Page 19 - Impiantistica italiana

logies that lower costs, reduce energy require- and no other region on earth desalinates so much
ments, and ensure environmental responsibility. We water. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) ef-
do this by fostering strategic knowledge sharing on fectively account for more than 60% of the world’s
guidelines to improve environmental stewardship total desalination capacity, where for years, rulers
in advanced water treatment processes of desali- from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman,
nation and water reuse and bringing stakeholders Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait have ensured clean
together to share knowledge and promote ongoing drinking, agricultural, and industrial water for their
innovation. people through desalination and reuse systems
that transform seawater or wastewater into a stea-
Desalination and reuse will dy supply of fresh water. Spain, Australia, and Chile
expand in the coming years, as are good examples outside the MENA region, whe-
re desalination offsets water needs, where Singa-
“climate change intensifies pore, Israel, Spain, and the US lead in reuse.
drought and contributes to Other water-stressed countries, such as those in
North Africa and island nations, have also tapped
the diminishing quantity and the oceans. Even in the American Southwest, offi-
quality of freshwater resources; cials, and urban planners are increasingly looking
populations grow, and so to desalination and reuse as a partial solution for
cities whose water supplies are under pressure due
will the demand for water for to drought and the effects of climate change.
agriculture and industry Desalination will surely expand in the coming ye-
ars as climate change intensifies drought and con-
tributes to the diminishing quantity and quality of
Desalination and water reuse are essential techno- freshwater resources. At the same time, popula-
logy solutions for supporting water sustainability tions grow, and so will the demand for water for
and security in arid, drought-prone communities, agriculture and industry. In these circumstances,
especially on the coast, for drinking water, agricul- reuse will be essential in improving the quality of
ture, and industrial water needs. In addition, these life.
solutions are instrumental in producing clean, po- The two primary technologies used worldwide for
table water and help reduce the demand on our desalination are thermal and membrane. Ther-
freshwater sources like groundwater, rivers, lakes, mal technologies involve heating saline water and
and aquifers, which are depleting rapidly and some collecting the condensed vapor to produce fresh
non replenishable. When part of an integrated wa- water. Membrane desalination removes salts and
ter resources management strategy, desalination, minerals from the water as it passes through a se-
and reuse can help preserve freshwater sources mipermeable membrane.
and support water security. Several sub-categories within thermal and Seawa-
Looking across the globe, over the last fifty years, ter Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) solutions define a
countries across the Arabian Peninsula and North detailed process using slightly different techniques
Africa have heavily depended on desalinated water, but generally with the same engineering principles.

Signature of the Memo-
randum of Understanding
between IDRA and ANIMP,
by Shannon McCarthy,
IDRA, and Edoardo Garibotti,
ANIMP.
Standing from left to right:
Silvio Oliva, Head of the Wa-
ter Section of ANIMP; Marco
Villa, President of ANIMP;
Alejandro Sturniolo, IDRA
Board Member

Impiantistica Italiana - Maggio-Giugno 2024 15