Veolia Water Technologies continues to deliver landmark water treatment solutions the world over, and this was confirmed at the recent Global Water Awards 2017 in Madrid, where three of the company’s plants were distinguished in there categories.

The first of these was in the Water / Wastewater Project of the Year category, where Veolia’s new MBR plant is a critical component of the multi-year programme to clean up contamination in the Antarctic. The plant will be complemented by a seven-barrier advanced water treatment plant at the Davis research station, allowing world-class potable water to be produced from secondary effluent within a closed-loop system.

On top of the unique construction, engineering and logistical challenges associated with working in one of the world’s harshest yet most ecologically sensitive and precious environments, Antarctica presents difficult contaminant dispersal challenges. Yet, in supplying cutting-edge, low-footprint Veolia technologies, it is also a leading example of how scientific solutions by industry leaders are solving critical environmental challenges through reconceptualising the role of waste within the gamut of circular economics.

Veolia’s Marafiq reverse osmosis plant was distinguished in the Industrial Desalination Plant of the Year category. Built to supply the water required for Sadara Chemical Company’s massive manufacturing facility in the industrial city of Jubail, on the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, the plant supplies up to 178 000 m 3 /day through reverse osmosis seawater desalination.

The plant uses an array of high-end pre-treatment technologies – dissolved air flotation followed by self-cleaning microfiltration and ultrafiltration – to allow large volumes of water to be treated from a feed source at the extreme reaches of salinity and temperature for a desalination plant. Through a unique dual-train seawater then brackish water reverse osmosis, water recovery level reaches almost 50%, while a rotary isobaric pressure exchanger uses just 5.1 kWh/m³, an impressive achievement for a plant of this scale dealing with hostile feed water conditions.

The 486 400 m 3 /day multiple effect distillation plant (MED) supplied to Az-Zour North, Kuwait, was distinguished in the Municipal Desalination Plant of the Year category. The first privately owned desalination plant in the country, the plant combines low operations and maintenance costs with a limited requirement for scaling treatment, which pushes the margins of performance and profitability in this pathfinder water public-private partnership.

With an ultra-low energy consumption of around 1 kWh/m3 and a low-pressure stream, the plant showcases the pinnacle of MED technology. The successful treatment of extreme levels of salinity and wide range of feed water temperature, from 13° to 38° C, is a stunning example of cutting-edge seawater desalination technology.

The state of reuse and desalination in South Africa
As water security becomes more and more difficult to guarantee through an increasingly strained supply of surface water in South Africa, water reuse and sea water desalination continue to grow in importance.

Desalination, especially, is seen as the best avenue to invest in future water infrastructural builds, and while it remains the most expensive per-unit cost of treatment for a potable water supply, in many cases there are few other options available. Veolia has been responsible for seven seawater desalination plants in South Africa, including the biggest: the 15 Ml/day Mossel Bay plant.

“However, while it plays an ever-increasing role in meeting our fresh water supply requirements, the need to invest in more sustainable, more environmentally friendly and less wasteful water use practices is becoming more blatant,” explains Chris Braybrooke, Marketing Manager, Veolia Water Technologies South Africa. “That is why, more and more, we will see water reuse and recycling being a critical part of municipalities and industry meeting their water requirements in the not-too- distant future.”

Veolia provides water reuse solutions for full potable reuse including facility cooling; boiler feed water; industrial process water; irrigation in agriculture and urban green space; as well as ground water storage and recovery. The largest of the plants are the landmark Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant in Windhoek, Namibia, which treats wastewater and semi-purified sewage to supply 21 Ml/day of potable water, and the Durban Water Recycling (DWR) Plant, which recycles 47.5 Ml/day of domestic and industrial wastewater for reuse by industrial users such as Mondi Paper and SAPREF.

Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource management. With over 163 000 employees worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them.
In 2016, the Veolia group supplied 100 million people with drinking water and 61 million people with wastewater service, produced 54 million megawatt hours of energy and converted 31 million metric tons of waste into new materials and energy. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of €24.39 billion in 2016. www.veolia.com

Contacts
Chris Braybrooke
Tel: +27 (0) 11 974 8161
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.veoliawatertechnologies.co.za