Modern Water in tie up with Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock

Water and wastewater treatment technologies firm, Modern Water has signed an agreement with construction, operation and maintenance services company, Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock Middle East. The deal covers the joint development and commercialisation of Modern Water’s proprietary forward osmosis technology, in multi-stage flash (MSF) desalination plants across the Middle East and Northern Africa.

The product offering will enable MSF plant owners and operators to improve the performance and energy efficiency of both existing plants and any new plants under development said Modern Water.

Following a detailed assessment of the combined process, both firms are developing their product offering for use at an operational desalination plant. During the pilot phase, the plant will develop and demonstrate Modern Water’s forward osmosis system as a means to dilute and soften the plant’s recirculating brine. This will enable the plant operator to increase the top brine temperature which reduces its thermal and electrical energy consumption without affecting the output.

Modern Water chief executive officer, Simon Humphrey, said: “Our new strategy is to focus on industrial applications of our cutting-edge proprietary technologies, and this agreement with Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock Middle East is a significant endorsement of this new focus. Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock Middle East is a major player in the MSF desalination market, having built, maintained and upgraded many of the existing stock of plants in the
region. This project secures us another significant foothold in the hugely important Middle East and North Africa markets.”

“The installed fleet of MSF desalination plants is considerable and energy saving is becoming more and more a priority to our customers. We are proud to offer them cutting-edge technology that delivers these advantages,” said Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock Middle East FZE, chief executive officer Hakan Yapici.