The proposed desalination plant in will be located in the city of Al Khafji with an expected production capacity of 30,000 cubic meters per day. KACST plans to power the plant with concentrator photovoltaic (UHCPV) technology that is being jointly developed by IBM and KACST.
The companies said that this technology can operate a CPV system at a concentration greater than 1,500 suns. IBM and KACST have also jointly developed a technology named ‘nanomembrane’ that filters out salts and potentially harmful toxins in water while using less energy than other forms of water purification.
According to KACST scientists, the two most commonly used methods for seawater desalination are thermal technology and reverse osmosis, both at a cost ranging from SAR2.5 to 5.5 per cubic meter. The company believes that combining solar power with the new nanomembrane can reduce the cost of desalinating seawater at these plants.
The KACST / IBM joint research focuses on improving polymeric membranes through nanoscale modification of polymer properties to overcome hurdles of bio-fouling, degradation by chlorine and low flux challenges associated with desalination and on making the process efficient and less costly.
The idea of the desalination plant is an extension of a multi-year collaborative research agreement between IBM and KACST in February 2008, under which their scientists work side by side at IBM Research labs in New York and California and at the KACST / IBM Nanotechnology Centre of Excellence in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Turki Al Saud, vice president of research institutes at KACST, said: “Currently, Saudi Arabia is the largest producer of desalinated water in the world, and we continue to invest in new ways of making access to fresh water more affordable. Water has the first priority in the Science, Technology and Innovation Plan of the Kingdom, overseen by KACST.”
