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water per year – accounting for approximately 15% of domestic water consumption. It will be the fourth reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant to be built along Israel’s Mediterranean coast which, in addition to a further plant set to come on stream in 2013, will have a combined annual output of 540 million m3 (133 142.7 million gallons) of water.

The contract was awarded by IVM Minrav Sadyt, a consortium that includes Minrav Holdings Ltd, an Israeli infrastructure company, and Sadyt, a Spanish construction business. Mekorot Development Enterprise Ltd, a subsidi-ary of Mekorot – Israel’s national water company – will plan, build and operate the facility.

The system, based on the polymer-based Arkal Super Galaxy, has a 100-μm rating and will be required to withstand a flow rate of 40 000 m3 (about 10.6 million gallons) per hour. Amiad says that it will start supplying the components in October 2012, and they are scheduled to be installed in March 2013.

Contacts:

Amiad Water Systems Ltd, D.N. Galil Elyon 1 12335

Israel. Tel: +972 4 690 9500, www.amiad.com

Mekorot Development Enterprise Ltd, 1st Karlibach St,

Tel-Aviv 61201, Israel. Tel: +972 3 633 4500,

www.mekorot.co.il

GE helps utility in Russia to increase water- recovery capacity

With water conservation remaining a key goal of efforts to modern-

ise Russia’s water supply infrastructure, General Electric Co (GE) has announced that the Ekaterinburg Municipal Unitary Enterprise Vodokanal utility has selected its ZeeWeed 500D ultra-filtration (UF) membrane technology to boost water-recovery capacity at its existing water treatment plant.

Ekaterinburg, the administrative centre of the Urals region, is Russia’s fourth-largest city and has a population of 1.4 million people. GE’s UF membrane system will enable the facility to recover 55 000 m3 (14.5 million gallons) of water a day. A volume equivalent to more than 950 Olympic-sized hockey rinks, this will be used to back-wash conventional filters used at the plant. The new system will begin operating commercially in 2013.

Adequate supplies of clean water are critical for Ekaterinburg, a major industrial centre that

is home to extensive manufacturing operations that serve the defence, instrument-making, met-allurgy, printing, opto-mechanical products and food sectors. The city is also a transportation and logistics hub for the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Earlier this year, a news story, published in the Russian press, underscored the importance of investing in water treatment by reporting that country’s housing sector had overtaken its agricultural, chemical and other industrial sectors as the main source of water pollu-tion, according to the director of water at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Vadim Kuznetsov, Technical Director, Ekaterinburg Municipal Unitary Enterprise Vodokanal, commented: ‘Water is a critical resource, and our strategy is to use proven and reliable technology to conserve and reuse as much of it as possible. GE has a long history in Russia as a supplier of reliable and efficient equipment, and its advanced water filtration technology will help us do that.’

Chris Jeffery, Regional Director CEE & Russia/CIS, Water & Process Technologies, GE Power & Water, added: ‘GE’s focus is to provide customers with the tools they need to address their most important challenges.’

‘This important project will minimise the impact this treatment plant has on the environ-ment by reducing both its dependence on fresh-water supplies and the water it discharges.’

GE Energy has been active in Russia since the early 1900s, supplying equipment and services to develop the country’s energy infrastructure.

Contact:

GE Water & Process Technologies, 4636 Somerton

Road, Trevose, PA 19053-6783, USA.

Tel: +1 215 355 3300, www.gewater.com

IDA issues call for papers for World Congress

The International Desalination Association (IDA) has issued a call

for papers for its World Congress 2013 on Desalination and Water Reuse, which is scheduled to be held on 20–25 October 2013 in Tianjin, China.

The congress will focus on a variety of topics, such as desalination technology, environmental sustainability, plant operations and manage-ment, and governance and finance, but will also cover applied technologies and best practices.

The over-arching theme ‘‘Desalination: a Promise for the Future’’ emphasises the vital role that desalination and water reuse play in help-

ing our planet meet its water needs, faced with increased challenges posed by urbanisation, cli-mate change and economic uncertainties.

The congress aims to examine these challeng-es and problems, and their potential solutions, by providing a platform for water and desalina-tion experts from around the world to exchange knowledge, network and share their expertise and experiences.

Potential authors are encourage to submit an extended abstract for consideration. Specific programme track descriptions and topics for the conference are outlined below.

Track 1 – The Governance and Finance of Desalination

Environmental Responsibility and Adapting to Climate Change

Technologies

Submissions will be evaluated on the basis of contribution and impact, originality, accuracy, quality of presentation, and appropriate com-parison to related works, says the IDA. It warns that previously published or presented material will not be accepted.

The extended abstract must be submitted on-line – using the template provided on the IDA Web-site – by no later than 1 October 2012. English is the official language of the congress.

Contact:

Darlene Seta, World Congress Technical Program

Manager, International Desalination Association,

PO Box 387, 94 Central Street, Suite 200, Topsfield,

MA 01983, USA. Tel: +1 978 887 0410,

Email: papers@idadesal.org, www.idadesal.org

Mann+Hummel Singapore expands its business platform

German filtration specialist Mann+Hummel GmbH reports that

it is increasing production capacity, and expanding the research and develop-ment facilities at the worldwide head-quarters of its water business division, which is based in Singapore.

Mann+Hummel Singapore has opened a well-equipped R&D centre and a production line for ultrafiltration (UF) cartridges.

As a first step the production capacity will be doubled. This will enable manufacturing to expand and provide sufficient capacity for a

Membrane Technology August 2012

NEWS

August 2012 Membrane Technology5

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Fertilizer plant in China uses Aquatech’s water-treatment systemsUS water purification technology company Aquatech International Corp has been award-ed a contract to design, engineer, supply and supervise the installation and commissioning of a concentrated brine treatment plant for the Chinacoal Tuke Fertilizer Project in China. The facility is located in the city of Ordos in the Inner Mongolia region. As part of the water-treatment plant, it is supplying two units – a high efficiency reverse osmosis (HERO) system and a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) unit. In operation, reject water from the effluent treatment plant is fed to the HERO system, which consists of a clarifier, a dual media filter, a weak acid cation unit and an RO system.

Lewabrane membrane elements available in RussiaLewabrane membrane separation elements – for reverse osmosis – from German special-ity chemicals company Lanxess Deutschland GmbH are now available in Russia, to com-plement the firm’s established Lewatit ion-exchange resins. The firm exhibited its RO products at Ecwatech 2012, which was held recently in Moscow. It says that customers initially will be able to buy two RO element types with different capacities that are based on polyamide thin-film composite membranes.

Books discuss bio-fouling and desalinationIWA Publishing, part of the International Water Association (IWA), is offering two publications that cover bio-fouling and desali-nation. The first ‘Biofouling of Spiral Wound Membrane Systems’ provides an overview of all aspects of bio-fouling – bridging the gap between microbiology, hydraulics and membrane technology. ‘Membrane Based Desalination: An Integrated Approach’ pro-poses solutions to problems associated with reverse osmosis with an approach based on the integration of different membrane operations in pretreatment and post-treatment stages.

More information: www.iwapublishing.com

KMS displays its technology at SIWW 2012Koch Membrane Systems Inc (KMS) says that the technology it displayed at Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 2012, held on 1–5 July, complemented the theme set for this year’s show – ‘Water Solutions for Liveable and Sustainable Cities’. Visitors to the firm’s stand were able to learn about its Targa II hol-low-fibre ultrafiltration system, Puron mem-brane bioreactor system and its Fluid Systems TFC reverse osmosis (RO) range.

new range of products to be made. The com-pany says that the new facilities are necessary to meet global demand for its filtration products. At present 100 water filtration specialists are employed by the company in Singapore to serve customers from all over the world. The team is expected to grow by 30% in 2012.

Ulrich Winter, Managing Director, Mann+Hummel Singapore, said: ‘Our whole team fully supports this commitment. I am proud of the highly qualified and motivated team, and we are all proud of the new facilities. They will enable us to increase our customer service and competitiveness.’

Customers can now benefit from the com-pany’s own water and membrane analysis capabilities, and from Mann+Hummel’s 70 years of filtration experience in the automotive business, using statistical methods and focusing on quality control using approved design and simulation tools. The systematic approach and available work processes will further improve quality, modularity and flexibility. Together with access to the firm’s complete technical and sales network, the Singapore team is better placed to meet market needs.

Yeoh Keat Chuan, Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), said: ‘We are delighted that Mann+Hummel, a world leader in the produc-tion of industrial and automotive filters, has decided to significantly strengthen its water-related operations in Singapore.’

‘This latest investment marks a new mile-stone in the fast growing partnership between the company and Singapore. The establish-ment of its global water headquarters validates Singapore as an ideal home base in Asia where global companies can orchestrate their business strategies for the region and develop future-ready technology.’

The water business is a strategic activity of the Mann+Hummel group. The company develops and manufactures systems for recycling and conserving water. These are based on tech-nologies such as reverse osmosis (RO) and UF.

Depending on the needs of the customer, the systems are highly standardised, modular and adaptive, with no need for significant further engineering on-site. The modular structure, however, does enable modifications to be made to meet the specific needs of customers. These advantages help to save time and reduce costs.

‘Today, Singapore is regarded as a ‘‘global hydrohub’’ – home to about 100 water compa-nies and 25 water R&D centres. The opening of Mann+Hummel’s new facility in Singapore which houses the company’s global headquar-ters for the water business unit, membrane manufacturing plant as well as the global R&D water centre, is a major boost to our water

industry,’ said Chew Men Leong, Executive Director of Environment and Water Industry Programme Office and Chief Executive Officer, Public Utilities Board (PUB), Singapore’s national water agency.

Mann+Hummel recently extended its water business to Europe – targeting customers in industries and organisations that need high-quality process water or wastewater cleaned using UF (see Membrane Technology November 2011, page 1).

It has also strengthened it water business in Brazil by acquiring Fluid Brasil (see Membrane Technology February 2012, page 1), which spe-cialises in RO and UF used in the treatment of water and wastewater.

Contacts:

Mann+Hummel Ultra-Flo Pte Ltd, No. 2 Tuas

Avenue 10, Singapore 639126. Tel: +65 6457 7533,

www.mannhummel-water.com

Mann+Hummel GmbH, Hindenburgstrasse 45, 71638

Ludwigsburg, Germany. Tel: +49 7141 980,

www.mann-hummel.com

MRC strengthens its water-project operations in Singapore

Mitsubishi Rayon Co Ltd (MRC) has established a local subsidiary in

Singapore’s WaterHub complex that is owned by Public Utilities Board (PUB), the country’s national water agency, as part of efforts to strengthen its par-ticipation in water treatment projects around the world.

According to the company, through MRC Rensui Asia Pte Ltd it gains access to industry expertise clustered in the WaterHub that will help it to gather information and form business networks, and enable it to enhance its market-ing activities in South-East Asia, India and the Middle East. MRC Rensui Asia will expedite business activities by cooperating in these regions with its group company Nippon Rensui Co Ltd.

WaterHub is a research facility set up in 2004 by the Government of Singapore, bringing together researchers, business owners, companies, and other entities in the water industry for the purposes of water technology development, edu-cation and enabling networking between partici-pating companies and other organisations.

Contact:

Mitsubishi Rayon Co Ltd, 1–1 Marunouchi 1-Chome,

Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8253, Japan.

Tel: +81 3 6748 7500, www.mrc.co.jp