The most important 10 news of water industry this week

Xylem has announced the appointment of Pietro Moro as the new Managing Director for the Middle East and Türkiye.

In addition to his current role as Sales and Customer Service Director, Moro will now lead the Middle East and Türkiye. In a LinkedIn post, Xylem said that in his new role, Pietro Moro will focus on driving our continued growth and utilizing the skills of our talented team to help solve complex water challenges.

We are confident that his leadership will have a positive impact on both our company and our customers. This appointment follows the promotion of Naji Skaf, who will now serve as President of MEIAA (Middle East & Türkiye, India, Africa, Australia & New Zealand) for Xylem.

Pietro Moro has been named as the new Managing Director for the Middle East and Turkey by Xylem.Moro will now head the Middle East and Turkey in addition to his present post as Sales and Customer Service Director.

According to a LinkedIn post, Pietro Moro’s new role will focus on driving our continued expansion and harnessing the expertise of our brilliant team to help solve challenging water concerns. We are certain that his leadership will benefit both our firm and our customers.

This appointment followed Naji Skaf’s promotion to President of MEIAA (Middle East and Turkey, India, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) for Xylem.

Moro stated, “I am excited to lead our exceptional team in furthering the impactful work that has already been accomplished, ensuring a more resilient and prosperous future for the region.”

Pietro has been with Xylem since 2011 and has more than 16 years of experience directing multinational teams in sales, strategy, engineering, customer service, and quality. His vast knowledge of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa makes him an invaluable member of our team.

Moro formerly worked as a Key Account Manager at ITT (Industrial Machinery Manufacturing) before joining Xylem.

Source: Xylem


Walls along River Nile reveal ancient form of hydraulic engineering

A large network of stone walls along the Nile River in Egypt and Sudan, according to an international team of academics, has revealed an old form of hydraulic engineering in the Nile Valley and provided insight on relationships between ancient Nubia and Egypt.

The Nile’s ‘river groynes’ precede the world’s oldest previously known examples, such as those on China’s Yellow River, by more than 2500 years.

The study’s findings, published in the journal Geoarchaeology, were done as part of the British Museum’s Amara West Research Project in conjunction with the Sudanese National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums.

The researchers mapped and recorded the walls throughout more than 1100km of the Nile Valley to identify their construction timeline, who built them, and why, according to lead author Dr Matthew Dalton from The University of Western Australia’s School of Humanities.

“Using satellite imagery, drone and ground surveys, as well as historical sources, we located nearly 1300 river groynes between the 1st Cataract in southern Egypt and the 4th Cataract in Sudan,” he explained.

Hundreds of the groynes, which are now submerged beneath the Aswan High Dam reservoir, were discovered in 19th-century trip diaries, a 200-year-old map, and aerial photography archives, including some taken by the Royal Air Force in 1934.

Many were discovered w

Many were discovered in old Nile channels that had dried out owing to past climate change, with researchers using radiocarbon and luminescence dating techniques to determine that some were constructed over 3,000 years ago.

“The walls trapped fertile silts during the Niles annual inundation, and crops could be grown on the reclaimed agricultural land without artificial irrigation,” Dr Dalton said.

“Radiometric dating suggests that this type of landscape engineering was first undertaken by the region’s indigenous Nubian communities, as well as residents of towns established later by New Kingdom Egyptian State pharaohs.”

“We also learned from farmers in Sudanese Nubia that river groynes were still being built as recently as the 1970s, and the land formed by some walls is still cultivated today.”

“For over 3000 years, this incredibly long-lived hydraulic technology has played a critical role in enabling communities to grow food and thrive in Nubia’s challenging landscapes.”

The crew also discovered considerably larger stone barriers within the Nile, some as thick as five meters and as long as 200 meters – barrages that would have regulated river flow and facilitated boat navigation through deadly Nile rapids.

“These monumental river groynes helped connect the people of ancient Egypt and Nubia by facilitating long-distance movement of resources, armies, people and ideas along the Nile,” Dr Dalton said.

Source: The University of Western Australia


 

Onsite biological treatment will enhance river quality

United Utilities has chosen WCS Environmental Engineering technology to provide biological treatment at a new wastewater treatment plant.

The UK utility is investing £8.2 million on the new plant in Chipping, Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, as part of a capital investment to handle the area’s current and projected population increase.

The new renovations, which are scheduled to be completed in summer 2024, will also improve water quality in Chipping Brook, a tributary of the River Ribble that passes through the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

WCSEE supplied eight Hybrid-SAFTM (submerged aerated filter) units as secondary treatment for biological oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonia removal.

The units were installed in the spring of 2023 and were arranged in four streams to best fit the footprint of the site, which would service a population of 2,000.

Once operational, the units will be able to treat a maximum flow rate of 25 l/s while meeting environmental permit criteria of 8mg/l ammonia and 45mg/l BOD.

“We are incredibly proud our Hybrid-SAFs have been chosen to provide an important stage of biological treatment at the new site in Chipping,” WCSEE utilities manager Andrew Haywood said.

As secondary treatment for biological oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonia removal, WCSEE supplied eight Hybrid-SAFTM (submerged aerated filter) units.

The units were erected in the spring of 2023 and were organized in four streams to best fit the site’s footprint, which would serve a population of 2,000.

The units will be able to treat a maximum flow rate of 25 l/s while meeting environmental permit conditions of 8mg/l ammonia and 45mg/l BOD once operational.

“We are incredibly proud that our Hybrid-SAFs have been chosen to provide an important stage of biological treatment at the new site in Chipping,” said WCSEE utilities manager Andrew Haywood.

“The tried-and-true technology is already delivering effective biological treatment at other United Utilities sites.” The units, which are modular in design and produced offsite, can be employed in works of any size, including those with limited space and access.

“This was a significant benefit at Chipping, where eight units could be configured in four streams to make the best use of limited space.” We are excited to see the technology go live next year.”

WCSEE’s Hybrid-SAFs are built offsite and can be transported simply due to their modular construction and 30% less footprint than comparable technology.

The unique process concept employs a submerged moving-bed, fixed-film reactor, which has been shown to treat wastewater more efficiently than typical submerged SAFs.

Source: WCS Group


Andesco, the event chosen to launch Xylem Vue Powered by GoAigua in Latin America

The annual Andesco congress will be held in Cartagena, Colombia, from June 14 to 16. This worldwide event has been chosen as the venue for the introduction of Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua, the technology platform created as a result of the agreement struck between Idrica and Xylem Inc. in Latin America.

The Andesco conference, headlined “Public Services, ICT, and TV. Connected Territories,” is one of the sector’s main international events, and it is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, demonstrating how important it has grown over the years.

Over the course of three days, experienced speakers will examine the areas of electricity, natural gas, water, sewage, sanitation, waste management, environment and sustainability, ICT, and television.

Furthermore, the event will have lectures and academic content, as well as networking opportunities to promote these industries.

Idrica will be an active participant as a sponsor of the conference, as it has been in previous years, offering its experience and know-how in the digital transformation of the water cycle.

However, this year’s congress will be unique in that it will serve as the Latin American launch of the Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua platform, the technology solution emerging from the partnership between Idrica and Xylem Inc.

In this regard, Jaime Barba, CEO of Idrica, stated that this platform “combines our expertise in software and water with the global reach and digital portfolio of Xylem, offering a much stronger solution based on the technical insights and operational knowledge of both companies.”

Digital sustainability

As part of this goal, Nicolás Monterde, Idrica’s Chief Operating Officer for Latin America, will deliver the conference “Digital sustainability: the future of water,” which will explain the keys to improving water resource management in the region and how to harness technology to address current and future challenges.

In addition to the actual booth, the congress provides sponsors with the option of a virtual stand to create another meeting place for interested parties. Idrica has both stands in this case to provide everyone with first-hand experience of the Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua solution. Idrica’s booth number will be 83.

Following this congress, the Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua platform will have already been launched in Europe (WEX Global), the Middle East (IFAT Eurasia), and Southeast Asia (SIWW), in accordance with a strategic roadmap to bring the platform to as many people as possible and promote the digital transformation of the water sector; a challenge that is critical in today’s world.

Source: Idrica 


Process turns harmful pollutants into harmless substances

As scientists explore for solutions to clean up “forever chemicals” in the environment, a subset of these contaminants with one or more chlorine atoms in their chemical structure is becoming a growing source of concern.

Environmental and chemical engineering Associate Professor Jinyong Liu and UCR graduate student Jinyu Gao describe newly discovered chemical reaction pathways that destroy chlorinated forever chemicals and convert them to harmless compounds in a recent study published in the journal Nature Water.

Forever chemicals, also known as poly- and per-fluoroalkyl compounds, have been utilized in thousands of items ranging from potato chip bags to stain and water repellents used on fabrics, cleaning products, nonstick cookware, and fire-fighting foams. Because of their strong fluorine-to-carbon chemical connections, they can survive in the environment for decades or longer.

New concerns have been raised by the discovery of previously identified chlorinated PFAS contaminants in the environment. The US Environmental Protection Agency, for example, reported finding these contaminants in wells and tributaries to the Delaware River near a chemical facility in southwestern New Jersey.

Forever chemicals have leached into groundwater supplies around the country, and they have been associated to a variety of negative health impacts including as cancer, kidney illness, and hormone changes. The EPA is now issuing new standards to encourage cleanups across the country.

The chlorine-to-carbon bonds were cleaved using ultraviolet light and sulfite in Liu’s work. This triggered a cascade of chemical reactions that broke carbon-to-carbon and carbon-to-fluorine bonds, which is essential for the quick and near-complete defluorination of PFAS compounds required for contamination remediation efforts.

“Our team is examining more pathways and strategies for PFAS degradation, and our ultimate goal is to cut all of the carbon-fluorine bonds to completely detoxify the PFAS pollutants,” Liu said.

Liu’s recent findings on chlorinated PFAS compounds built on his team’s previous discoveries in 2016 that used a combination of UV light and sulfite to eliminate different PFAS contaminants in badly contaminated water. Seven scientific journal publications have now been published detailing these procedures.

They offer promise because sulfite is a low-cost molecule used as a food preservative, and ultraviolet radiation is currently employed to destroy potentially hazardous microorganisms in tap water treatment facilities.

Surprisingly, this process generates fluorine ions, which are often added to municipal water systems to improve oral health.

Industry is taking an interest in Liu’s work on PFAS compound degradation. His organization has been collaborating with three companies interested in expanding his laboratory work to perform cleanups at US Air Bases and Airports under federal contracts.

Spills of fire-suppressing foams, which have been used for decades to quell aviation fuel fires, are a major source of PFAS pollution in groundwater and below military air bases and commercial airports.

These foams, developed by the US Navy in the 1960s, build an aqueous coating around the burning liquid, swiftly depriving it of oxygen and extinguishing it.

The title of Liu’s most recent study is “Photochemical Degradation Pathways and Near Complete Defluorination of Chlorinated Polyfluoroalkyl Substances.” Liu is the corresponding author and Gao is the lead author. UCR-affiliated co-authors include UCR Assistant Professor Yujie Men, UCR grad students Zekun Liu and Shun Che, and UCR postdoc researcher Dandan Rao.

Jinyong Liu, Goa, Men, and Che are also co-authors of a recent Nature Water publication that reported the identification of two bacteria species that degrade chlorinated PFAS chemicals, indicating the possibility of biological cleanup solutions.

Source: University of California, Riverside



Barcelona relies on desalination to face drought

According to the Associated Press, Europe’s largest desalination plant in Barcelona has proven critical in providing drinking water during Spain’s second-largest city’s prolonged drought.

The Llobregat desalination plant, an SWRO plant, opened in 2009 and has a capacity of 200 million litres of water per day. Since late last summer, it has been running at full capacity.

While desalination provided only 3% of Barcelona’s drinking water in April 2021 (63% came from surface water and another 34% from groundwater), it now provides 33% of the drinking water supply, compared to 19% from rivers.

Despite recent rains, the reservoirs on Catalonia’s rivers, which are entirely within the territory, are just 28% full. The rest of Spain is experiencing a lengthy drought as well: 2022 was the hottest year ever recorded, this spring was the hottest and second driest on record, and next summer is expected to be warmer than normal across the country.

Rains in recent weeks have bolstered reserves in some sections of the country, but overall reserves have declined, with the country sitting at 47% of capacity, significantly below the 10-year average of 68%.

The Mediterranean region is warming faster than other parts of the world; France and Italy have announced national drought-response plans, and the European Commission is considering allocating additional funds from the agricultural crisis reserve to countries in southern Europe most affected by droughts and floods, including Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France.

Water limitations in Catalonia affect agricultural and industrial uses, as well as some municipal uses, and include a per-person daily allocation of 230 litres.

The head of Catalonia’s Water Agency warned in April that the Barcelona area and other Catalan cities may face a “drought emergency” by September if reserves fell below 16%.

For decades, desalination has been an important component of Spain’s water strategy, and the country ranks fourth in the world in terms of desalination capacity, with 5.7% of the worldwide capacity, after only Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

In Spain, there are 765 operational desalination plants producing more than 100 m3/day, with a total production of 5 million m3 per day for drinking water, agriculture, and industrial applications.

In May, the Spanish government approved €2190 million in funding to address the effects of drought and increase the availability of water resources, including €1400 million from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition (MITECO) for new infrastructure such as desalination plants, doubling urban water reuse, and lowering water tariffs for affected farmers.

Desalination is not without its risks. The Llobregat desalination plant produces a substantial amount of salty brine – 0.55 litres every 0.45 litres of freshwater – and requires a significant amount of energy, which is currently not entirely derived from renewable sources.

Desalinated water, on the other hand, is more expensive to manufacture than river water, which may result in higher water bills for consumers.

Experts recommend diversifying water sources to prepare for more frequent droughts as climate change occurs, considering a combination of desalination and water reuse, and emphasizing the importance of incorporating renewable energies to address the impact of producing drinking water from energy-intensive unconventional water sources.

Source: Acciona 


World Bank approves $148 million financing for minor irrigation project in West Bengal

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $148 million loan to help the Indian state of West Bengal harness surface and ground water through improved irrigation practices that will benefit rural residents.

West Bengal is one of India’s greatest food-producing states, accounting for about 15% of the country’s rice production, and the second largest fish-producing state.

The state intends to boost farmers’ incomes even further by growing a variety of pulses, fruits, and vegetables. This necessitates enhanced surface and groundwater availability, as well as irrigation and agricultural systems.

The West Bengal Accelerated Development of Minor Irrigation Project – Phase II will provide assistance to the state’s Department of Water Resources Investigation and Development and water-user associations (WUAs) in planning and operating new irrigation structures such as check dams, small-scale storage structures, creek rehabilitation, tube wells, and pump dug wells.

Irrigation practices will allow agricultural diversification, increasing the yield of high-value commodities such as 17,000 tons of oilseed and at least 10,000 tons of fish each year.

The Project established 2,277 WUAs and served 125,000 beneficiaries throughout Phase I.

“This project builds on the success of Phase I to provide climate-smart agriculture technologies and expand market linkages to over 240,000 small and marginal farmer households, or 960,000 people,” said Auguste Tano Kouame, World Bank Country Director for India.

The Project will continue to emphasize investments in areas with unpredictable rainfall or harsh temperatures, and 30,000 hectares will be covered by new irrigation schemes.

It will also implement cutting-edge soil, water, and energy management techniques such as plantation, solar irrigation pumping systems, and sprinkler and drip irrigation systems.

“The Project will create permanent capacity building to West Bengal for long-term support for minor irrigation and WUA developments in the state,” said Anju Gaur and Joop Stoutjesdijk, the Task Team Leaders for the project.

The community-based strategy will assist WUAs in managing over 4,000 new and existing minor irrigation schemes covering around 80,000 hectares.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan of $148 million has a term of 11.5 years and a grace period of four years.

Source: The World Bank 


H2O Innovation breaks into Israeli market

H2O Innovation has announced the receipt of two substantial coupling orders, as well as a breakthrough in the Israeli desalination business.These new milestones highlight the Corporation’s continuing growth over the last year and support its efforts to provide sustainable solutions for pretreatment in desalination and reuse to its clients.
Piedmont, a subsidiary of H2O Innovation, recently secured two large coupled purchase orders for two 600,000 m3/day seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination facilities.The first is in Saudi Arabia, and the second is in the United Arab Emirates. Each order contains about 25,000 couplings and endcaps made of super duplex, duplex, and stainless steel 316L materials.
Through the sale of its super-concentrated and dendrimer-based membrane antiscalant manufactured by Genesys-PWT, the Corporation has also made a big breakthrough in the Israeli desalination sector.
Furthermore, during the recent European Desalination Society (EDS) conference, the researchers presented a compelling case study demonstrating the successful installation of the antiscalant at an Israeli desalination facility.
During the fiscal year, nine new mega SWRO desalination facilities in countries such as Israel, Singapore, Algeria, Qatar, and Argentina began employing this green chemistry product, totaling 2,216,500 m3/day of seawater treated.
These new facilities treat a total of 3,307,500 m3/day in large-scale SWRO plants employing this technology, saving 183 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
This antiscalant has the lowest carbon footprint in the industry and the lowest freight and handling costs because it is phosphate free and 11x more concentrated than conventional products. This gives both environmental and economic benefits to the end users.
These achievements are consistent with H2O Innovation’s high double-digit organic growth across its Piedmont, Genesys, and PWT brands during the previous year.
The merging of these three companies in July 2022 sought to capitalize on synergies within its speciality chemicals, consumables, and components business line and to provide clients with sustainable pretreatment solutions for desalination and reuse. “Such results give us confidence in our ability to leverage our brands’ strengths and continue to deliver innovative solutions.”
“We have a global distribution network of over 100 distributors, and several of them are now promoting and selling products from our three brands, which helps them not only increase their business income, but also better meet the evolving needs of our clients,” said Frédéric Dugré, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder of H2O Innovation.
“We have a global distribution network of over 100 distributors, and several of them are now promoting and selling products from our three brands, which helps them not only increase their business income, but also better meet the evolving needs of our clients,” said Frédéric Dugré, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder of H2O Innovation.
Then he added: 

“We know that this is only the beginning of a great journey towards sustainability in our projects. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 is an ambitious objective that requires everyone’s collective effort.

We all have a role to play in achieving the SDG, and we are confident about the significant contribution we could make through this business line,” added Frédéric Dugré.


Xylem’s high-pressure dewatering pump delivers savings of up to 10% and reduces carbon emissions

 

Xylem, a global water technology business, has introduced a new dewatering pump designed to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and reduce downtime for construction and mining customers.

When compared to comparable options, the Godwin HL270M Dri-Prime® Pump is designed to handle the particular demands of deep-mine and high-pressure water transfers.

It decreases the need for several pumps in series by increasing hydraulic efficiency and optimizing head and flow, lowering energy consumption, simplifying operations and maintenance, and minimizing premature wear.

Participants in the field test have already employed the pump to accomplish project targets with fewer assets, simpler operations, and lower maintenance costs.

The solution, which is part of the Godwin Ultrahigh-head series, also allows operators to reduce their carbon footprint.

“Meeting our customers’ evolving needs is critical,” stated Mike Ramos, Global Product Manager at Xylem. “The Godwin HL270M is designed to meet the unique requirements of deep-mine and high-pressure water transfers.” It enables our customers to dig deeper and further while improving operational efficiency, sustainability, and safety.”

“This product is also an excellent example of smart business being sustainable.” The pump consumes less energy, eliminates the need for several pumps, lowers early wear, and provides longer life between repairs.”

With market-leading higher head and higher-pressure capabilities, the HL270M has delivered immediate and significant benefits during customer trials.

“The new Godwin HL270M Dri-Prime® Pump is already proving to be durable and reliable in the field,” said Xylem Application Engineer Jon Craig. “One of our customers was faced with the challenge of transferring water through a seven-mile-long existing pipeline.

” Normally, this would necessitate the use of many pumps in series, making it a great fit for the HL270M. During later testing, the pump ran well for over 1,400 hours and provided significant operating efficiencies.”

The Godwin HL270M is designed to suit the needs of mining, industrial, oil and gas, construction, and emergency fire backup applications.

It has a maximum head of 300 m (984 ft) and a flow rate of up to 280 liters per second (4,400 gallons per minute). The enclosed impeller of the pump additionally provides hydraulic efficiency of up to 70%.

The device has a wide range of application versatility and can handle a wide range of fluids and liquids, including solids up to 30 mm (1.2 inches) in diameter.

It will be available in both diesel and electric drive packages, as well as as a retrofit package for existing customer-owned pumps. All Godwin portable pumps come complete with engines and motors that meet regional emissions and efficiency regulations.

The pump is available in two basic material configurations: all duplex stainless steel as the primary offering, and cast steel pump casing paired with a duplex stainless-steel impeller as an option.

Source: Xylem.Inc


Veolia Water Technologies secures water production for Ezz Steel, saving water from the Nile River

 

Major industrial operators in Egypt’s water-scarce region have been looking for solutions to cut their water consumption. Ezz Steel, one of the Middle East and Africa’s biggest steel companies, entrusted Veolia Water Technologies Egypt with offering mobile water solutions that enabled cooling water supply to be switched from the Nile River to desalinated seawater.

This modification conserves important freshwater resources while assisting Ezz Steel in maintaining company continuity.

The Ezz Steel rolling mills and flat steel plants are located in Al-Sokhna, an industrial district near the Egyptian city of Suez. The facilities were formerly supplied with freshwater from the Nile before switching to desalinated seawater – a source water with a particularly high level of chloride that might disrupt the entire cooling process.

Veolia deployed seven brackish water reverse osmosis mobile water treatment units in two phases to ensure a quick response: within two months, Veolia provided an initial 8,000 m3/d capacity, which was doubled during the second phase in April 2023 to reach 16,000 m3/d.

Ezz Steel was able to secure 100% of their water output with lower chloride and total dissolved solids rates thanks to Veolia’s mobile water treatment units, allowing them to keep the water flowing into their cooling system. Ezz Steel has cut its water and chemical consumption by nearly 75% as a result.

Ezz Steel, one of the leading steel producers in the Middle East and Africa, entrusted Veolia Water Technologies Egypt with supplying mobile water solutions

Mohamed Bakry, Utilities Senior Manager at Ezz Steel, commented: “Cooling is the primary water-consuming process in steel manufacturing plants.

Veolia was able to provide an emergency response with the first phase being up and running in two months. It allowed us to reduce the use of freshwater while maintaining the steel production of our plants and reaching the required water quality.”

“In parts of the world where water is scarce, industries can reduce their water footprint by optimizing cooling operations and maximizing water reuse.

” Veolia Water Technologies is thrilled to be collaborating with EZZ Steel and assisting them in their environmental transformation.

“Our team was able to quickly offer an alternative to the environmental challenge they were facing by providing a reliable and secure source of water to meet their urgent needs,” stated Laurent Hanique, Middle East Techno Products & Services Director at Veolia Water Technologies.

With a worldwide fleet, Veolia’s mobile water services allow companies to benefit from a reliable and secure source of treated water 24/7, 365 days per year, to supply their core operations.

Source: Veolia 
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