NMR spectroscopy has been used to assist in the development of chlorine-resistant membranes for use in water desalination plants. The new membrane materials could avoid degradation by chlorine disinfectants and reduce operating costs and inefficiencies.

Sustainable access to fresh drinking water is increasingly a global problem facing the developed and the developing world.

The most commonly used technology for converting salt-laden seawater into potable water is membrane-assisted desalination. This is an energy-efficient and relatively environment-friendly process but for one problem. The aromatic polyamides commonly used to separate the H₂O from the NaCl degrade when exposed to chlorine disinfectants. Cellulose acetate membranes are also commercially. available but succumb to microbiological degradation.

GDF SUEZ has won the contract and signed for 20 years the Power and Water Purchase agreement for the Shuweihat 2 power generation and seawater desalination plant, a major Independent Power and Water Project in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Shuweihat 2 is a greenfield, natural gas-fired installation that will deliver 1,500 MW of electricity and 454,610 cu.m./day of water. The plant will be located in the west of the Emirate, approximately 280 km from Al Taweelah, another power generation and desalination plant in which GDF SUEZ has a 20% stake. Completion and start-up of the Shuweihat 2 plant is scheduled for 2011.

GDF SUEZ owns 40% of Shuweihat 2, with the remaining 60% owned by Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), which issued the tender. An affiliate of ADWEA, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC) is the sole off-taker of the output in the plant, as stipulated in the 20-year Power and Water Purchase Agreement.

SAN LEANDRO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Energy Recovery, Inc. (“ERI”) (NASDAQ:ERII), a global leader of ultra-high-efficiency energy recovery products and technology for desalination, announced that its PX Pressure Exchanger energy recovery device solution will be installed in one of China’s largest seawater desalination plants to date. Hyflux Ltd. (HYFL.SI) and ERI entered into a first time agreement for the Tianjin project which will provide 100,000 cubic meters per day (m³/day) of potable water to the region.

The Tianjin Dagang Newspring Desalination Plant will be located along China’s north eastern border in a coastal city near the capital city of Beijing. The plant, considered to be the largest in the country, will produce 100,000 m³/day (26.4 million gallons per day) of fresh water for domestic and industrial use. The build-own-operate project will supply approximately 10% of the city’s daily water consumption. Project completion is scheduled for late 2008. The project is designed with 144 PX-220 Pressure Exchanger energy recovery devices to reduce energy and lifecycle costs. These devices will save the project an estimated 8.6 mega-Watts of energy.