Dow Chemical Company recently said the first shipment of reverse osmosis elements from its new Saudi Arabia Dow Water and Process Solutions’ (DW&PS) Jubail Operations manufacturing plant will be sent to help meet water demands in developing markets.
Dow aims to help address the global challenge of supplying clean water and clean energy generation and conservation. The company’s inaugural delivery of its DOW FILMTEC reverse osmosis elements will be shipped from its new Saudi Arabia Dow Water & Process Solutions’ (DW&PS) Jubail Operations manufacturing plant.
Seeing an increasing need for reverse osmosis (RO) elements, Dow created the Saudi Arabia production facility which launched operations in December. The plant became the first of its kind outside of the United States and is assisting the Saudi Arabia market meet growing demands for RO in the Middle East and Africa regions, as well as Eastern Europe, India, China and Southeast Asia.
“Through rapid urban economic growth, annual domestic water demand in the Middle East and North Africa countries is estimated to more than triple over the next 20-30 years,” Yochai Gafni, business unit director for RO at DW&PS, said. “To combat regional water scarcity challenges and address this growing resource demand, Jubail Operations will help deliver a robust local supply of cutting-edge technologies for municipal and industrial water applications.”
Dow partnered with Saudi Aramco to erect Jubail Operations in Jubail Industrial City II inside the Sadara Chemical Company complex. The plant produces FILMTEC RO elements for the purification of seawater and brackish water, as well as the recycling of potable, nonpotable and industrial water.
“The Jubail Operations replicates and builds on the state-of-the-art production technology employed in Edina, Minn., USA, and adds a high technology investment to the Kingdom,” said Chuck Swartz, president for Dow in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “It is also creating jobs for Saudi talents.”
Projections for the RO elements manufactured at DW&PS Jubail Operations indicate the elements will be able to decrease the oil requirement to purify the water in the region. The reduced amount of oil is comparable to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from 900,000 vehicles driven each year.
In addition to Dow’s investment in the DW&PS Jubail Operations, the company continues to test ideas and theories at the Dow Middle East Research and Development Center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Sauda Arabia.
