Pentair X-Flow UF pretreatment for Ashdod desalination

The giant Ashdod seawater reverse-osmosis desalination (SWRO) plant under construction in Israel is to have ultrafiltration (UF) pretreatment supplied by Pentair X-Flow.

Pentair X-Flow has signed an agreement with IVM Minrav Sadyt to supply Seaguard UF membranes and skids to the plant, which will have a UF permeate capacity of 930,000 m³/d.

The SWRO plant will supply 100 million m³/year of desalinated water and will be one of the largest SWRO plants with UF pretreatment worldwide. It will be the first potable water plant built under the Israeli government’s emergency plan for water.

Pentair X-Flow’s Seaguard membranes were selected to provide optimum pretreatment for the RO membranes. Moreover, when compared with single-stage media filtration during the design phase of the Ashdod plant, Pentair X-Flow’s inline UF membranes were the preferred option for both capital and operational expenditure.

The IVM consortium, comprising Israel’s Minrav Holding Ltd and Spain’s SADYT, won the international tender from Mekorot Development & Enterprise Ltd to design, build, commission, and then operate the Ashdod plant for two years. The plant is scheduled to be in full production by December 2013.

The desalinated water from the plant will amount to approximately 15% of Israel’s domestic water consumption. Once the Ashdod plant is completed, the five largest desalination plants in Israel combined will supply around 85% of Israel’s domestic water consumption.