Dow Water & Process Solutions has bagged a contract in Saudi Arabia to supply nanofiltration technology

Dow Water & Process Solutions (DWPS), a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), has been awarded by the Ministry of Water and Electricity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the order to supply its state-of-the-art DOW FILMTECTM Nanofiltration NF90-400 elements to the Ha’il Nanofiltration Plant.

The Plant will be among the largest of its kind in the world, processing and delivering clean water at a rate of 150,000 m3/day – enough to supply the daily clean water needs of 500,000 to 750,000 residents. The plant is expected to come online in the second half of 2010. The elements will be supplied through Dow distribution partner Abu Nayyan Trading Company (ATC) to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) EMCO, making Dow the first and only supplier of water nanofiltration technology in the Kingdom.

Ha’il is located in one of the most arid regions in the world, and underground fresh water resources are diminishing. Furthermore, water that naturally seeps back into the wells is contaminated with various naturally-occurring heavy metals and minerals underground, like Radium. When government health authorities started to notice an increase in water-related health concerns, they determined it to be related to the naturally-occurring, underground leaching of heavy metals to the region’s fresh water supply. In 2008, Dow and the Ministry of Water and Electricity installed the first NF plant with a capacity of 25,000 m3/day using DOW FILMTEC NF90-400 elements; this is expected to be fully online by the end of 2009, and the 150,000 m3/day plant will come online by the end of 2010.

Zuhair Allawi, Commercial Director for Dow in India, Middle East and Africa said, “This is an extremely significant commercial milestone for Dow and our Water and Process Solutions business unit. But more importantly, this is a technological milestone for the region and for Saudi Arabia in particular. The public authorities have elected to use the latest innovations in the market, to be the first to leverage nanofiltration technologies in the region, in order to secure sustainable clean water supply to Saudi citizens. Dow is proud to be part of this state-of-the-art installation.”

Lance D Johnson, Dow Water & Process Solutions, global water commercial director echoed the fundamentals of innovation and partnership amongst Dow and the Ministry.

“This is an inspiring example of private and public sector collaboration for the common benefit of the public. Dow’s advanced water treatment technologies are in place all over the world, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a key market for us.”