[아랍에미리트] 마스다르 녹색 담수화 경진대회 개최

아랍에미리트의 식수수요를 충족하기 위한 지속가능한 방안을 개발하기 위해 경진대회에 참가한 4팀이 실증시설에서 소규모 시험 담수화 플랜트 작동을 시작했다. 아벤고아(Abengoa), 수에즈(Suez Environment), 시뎀(Sidem)·베올리아(Veolia), 트레비 시스템스(Trevi Systems)는 하루 1천500㎥ 규모 용량의 Al Ghantoot 플랜트에서 표준 담수화 플랜트의 3분의 2 수준으로 에너지를 줄이고자 각자의 멤브레인 기반 프로젝트 가동을 시작했다.

경진대회 조건 하에 참가팀들은 3.6㎾h/㎥ 미만의 효율을 목표로 하고 있다. 한편 기존의 비재생가능한 에너지 담수화 플랜트는 평균적으로 약 5㎾h/㎥에 가동된다.

All four participants in the competition to develop sustainable means to meet the United Arab Emirates' potable water demand have begun operating small-scale experimental desalination plants at a pilot facility set up by the competition organizer, Masdar, in Abu Dhabi.

Abengoa, Suez Environment, Sidem/Veolia and Trevi Systems began operating their membrane- based projects at Al Ghantoot with a combined capacity of 1,500 m³/d, seeking to reduce their energy to two-thirds of that of a standard desalination plant.

Under the terms of the competition the participants each have a target of less than 3.6 kWh/m³ - the average non-renewable energy desalination plants run at about 5 kWh/m³.

The project enables the participants to test the viability of powering desalination stations through renewable energy. The test-site uses solar energy for the heating stage of desalination, but it is the second stage - osmosis - which the companies will be aiming to refine. And each participant is aiming to make use of the by-products in the brine effluent.

"In our region, water is more important than oil and we are trying to find solutions to address that," said Masdar's chief executive, Dr Ahmad-Belhoul.

Masdar will assess the results of each projects after a year and a half, and select one to scale up to commercial size.

[출처 = Desalination & Water Reuse / 2015년 12월 1일]