Dow Water and Process Solutions (DW&PS), a business unit within The Dow Chemical Company, participated for the first time in WE Power, a major industry event in Saudi Arabia, which the company views as a key market.

The company networked with leading water and power industry stakeholders, learning about the latest developments and connecting with its customers, said Andreas Gorenflo, global large project manager for desalination, DW&PS.
“With current economic conditions, it is even more critical to remain visible and aware of what the industry trends are. Our participation in the event was especially important as some of our largest sea water reverse osmosis (RO) desalination projects are in Saudi Arabia,” Gorenflo said.
“We also just re-launched our business after The Dow Chemical Company acquired Rohm and Haas Company, a global specialty materials company. Dow Water Solutions and Rohm and Haas Ion Exchange Resins have combined their respective businesses, forming Dow Water and Process Solutions. We are excited to communicate our enhanced portfolio and global presence to our stakeholders at the event,” said Gorenflo.
At WE Power, Dhahran, Gorenflo spoke on a panel on “Strategies for the Future Development of Desalination in the Kingdom.”

Finding the right technology
One of the issues he covered was the importance of finding the right technology and partner to maximise desalination efficiency.  “We are a global leader with an unrivaled commitment to solving water problems in the long-term. In other words, we are not a fly-by-night operation. We research and employ the latest reverse osmosis technology combined with pre-treatment technology for optimised membrane configurations,” said Gorenflo.
“We are committed to meeting the region’s growing need to desalinate water and, this is the key, our focus is on working with our customers to deliver long-term reliable solutions with a minimum total operating and capital costs.”
DW&PS is dedicated to providing innovative, technology-based solutions to a broad spectrum of water issues – from treating seawater to make it fit for human consumption, to contaminant removal in municipal water supplies, to industrial and residential water purification systems and to reducing and reclaiming water used in industrial processing.
“Dow is already the world’s largest manufacturer of reverse osmosis membranes and the addition of Rohm and Haas strengthens us as the industry leader in ion exchange resins. The larger scale of DW&PS will improve the business’ ability to invest in the innovative research and technology required to provide reliable, high-quality products and services to drive improved operational efficiencies in a number of major application areas, including industrial and municipal water, industrial processes, pharmaceuticals, power, residential water and waste and water reuse,” said Gorenflo.

Technologies and systems
Components for water and water purification systems offered by the company include reverse osmosis and nanofiltration (NF) membrane technology (Filmtec membrane).  Dow, as the largest manufacturer of RO membranes, has installed capacity to treat more than 8 billion cu m of water per year. New 16-inch diameter RO modules contain nearly four times the membrane of the current 8-inch diameter modules, which lowers the cost of capital required for desalination system by 10 to 20 per cent.
Ion Exchange (IX) Resins: Dowex resins are the world’s leading brand for ion exchange resins, supported with more than 60 years of manufacturing experience. Dowex ion exchange resins include a broad line of products for use in industrial and municipal water, industrial processes, pharmaceuticals, power, residential water and waste and water reuse. Other technologies the company offeres are:
Pressurised Ultrafiltration (Dow Ultrafiltration) Technology: It is a membrane separation system used often as a pretreatment to reverse osmosis purification.
Electrodeionisation (Dow Electrodeionisation) Technology: It is the first cost effective and environmentally friendly alternative to post-RO deionisation applications.
Also part of the Dow family is Dow Microbial Control, a global leader with the highest performing, most sustainable and best supported portfolio of actives, products and technologies to help solve any microbial control problem. Dow Microbial Control offers effective and economical biocides for controlling bacteria growth and biofilm formation in reverse osmosis membranes.
The company has a strong presence in the Middle East, with its high-performance Dow Filmtec membranes operational in some of the most water-challenged areas of the world including the UAE, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Major projects
Its major projects include the Shoaiba Barge Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) plant - a distinct desalination project and one of Saudi Arabia’s largest RO seawater desalination plants. It is also the world’s largest floating desalination plant and one of Jeddah’s major emergency sources of water. The barge helped meet water needs during the Hajj and Ramadan. It uses  interlocking endcap technology (iLEC) in both passes, providing maximum process safety and long term reliability. Currently, the barge is in Shuqaiq in the southern region of Asir to assist with water needs during the tourist season.
Another major project is the Hail Blending Line Nanofiltration Plant in Saudi Arabia that will treat the high radioactivity level in wells of the Hail Main water treatment plant from the second half of 2009. With a total capacity of 25,000 cu m per day, this plant is considered the largest plant in the Middle East region for such an application.
In the UAE, the company worked on two distinct SWRO plants in Layyah and Khorfakkan, Sharjah, each with a capacity of 22,700 cu m per day.