IDE Technologies announced that the world’s largest seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant is fully operational. The Sorek plant is capable of producing 624,000 cu meters per day (with provisions for future extension) of potable water, of which 540,000 cu meters per day are currently supplied to Israel’s water distribution system. The plant sets significant benchmarks in desalination capacity and water cost, resulting in substantial savings for the local water market while alleviating the country's water shortage problem.
With a financial scope of $400 million and constructed under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, the Sorek plant is located south of Tel Aviv, Israel. The plant utilizes IDE’s advanced membrane desalination technology including, for the first time in a large-scale facility, 16-in. membranes in a vertical arrangement. This lowers investment costs by decreasing the number of pressure vessels, piping headers, and control and instrumentation equipment, as well as increases the capacity of the plant and reduces its footprint.
In addition, the plant’s pressure center design reduces energy consumption due to the increased efficiency of large high-pressure pumps and energy recovery devices. Additional measures such as pipe-jacking of long and large diameter pipelines, as well as sludge treatment and its disposal to specific permitted areas, have been implemented to minimize the impact on the terrestrial and marine environments.
“Ushering in a new standard in the global desalination industry, the Sorek plant reinforces our leading position in the industry’s mega-SWRO space,” said Avshalom Felber, CEO of IDE Technologies. “This plant builds upon several other successful desalination joint ventures, including our large-scale SWRO projects in Hadera and Ashkelon, which demonstrate our expertise and competence as a trusted partner, providing leading technology, project management, engineering and construction knowhow, and financial strength.”
Source: IDE Technologies
