Large desalination plant in Tenes, Algeria, to install Energy Recovery Inc. devices

SAN LEANDRO, California, USA, Nov. 3, 2009 -- Energy Recovery Inc., a leader in the design and development of energy recovery devices for desalination, today announced that its PX Pressure Exchangerä (PXä) devices will be implemented in the seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant in Tenes, Algeria. To be constructed by Befesa, the plant will produce 200,000 m³/day (52.8 million gpd) of water. With this contract, Energy Recovery's PX devices are now helping to deliver more than 1.6 million m³/day (422.7 million gpd) of affordable, fresh water to millions of people throughout Algeria.

"Algeria has established itself as a global leader when it comes to desalination as the solution to increasing water scarcity, and Befesa is honored to help deliver more than 40% of the nation's water demands through our SWRO plants," said Carlos Cosin, international director with Befesa. "However, in order to make desalination a long-term solution in Algeria or elsewhere, the water produced must be affordable. That is why we continue to work with Energy Recovery, implementing its leading-edge PX devices to significantly reduce the energy costs of desalination. We have worked with Energy Recovery on five mega-projects globally -- four in Algeria -- and we look forward to continuing our mutually successful partnership to meet the increasing worldwide demand for SWRO desalination."

The Tenes facility is the 10th desalination plant in Algeria to include the PX technology, as devices are currently operating or contracted at plants in Algiers, Skikda, Mostaganem and other locations throughout the country. With the help of Energy Recovery, the Tenes desalination plant is estimated to save 17 megawatts of energy.

"The Tenes plant is the 10th in Algeria to include PX devices, validating the technology as the highest-performing, most reliable isobaric energy recovery device in the region," said Borja Blanco, senior vice president of Energy Recovery Inc. "Algeria continues to turn to SWRO desalination to address the mounting water shortages across the county, and serves as the blueprint for any other nation considering desalination projects. We are grateful to be included in the Tenes and other facilities throughout Algeria, and look forward to helping deliver affordable, fresh water to its citizens for years to come."

Energy Recovery's PX devices reduce the energy consumption of SWRO systems by up to 60%, making desalination a cost-effective solution for clean water supply. PX devices also reduce the carbon footprint of desalination, saving more than 750 megawatts of energy and reducing CO₂ emissions by more than 4.6 million tons per year worldwide. More than 7,000 PX devices are currently deployed or under contract to be installed at desalination plants across the globe.

Energy Recovery Inc. (www.energyrecovery.com) designs and develops energy recovery devices that help make desalination affordable by significantly reducing energy consumption. ERI's PX Pressure Exchangerä (PXä) device is a rotary positive displacement pump that recovers energy from the high pressure reject stream of seawater reverse osmosis systems at up to 98% efficiency. The company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with offices in key desalination centers worldwide, including Madrid, Shanghai, Florida and the United Arab Emirates.

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