MINNEAPOLIS, MN, June 21, 2010 -- Israel President Shimon Peres inaugurated on May 16, 2010, the world's largest operational seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant located in Hadera. The plant, located on the Mediterranean coast of Israel, 50 km north of Tel Aviv, is designed to supply about 20 percent of Israel's domestic potable water requirement.
Constructed and operated by H2ID, a consortium of IDE Technologies (IDE) and Shikun & Binui Housing and Construction, the Hadera plant is part of a desalination master plan to help address the chronic water resource problems in this region.
With more than 53,000 DOW FILMTEC™ reverse osmosis elements installed to produce up to 456,000 cubic meters of potable water per day from seawater (including the capacity extension of 88,000 cbm/d), Hadera is another milestone project for desalination in terms of size. Including the expansion, it has currently the largest installed SWRO capacity globally.
IDE selected DOW FILMTEC™ elements to meet the demanding needs of the SWRO process based on extensive pilot testing of new lower energy elements and also on the experience gained from the long-term performance of the more than 40,000 DOW FILMTEC™ reverse osmosis elements installed at the 365,000 m³/day SWRO desalination plant in Ashkelon, taken into service 2005. At that time Ashkelon was the world's largest SWRO desalination plant. In the five years since the start-up, DOW FILMTEC™ elements have operated continuously, meeting all requirements, including high pH tolerance, continuous low pressure operation and low membrane fouling contributing to cost-effective, reliable performance.
"We are very excited that the Hadera plant is up and running," said Ian Barbour, general manager, Dow Water & Process Solutions, "the successful operation of this plant in one of the most water-challenged areas of the world speaks to the bright future seawater reverse osmosis technology has in addressing the needs of regions, that are facing growing demand and limited availability of freshwater resources."
For more information on DOW FILMTEC™ SWRO components, please visit our website www.dowwaterandprocess.com/sw.
About Dow Water & Process Solutions
Dow Water & Process Solutions has a 50 year legacy of providing innovative water and process solutions to both communities and industries alike. A differentiated business unit of The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, Dow Water & Process Solutions offers a broad portfolio of ion exchange resins, reverse osmosis membranes, ultrafiltration membranes and electrodeionization products, with strong positions in a number of major application areas, including industrial and municipal water, chemical processes, pharmaceuticals, power, residential water and waste and water reuse. More information about Dow Water & Process Solutions can be found at www.dowwaterandprocess.com
About Dow
Dow combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2009, Dow had annual sales of $45 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 214 sites in 37 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.
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