ERI wins ninth Algerian supply contract

UTE Cap Djinet, a consortium consisting of Spanish contractors Inima and Aqualia, has selected PX Pressure Exchanger energy-recovery devices from Energy Recovery Inc for a large desalination plant to be built in Algeria.

The new seawater reverse-osmosis (SWRO)facility, to be built at Cap Djinet (50 km east of Algiers), will have a capacity of 100,000 m³/d.

“We have installed PX devices at SWRO plants in Algeria and around the world, and know that their performance will meet our expectations,” said Antonio Ordonez, desalination director of Inima. “We also appreciate the excellent support that ERI provides and are pleased to have them working alongside us on this project.”

ERI estimates that its PX technology will save 9 MW of electrical power at Cap Djinet and improve the carbon footprint of the plant by 26,000 tons of CO2 per year.

Years of drought have depleted Algeria’s ground water supplies and dam reserves, and many people among the country’s population of more than 33 million face chronic water shortages. ERI was selected in 2008 by the UTE consortium to provide energy-recovery devices for the desalination plant in Mostaganem, Algeria. In total, ERI has been contracted to participate in nine desalination projects in Algeria, many of which are among the largest SWRO desalination plants in the world.