Innovation & Education

Desalination, on which the MENA region relies for much of its water needs, produces a byproduct called ‘brine’ or ‘reject.’ Without proper management, when pumped back into the ocean, this toxic brine can degrade and destroy coastal and marine ecosystems. 

As climate crisis-induced water scarcity grows and populations and urbanisation increase, so too will desalination demand. This means it’s crucial to find ways to make desalination more sustainable and less damaging to our environment. One part of this is tackling its brine byproduct.

This week, at the World Utilities Congress, MediSun presented its WEGen technology, which uses Reverse Electrodialysis (RED) technology to convert saltwater into electricity and increase energy efficiency in desalination, with zero brine production. 

The company has now signed with Emirates Electrical & Instrumentation Company (EEIC) to distribute this technology exclusively in the UAE. 

ESG Mena’s Sal Jafar caught up with Ramiz Parbalkar, Head of Division – Water Technology at EEIC, to learn more about the technology and its applications.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Ramiz, you’re here to discuss a new innovation related to wastewater. This research has been ongoing for some time, but there hasn’t been a solid breakthrough. Tell us about it.

When it comes to the major challenges of water recirculation, recycling and reusing, the biggest chunk of this goes from the reverse osmosis desalination system when it comes to the reject water.

This reject water is very difficult to blend, or it is very expensive, in terms of commercial, to blend and discharge.

So, at this particular event, we have launched a product that manages the reject water coming out of the RO, making it very feasible to discharge this water, recycle it, and reuse it for applications.

What are the applications for reuse? 

Our system can handle water ranging from brackish water quality to seawater quality. 

So, when it comes to brackish water quality, this water can be recycled for agriculture, irrigation, and recirculation purposes for cooling towers and such. 

However, when it comes to the water for the seawater applications, the reject water TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) level is quite high. 

The brine can be managed using the WEGen model, and it can be recirculated back to the feed of the RO. There is a circular movement of the water from the reject back to the feed. 

So this is what we are talking about: recycling and using the water using the WEGen model. 

Tell us more about how the technology works. 

All the membranes are installed inside the WEGen model. These membranes are flat sheet membranes that were specially manufactured, designed, innovated, and invented in Korea, after years of research into this technology. 

These patented membranes basically use your water to mix it, blend it, and bring it back to acceptable discharge levels. 

Tell me how you foresee the short-term applications of this technology in the UAE. 

In the short term, we have done a lot of research, especially in the Abu Dhabi region, where there are many islands and many man-made islands coming up. 

They have a shortage of water, or there is no proper source of utilities or water connected to the islands. They all depend upon the reverse osmosis system technology, but discharging the reject water is, again, a challenge for them. 

So that’s where we bring in WEGen, in addition to the reverse osmosis technology to discharge the water at safer limits. 

What progress is being made in piloting this technology? 

Pilots are currently done in Singapore and Korea. We expect a pilot to implement one of the stacks in a 200 cubic meter seawater reverse osmosis system sometime at the end of this year.

How do you position the technology’s ROI?

This particular model is not for sale. We are not selling this to the market. We are leasing it to the customer. So at all times, we are in charge of this particular unit. 

But the return on investment, when it comes to comparing it with the conventional method of blending and discharging water into the sea, there are a lot of differences when you take into account logistics cost, the manpower cost, the chemical cost, the infrastructure cost – all of this is mitigated when you use our system. 

Our systems can be used as a plug-and-play application, or it can also be installed in ongoing facilities, inside a building or inside a complete made-up infrastructure.

Our customers will definitely be the island companies. But we are also targeting companies like Abu Dhabi Airport, Etihad Rail, and even mineral water factories to recycle and reuse water not only for mineral water purposes but also for irrigation and camp utilisation. 

So, it is a broad sector, but we are targeting specific customers who are who are facing challenges in water recycling and reuse.

Tell me about the status of certification.

This is all certified by MediSun directly. They have patents, and they have certification available for this, which can be produced. 

What about being certified in the UAE? Have you started the process? 

We have started the discussion with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi. 

Will it be certified soon? What is the timeline? 

They are very excited. The first step of their process involves them coming to see this live in action.

So that’s what we are working on now, so that we can take them to see this facility in Singapore or Jeju Island in Korea. 

From there, we will implement also in Abu Dhabi, so they can verify and sign off on this technology being implemented. 

Finally, tell me about your activities within green finance.

We will be working on that at a later stage. First we want to focus on doing our pilot and then see how the numbers are, how the outputs are, how the inputs are, and based on that, we will progress it further.