Who was at IDA 2009

Upen Bharwada, executive - business general manager, filters and membranes.
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The GE executive believes that some of the biggest opportunities in the desalination market currently reside within Saudi Arabia, and it’s clear that the firm has close ties with the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC).

“Saudi Arabia has been somewhat special if not unique in its use and endorsement of hollow-fibre RO,” Bharwada observes.

“Now, as the local industry evolves, they are using spiral-wound composite, an area in which GE is more active.” GE has also been working closely with the Tamimi Group, supplying a number of containerised seawater systems.

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“From a technological standpoint, I think Saudi Arabia is moving forward in accepting spiral-wound thin-film composite polymeride RO as the preferred method of desalination, either as a primary method or in the second pass,” Bharwada states.

“So GE looks forward to working with SWCC and other components in the decision-making process as the country carries on evolving further.”

Needless to say, big challenges lie ahead if the Gulf is to sustain what the GE executive refers to as its ‘economic miracle’.

With locations like Abu Dhabi laying down ambitious markers to recycle 100% of its water by 2015, GE believes it has a huge role to play in the region.

“This really plays well with our core competencies, so we look forward to working closely with Abu Dhabi’s planning department to help them reach this goal,” remarks Bharwada, with some confidence.

“GE has been the globally recognised leader with regard to membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology, for example. The technology we have features in the largest and the most successful installations, and it also provides the lowest lifecycle costs overall.”

GE’s Middle East experience

• GE helped build the Sulaibiya facility in Kuwait, the world’s largest membrane-based water reclamation facility. This plant treats 375,000 m³/day (99 MIGD) of municipal wastewater from Kuwait City and the surrounding area.
• The company has provided a fleet of mobile water treatment systems to Al Tamimi Group for the rapid deployment of onsite treatment systems for both sea water and brackish water treatment, water reuse and water filtration with emergency response time of as little as 72 hours.
• GE has supplied the International Medical Centre in Jeddah with an advanced membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment system to treat and recycle 250m³/day of wastewater, reducing freshwater usage.
• GE supplied advanced reverse osmosis solutions for the Hamma Seawater Desalination Plant in Algeria to purify up to 200,000 cubic metres of seawater per day - providing as many as two million residents with a reliable and drought-proof supply of fresh water.