Pentair chosen to supply Salalah SWRO CO2 system

Pentair Haffmans has been chosen to supply a CO2 system for the seawater reverse-osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant which is part of the Salalah Independent Water & Power (IWPP) plant in Oman.

To make RO water drinkable, water leaving the membranes is carbonized so that minerals can be dissolved at the calcite filters. In Salalah, the required CO2 will be produced on-site by natural gas combustion. During this process, the released CO2 will be recovered and converted into food-grade quality by a Pentair Haffmans’ CO2-recovery system.

“In Salalah, the on-site production of CO2 is a superior solution over purchasing it from an external supplier as the nearest is in Muscat, which is more than 1,000 km from the desalination plant,” explains Roy Spee, Pentair Haffmans product manager CO2 systems. “Producing CO2 on-site eliminates transportation costs and guarantees the availability of food-grade CO2. Pentair Haffmans’ feasibility study estimated that the return on investment for the installed CO2 system is less than three years.”

The US$ 1.0 billion Salalah IWPP is owned by Sembcorp Salalah Power & Water Company, a joint venture between Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries’ fully owned subsidiary Sembcorp Utilities and the Oman Investment Corporation.