PEI wins giant Magtaa energy-recovery contract

Hyflux Ltd has selected HTCAT TurboChargers from Pump Engineering Inc (PEI) as the energy-recovery technology for the 500,000 m³/d seawater reverse-osmosis (SWRO) plant at Magtaa on the Mediterranean coast of Algeria.

PEI will supply 25 HTCAT-7200 TurboChargers for this to Hyflux of Singapore, who won the contract to design, build, operate and transfer the plant for 25 years.

The units will be delivered in 2010 and the plant will start operation in 2011. When in operation, Magtaa will be the largest SWRO plant in the world.

Kevin Terrasi, PEI’s vice president – engineering, said, “This is a monumental project for the RO industry and a strong statement for PEI’s AT (Advanced Technology) TurboChargers utilizing the volute-insert technology. The evaluation process included a very in-depth study into energy efficiency, ease of operation, simplicity, and reliability, as well as long-term benefits. We think it is great that PEI’s technology has been chosen for this landmark project, and we believe, when the industry does this type of in-depth analysis, the success at Magtaa is a sign of what is to come.”

PEI says the recent market-share data of energy-recovery technology published by Global Water Intelligence in September 2009 shows TurbCharger technology market share growth outpacing isobaric technology by a significant margin. PEI’s 666% growth from 2005-2009 (YTD) is leading all ERD suppliers, says PEI.