With industrialization, climate change, and urbanization, water needs are rapidly growing and the need for more sustainable adaptive solutions is at an all-time high. ?

An evolving circular economy means that lack of access to clean, safe water, and sanitation in any region has implications on the global ecosystem and its impact is far-reaching, beyond borders. Whilst water covers 70% of our planet, only 3% of it is fresh, and whilst 7% of the world’s population calls the MENA region home, the region only hosts 1% of the world’s freshwater resources. This showcases why water security is particularly salient, and a matter of national security, in arid regions such as the MENA region. ???

An evolving circular economy means that lack of access to clean, safe water, and sanitation in any region has implications on the global ecosystem and its impact is far-reaching, beyond borders.

Moreover, MENA has seen the fastest growing urban population in the world over the past 50 years, with the Gulf now being one of the most highly urbanized parts of the world[2]. This rapid development, combined with the impact of climate change and the region’s dry environment, has critical implications for water demand and necessitates critical prioritization of the water agenda among national priorities and leadership visions.

A New Take on Desalination

To sustainably tackle water shortages and ensure water security at the national level, governments in the MENA region, which hosts vast coastal areas, have been investing in desalination facilities since the 70s. However, this go-to, tried, tested, and trusted solution remains to be capital, energy, and land-intensive and requires significant civil and infrastructural work to reach farther locations from the plant site.

Today, there are more than 20,000 desalination plants around the world[3] and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia exists the world’s largest user of desalinated water, the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC). ?Metito is attuned to such growing demand and with innovation and pioneering new solutions at the heart of what we do, we have been studying a mobile concept for Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants for some time. ?A solution that can provide the same benefits as on-shore desalination plants but can offer economies of scale and secure more competitive Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operating Expenditure (OPEX), ?increased flexibility, and the advantage of mobility.

Drawing upon our sixty-plus years of experience, renowned high-value engineering, and Metito’s institutionalized access to global technical and financial resources, we successfully delivered the world’s largest floating?desalination?barges for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.?This is the first of three barges with a total capacity of 150,000 m3/d, to be located 4km off the coastline of the Red Sea city of Shuqaiq, with SWCC being the end user for this flagship project.

The project enables SWCC to meet the Saudi Vision 2030 commitment to providing a 24/7 water supply efficiently and cost-effectively. It aims to contribute sustainably to the supply of high-quality potable water in compliance with all applicable international and local codes and standards and using the most advanced treatment technology, Integrated Ultra Filtration. It also protects householders from extended water outages during peak demand or as supply constraints loom.?

Innovation, Sustainability, Impact

While desalination facilities are usually built onshore, floating desalination barges provide the same benefits but stand several advantages. The cost of transferring seawater to the plant offshore (feed-water intake) and the price of the area holding the plant are significantly lower while there is the added advantage of having them easily moved (towed) to other locations – as needed. Floating barges also carry lower environmental footprints with waste liquid being further diluted onsite using existing seawater, thus offering additional protection to marine life.?

Furthermore, the high degree of the modularized design and delivery based on the pre-assembled plant modules minimizes the workforce required at the shipyard. It also reduces the installation and commissioning time leading to commercial operation. Due to the plant being mobile, the floating barges don’t face typical marine and soil project risks usually resulting from brownfield activities.?

This innovative solution allows governments to meet surging water demand due to pressing environmental challenges, and local requirements in regions where economic growth is rapid and/or where demand varies significantly with seasons.?Ultimately, water can be deployed to any location on the coastline when needed and backup supplies for contingency planning and emergency salutations secured in a timely manner.

This innovative solution allows governments to meet surging water demand due to pressing environmental challenges, and local requirements in regions where economic growth is rapid and/or where demand varies significantly with seasons.

Integrating the barge desalination units with power generators results in quick mobilization, expedited construction timelines, fewer marine works, and reduced adverse impacts of climate change. Metito’s floating desalination barges are equipped with in-house power generation facilities that produce power of up to 21 Mega Watts (MW) with full redundancy facilities. Additionally, each barge is designed meticulously with a complete marine system to ensure that it can last for project duration without dry-docking and to maintain safe operations.?

This flagship project was developed on a fast-track basis covering the design, engineering, construction, operation trials, and the provision of floating barges to sail the desalination plants – complete with the power generation system – to their current location in the Kingdom.

Future Outlook

The impact of securing safe water supplies is immense in an evolving circular economy and its imperative that we continue investing in research and development of sustainable, flexible, and eco-friendly solutions to support this within our ecosystems and beyond.?Metito believes that the concept of offshore mobile desalination has a significant future as the need to timely secure varying water supplies is a growing trend, while governments experience immense pressure to prioritize their water agendas. Especially for remote areas, where scarcity of power and water co-exist, mobile desalination may become the most viable solution, particularly now that it has been tried, tested on a large scale, and the first project successfully commissioned.

Author’s Bio

With over 37 years of experience in the global water sector and specific long-term success in the Asia markets, Mr. Fady Juez has successfully established high-level contacts with leading governmental entities, international utility companies, consultants, and contractors, reflecting positively on Metito’s business growth in the wider water sector.

Fady holds the positions of Metito Managing Director, High Commissioner Metito Indonesia, Director Thailand, and Director India. Fady’s key contributions cover the engineering, technical, technology, and expansion programs, the promotion and development of the franchise portfolio, the public and private partnerships, and the management of joint projects with leading international organizations.

He is an active IDA Board member and an avid speaker in public forums, industry events, and a go-to media expert for all water-related subjects. Fady has been promoting water desalination, recycling, and reuse on international platforms for many years.

[1] https://www.un.org/en/desa/population-growth-opportunity-action-sdgs-climate-un-desa-report-says

[2] https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/publications/megatrends/pdf/megatrends-in-me-rapid-urbanisation.pdf

[3] https://www.esi-africa.com/industry-sectors/water/water-security-from-desalination-a-story-of-technology-innovation/is