Reverse Osmosis Membrane elements for seawater desalination in KSA set up

Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) Gov. Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim, Japanese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jiro Kodera, Sakamoto Ryuzo, chairman of TOYOBO, Saeed Al Harthi, AJMC CEO seen at the signing ceremony

The Arabian Japanese Membrane Company (AJMC) announced the completion of the second and third stages to manufacture reverse osmosis membrane elements for seawater desalination in the Kingdom.

The official announcement was made during a ceremony held in Rabigh on Thursday with the attendance of Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) Gov. Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim, Japanese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jiro Kodera, Sakamoto Ryuzo, chairman of TOYOBO, Saeed Al Harthi, AJMC CEO, and a number of Saudi and Japanese businessmen.

In his speech, Sakamoto Ryuzo, chairman of TOYOBO said” “Positioned in the growing seawater desalination markets of the Middle East, the manufacturing plant intends to distribute reverse osmosis membrane elements for seawater desalination not only in Saudi Arabia but also in other regions of the Middle and Near East as well as in the countries of North Africa.”

He hailed the strong the relationship between Japan and Saudi Arabia, “Securing water resources is a particularly important issue in Saudi Arabia, and this new manufacturing plant will contribute to securing an integral potable water supply in Saudi Arabia with our latest technology.”

Saeed Al Harithi added that AJMC will be in apposition to manufacture Forward Osmosis Membrane, which is the next generation technology in seawater desalination field. “This technology can realize substantial energy saving in not only desalination technology. This Forward Osmosis Membrane also can be applied in power generation industry by Forward Osmosis pressure,” he said.

The Rabigh manufacturing facility has been developed in three stages over the last three years, starting in March 2011. During the first stage, TOYOBO, the Japanese partner began to wind and pot membrane elements in Japan.

The potted elements was later imported to Saudi Arabia, and in the second stage, the potting of the membrane elements was introduced at Rabigh. By the end of 2013, the winding of the elements — and hence the complete assembly process — took place in Rabigh. At this current third stage, the only elements imported from Japan will be the hollow fibers themselves.

The membrane is hollow fiber made from cellulose triacetate, which is highly resistant to the residual chlorine, used to prevent the growth of microorganisms. These elements have an excellent track record in many plants in Japan and around the world.