{"id":92146,"date":"2021-09-08T07:41:06","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T07:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/?post_type=perspective&p=92146"},"modified":"2021-10-12T08:06:39","modified_gmt":"2021-10-12T08:06:39","slug":"shuqaiq-3-pushing-the-boundaries-of-innovation","status":"publish","type":"perspective","link":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/shuqaiq-3-pushing-the-boundaries-of-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Shuqaiq 3: pushing the boundaries of innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Shuqaiq 3 desalination plant in Jizan province in south-west Saudi Arabia will be one of the largest Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination plants in the world when complete in the fourth quarter of 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n

Awarded to <\/em>a consortium of <\/em>Almar Water Solutions<\/em><\/a> (through <\/em>Abdul Latif Jameel Enterprises<\/em><\/a>), <\/em>Acciona<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Marubeni Corporation<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Rawafid Alhadarah Holding Co<\/em><\/a>, its <\/em>450,000 cubic meter daily production capacity from this US$ 600m infrastructure investment will guarantee the supply of drinking water to over 1.8 million citizens, while also contributing to economic and industrial development both locally and nationally. <\/em><\/p>\n

Recognized throughout the water industry as one of the most complex and innovative plants of its kind, in September 2019 it was named the \u2018<\/em>Utilities Project of the Year<\/em><\/a>\u2019 at the Middle East Energy Awards 2019, held in Dubai, UAE, cementing its status as one of the flagship new infrastructure projects in the region. \u00a0Despite COVID-19, the project has managed to stay on track, with procurement and engineering kept on time and a very impressive \u2013 and ongoing \u2013 site safety record.<\/em><\/p>\n

As part of a series of interviews with people involved in the project,<\/em> Luis Morales<\/em><\/a>, Technical Director at Shuqaiq 3, <\/em>discusses the complexities of the development and how the team has successfully kept the project on track despite unprecedented global disruption.<\/em><\/p>\n

How has progress been so far and what have been the biggest technical challenges you\u2019ve had to address?<\/h2>\n

Technically speaking, the biggest challenge was minimizing the electrical consumption and optimizing the energy efficiency of the plant, not only for the construction and operation, but for the tender to be competitive enough to be awarded the project in the first place. \u00a0We\u2019ve worked closely with vendors and suppliers to find the best equipment with the lowest energy consumption, as well as with the engineers to implement a design which could optimize the process. \u00a0It was the only way we could build a strong enough competitive position to win the tender. \u00a0Now we have a plant which is highly optimized and respects the environment, which is extremely important to us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

How was the progress of the project effect by the COVID-19 pandemic?<\/h2>\n

It won\u2019t surprise you to know that the pandemic had a big impact on our progress. \u00a0We faced a lot of potential delays. \u00a0To avoid these delays, we were very proactive, and we worked with our contractors to develop different solutions. \u00a0For example, we changed the process for installing the intake. \u00a0We had originally planned to construct the intake from the sea to the shore. \u00a0But we switched it around and built it from the shore to the sea instead, which meant we could start taking in water even before finalizing the works. \u00a0To do that, we had to change a lot of processes, such as providing new launch areas where the welding team could work on the pipes, and that was very challenging.<\/p>\n

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Aerial view of the Shuqaiq 3 seawater inlet pipes, each 2m in diameter.\u00a0 Photo Credit \u00a9 Abdul Latif Jameel Energy\/Almar Water Solutions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You mentioned the importance of making this plant as energy efficient as possible. How did you achieve this?<\/h2>\n

Energy efficiency was essential to our bid. \u00a0To achieve it, it\u2019s not enough to simply ask a supplier for a more efficient pump or a better motor. \u00a0We had to be a lot more innovative in terms of the processes themselves. \u00a0We adapted our designs to reduce energy consumption. \u00a0We worked with membrane suppliers to adapt the membranes so they would function more efficiently in deep seawater, for example. \u00a0We designed a system that uses high pressure pumps installed in a \u2018frame\u2019, rather than individually. \u00a0This allows us to manage all the pumps at the same time, which significantly improves efficiency. \u00a0We use a two-pass process for the water, whereby it passes through the membranes twice. \u00a0By carefully analyzing the data, we can tweak this process to find the perfect distribution between the first and the second pass to improve efficiency even more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition, we worked with our technical specialists to reduce the water pump pressure from 4.5 bars to 3.9. This may not seem like a lot, but in terms of the amount of water we produce – 450,000 cubic meters – this small reduction in pressure results in very big gains in energy efficiency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Does Almar Water Solutions have strong expertise and experience to enable it to innovate in this way?<\/h2>\n

Yes, we\u2019ve previously worked on projects all over the world and we\u2019ve been able to use the experience and knowledge we\u2019ve gained to benefit Shuqaiq 3.\u00a0 Also, the strong relationships we have built up over the years with vendors and suppliers helps us keep on top of the latest innovations and techniques.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Aerial view of the Shuqaiq 3 construction site. Photo Credit \u00a9 Abdul Latif Jameel Energy\/Almar Water Solutions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shuqaiq 3 uses Reverse Osmosis technology to produce desalinated water. Were other technologies considered?<\/h2>\n

In this case, the tender documents specified reverse osmosis, so we did not have any say in which technology was used. \u00a0But even if we did, we would have chosen Reverse Osmosis because it\u2019s the most efficient and the best technology currently available for desalinating seawater.<\/p>\n

There are other technologies, but they tend be older and less efficient, whereas Reverse Osmosis is getting more efficient and more competitive all the time.\u00a0 There is a lot of investment into new materials, new solutions and techniques for improving the efficiency even further.\u00a0 It\u2019s quite exciting to see how the technology develops over the next few years.<\/p>\n

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There are already two other water plants in that location, Shuqaiq 1 and Shuqaiq 2. The new plant sits between them. Did this present any additional challenges?<\/h2>\n

Yes, it did, principally one of space. \u00a0On shore, we have plenty of space, but offshore, the amount of space is more restricted. \u00a0The intakes from the other two plants lie on both sides of our plant, so we had to be very careful during the marine works.\u00a0 That was probably the most technically challenging aspect of the construction, not only because it is 1.5km of pipe installation, but also because we have to be sure that we are not impacting the intakes of Shuqaiq 1 and 2 during our marine works.\u00a0 We put in place strict control measures to avoid increasing turbidity in the water, for example. \u00a0Shuqaiq 2 also produces power as well as water, so there are quite a lot of ship movements in and out, bringing in fuel, oil and so forth, which also created additional challenges.\u00a0 We have a good relationship with both our neighbors, so it wasn\u2019t a problem, but we had to be very careful at all times.<\/p>\n

The plant is on the shores of the Red Sea. What is the water like in that area?<\/h2>\n

The water in the Red Sea is beautiful, but it is warm and very rich in organisms. \u00a0It is fantastic in terms of biodiversity but makes the desalination process more difficult. \u00a0We are working with an average water temperature of around 30 degrees and the high level of biological growth is dangerous for the process. \u00a0We have to constantly monitor and control this risk.\u00a0 On the other hand, the turbidity is good, which is an advantage. \u00a0However, we knew this from the outset and, thanks to our strong relationships with the other plants nearby, we have been able to learn from their experiences to implement effective solutions to these problems. \u00a0For example, to minimize biological growth (biofouling with algae, etc.) we are implementing a so-called \u2018pigging system\u2019. \u00a0This is where we use pressurized water to fire a plastic \u2018bullet\u2019 along the pipes to clean the biological growth off the inside, so we can maintain a consistent volume of water in the intake. \u00a0We have also been working with the membrane supplier to ensure we can maintain productivity at this water temperature and avoid any potential risk of damaging the membranes.<\/p>\n

Membranes are a crucial part of the desalination process. How many membranes do you use?<\/h2>\n

Our process uses around 54,000 membranes in two passes: 41,000 in the first and 13,000 in the second. \u00a0Each membrane is around 1m in length, so we are talking about 54km of membranes in total.<\/p>\n

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The Reverse Osmosis pressure vessels at Shuqaiq 3.\u00a0 Photo Credit: \u00a9 Abdul Latif Jameel Energy\/Almar Water solutions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How does the productivity of Shuqaiq 3 compare to previous generations of desalination plants?<\/h2>\n

In the 2000s, plants usually produced between 50,000 cubic meters and 100,000 cubic meters. \u00a0By the 2010s, this had increased to around 200,000, with the biggest one in the world achieving 400,000 cubic meters.\u00a0 Shuqaiq 3 is 450,000 cubic meters \u2013 so even bigger than the then biggest to date and still probably in the world top 10 of commissioned plants.<\/p>\n

They are building some other huge plants in Saudi Arabia, but even when they are completed, Shuqaiq 3 will still be in the top 5 biggest plants in terms of production capacity.<\/p>\n

Almar Water Solutions is part of a consortium of partners developing Shuqaiq 3. How important is a partnership approach in a project like this?<\/h2>\n

I think it is essential. \u00a0In our consortium, Almar has the technical knowledge, expertise and previous experience of this kind of development. \u00a0But a project like this is about much more than construction.<\/p>\n

It needs finance expertise, project management, investment, operations, and so on. \u00a0Working with other partners means the consortium benefits from bringing in all these other complementary areas of expertise. \u00a0And our partnership has worked well. \u00a0We have built strong relationships within the consortium, and this has benefitted the project enormously.<\/p>\n

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Environmental issues have become much more important in recent years. What measures are being taken to minimize the environmental impact of Shuqaiq 3?<\/h2>\n

Optimizing the sustainability of the plant is something that fully aligns with own values and way of doing business at Almar Water Solutions.\u00a0 We want to respect the environment at every stage, not only during construction, but also during operation. \u00a0We have implemented a number of measures and technologies to help us achieve this. \u00a0For example, this plant has a sludge treatment facility to treat all the material we remove from the seawater during desalination. \u00a0Not all desalination plants have a facility like this. \u00a0It means that all the waste we produce is innocuous and not harmful to the environment.<\/p>\n

The pigging system we use to clean the inside of the pipes is also environmentally friendly. \u00a0It is a mechanical cleaning system, which means we can avoid using chemicals to clean out the intake pipes and intake tower, so we can limit the amount of hypochlorite we use.<\/p>\n

Finally, during the construction phase, we are using strategies that are more respectful to the marine environment. \u00a0For example, when we buried the pipes in the sea floor, we removed a lot of mud. \u00a0But instead of just dumping this mud somewhere else and disrupting the marine environment, we used sucker dredgers to take this material out of the sea.\u00a0 We store it. \u00a0We dry it, and then we use it to backfill the pipe trenches \u2013 so essentially, we are putting it back in the location it came from. \u00a0Similarly, with the brine from the desalinated water, we disperse it back into the sea at various points along a 200 meter pipe, so it disperses very quickly in the ocean and does not overload one particular area.<\/p>\n