Two contracts for seawater reverse‑osmosis (SWRO) desalination membranes in the United Arab Emirates were announced by Toray Industries on 6 September 2012.
The membranes are for the Al Zawra Desalination Plant in Ajman, and the Ghalilah Desalination Plant in Ras Al Kaimah.
The Al Zawra SWRO plant will have a production capacity of 45,000 m³/d. It is being built for the Federal Electricity & Water Authority (FEWA) by Cadagua SA of Spain.
The Galilah SWRO plant will have a 68,000 m³/d capacity. It is being built by Aquatech Eastern of the UAE for FEWA.
Both plants will start operation in 2013.
Until now, no large‑scale RO desalination plant had been built on the UAE’s Arabian Gulf side. Toray says that its outstanding track record in harsh salt waters paved the way to its winning these back‑to‑back orders.
The two orders bring Toray’s membrane supply to desalination plants in the UAE to a total capacity of 480,000 m³/d.