Dow Water and Process Solutions Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis pilot plant has been inaugurated at KAUST.

The facility will initially be used for application development on the waters of the Red Sea, with the objective of developing an optimized low-cost, low-energy consuming, membrane based desalination process that can meet the challenge of desalination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and beyond. Many plants currently use oil to power the water desalination process.

In 2009, Dow entered into a comprehensive Research and Development (R&D) collaboration agreement with KAUST and this pilot is another milestone in the partnership.

The inauguration ceremony, which included presentations on Dow and the pilot plant itself, was attended by Henk Pool, R&D Director, Middle East & Africa; Nasir Moosa, Operations Leader; and Tarek Waly, Research Scientist. KAUST representatives included Professor Gary Amy, Director of the Water Desalination and Reuse Center, and Denis Gauvreau, Commercial Manager of the Research Park and Industry Collaboration.

Afterwards, attendees toured the water desalination plant, followed by a visit to the new Dow facility, which is housed in a unit near the main plant, and is capable of desalinating and filtering an extraordinary 30 cubic meters per hour. The project will allow four different combinations of membranes and filters to explore, refine, and optimize desalination.

"This exciting desalination project, which we are conducting in partnership with KAUST, is a great example of Research & Development in action," said Henk Pool. "Our water pilot plant showcases the capabilities of R&D in supporting business objectives, leveraging Dow's best available technology, and the unparalleled geographic access and research facilities available to us at KAUST."

"Our latest collaborative project with KAUST allows us to work together to develop innovative solutions that directly address regional water challenges, which is at the very heart of our partnership with the University," said Ilham Kadri, Commercial Director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Dow Water & Process Solutions.

The water pilot plant will remain at KAUST for approximately six months, after which a 12-month R&D program will follow with a key Saudi water producer.