Work is ongoing at the Phase IV Seawater Desalination Project in Rabigh, a coastal city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Once operational, the plant, built by the Power Construction Corporation of China’s SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Co., Ltd., will process 1.5 million tons of seawater daily, producing 600,000 tons of fresh water for households in the Arab country.
“Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes are key to the desalination process,” said project manager Feng Quntao.
Before reaching the RO plant, seawater undergoes multiple filtration stages, including coarse screening, chemical coagulation and dual-media filtration using pebbles, quartz sand and pumice. A final security filter with 5-micron filter elements ensures that no impurities remain before entering the RO system.
“There are security filters equipped with cartridges that have a pore size of just five microns, ensuring the protection of the RO membranes,” said Feng.
Energy consumption is a major concern in water treatment. To reduce power usage, the project team applied innovative techniques, cutting energy consumption to an industry-leading low of 2.773 kWh per ton of fresh water. By optimizing membrane configurations, they minimized pressure loss and improved desalination efficiency.
“Our company has extensive experience in seawater desalination, having successfully completed projects such as Rabigh Phase III and Jubail Phase II. These efforts contribute significantly to Saudi Arabia’s water security,” said Feng.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water, with 43 desalination plants providing up to 13.3 million tons of fresh water per day.
At the 10th World Water Forum in Indonesia last year, Saudi officials reaffirmed their commitment to investing in desalination technology for sustainable water development.
(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)
