SETAᴾᴴᵀ completed successfully the design and manufacture of a membrane verification unit for the seawater reverse osmosis plant located in Jebel Ali, Dubai. The installation was built by ACCIONA and BESIX and is owned by Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), which is currently one of the largest reverse osmosis desalination plants in the United Arab Emirates.
The SWRO -Sea Water Reverse Osmosis- plant will be located within the current Jebel Ali power and desalination station, located in the southwest of the Emirate of Dubai, on the coast of the Arabian Sea. The complex already has six desalination stations with a production capacity of 470 MIGD (1,779,143 m3/d), four of drinking water.
Reverse Osmosis Membrane Verification Unit
The main purpose of the membrane verification unit for the Jebel Ali desalination plant is to test, verify and restore the operating parameters of the reverse osmosis plant.
This unit, designed and manufactured by SETAᴾᴴᵀ, can be used for both seawater and brackish water through its different components.
For seawater it has a pressure box capable of holding up to 1200 psi. In case of brackish water, the unit has a second box that can work with a pressure of 300 psi.
At the same time, it has a pumping system – which drives the water to the different pressure boxes – consisting of a 22Kw pump made of Super Duplex stainless steel for seawater and a 10Kw pump made of AISI316 material for brackish water.
Highly efficient membrane testing equipment
The reverse osmosis membrane testing equipment consists of the following parts:
- Mechanical area: collection system, high pressure pumping system, pressure vessels, process water storage, water storage cleaning, low pressure pumping system and safety microfilter system.
- Electrical area: includes all motors and motor protection. Also, auxiliary equipment -which are part of the scope of supply-, electrical wiring, cable trays and conduits necessary for proper operation.
- Instrumentation and control area: conductivity and pH measurement; microfilter pressure and differential pressure indicator transmitters; maximum/minimum level indicator of the auxiliary washing and chemical cleaning tank; temperature indicator transmitter of the auxiliary washing and chemical cleaning tank; pressure gauges; temperature sensor of the chemical cleaning tank and flow meters.
Among other technical specifications, the membrane verification unit for the Jebel Ali reverse osmosis desalination plant also includes a CIP – Cleaning in Place – solution, an optimal, automated and fully customized cleaning system.
In addition, it’s equipped with a control panel from which it’s possible to configure every operating parameter of the installation.
SETAᴾᴴᵀ contributes with this membrane verification unit to improve the performance of the Jebel Ali reverse osmosis desalination plant. Ensuring the correct operation and maximum performance in a plant that currently produces at 100% of its capacity, 182 million liters of drinking water per day, and supplies water to the local network of Dubai, a population of 700,000 inhabitants.
