Reference Story
fresh water at barka 2 in oman
Vacon expands footprint in water desalination in Middle East
Fresh water is scarce — almost 40 % of the world’s population
suffers from a shortage of it. As 97 % of the water available
in the world is salty, desalination is regarded as an important
process for safeguarding water supplies for the future. Vacon
AC drives help convert seawater into fresh water at the Barka
2 plant in the Sultanate of Oman.
Environnement and has specialized in water treatment since
1939. Degrémont is a pioneer in desalination: the company designed and built the first facility in the world using reverse osmosis desalination technology on the Ile de Houat, France, as
early as 1969. To date, Degrémont’s desalination technology is
in use in some 250 desalination plants around the world.
Desalination, the removal of salt (sodium chloride) and other
minerals from the sea or brackish water, is being increasingly used to make otherwise unusable water fit for human
consumption, irrigation, industrial applications and other
purposes.
The principle involves passing seawater or brackish water
after purification through a membrane that is impermeable
to dissolved salts. After appropriate post-treatment (remineralisation and final disinfection), water treated in this way
can be used for human consumption and for agricultural or
industrial purposes. At Barka 2, collaboration between the
two branches of GDF SUEZ made it possible to optimize the
design so that the brine from the desalination plant can be
recycled by mixing it with the cooling water for the thermal
power station.
Several thousand desalination plants are in operation around
the world, the largest being in the Arabian Peninsula. On the
coast of the Sultanate of Oman, 50 kilometres north-west of
the capital Muscat, a new 678-MW power plant combined with
a seawater desalination plant with a capacity of 120,000 m3
a day has been operational since November 2009. The Barka
Phase 2 plant has been designed and built by Degrémont, and
is operated by a consortium* comprising GDF SUEZ Energy
International, Mubadala Development and National Trading
Company.
Degrémont — pioneer in reverse osmosis desalination
The Barka 2 seawater desalination plant uses reverse osmosis technology provided by Degrémont, which is part of Suez
Cooperation built on trust
Vacon, and Vacon France in particular, have been cooperating with Degrémont in many projects since the parties first
came into contact in 2002. “Vacon’s involvement in the Barka
2 project originates from our long-term relationship with
Degrémont, and the mutual trust which has grown over the
years in other successful projects,” says Jaume Font, Corporate Segment Director, Water & Waste Water, stationed in Vacon Drives Ibérica S.A., in Spain. “As Degrémont operates in
more than 70 countries, Vacon’s global presence is important
for them. We also have the right kind of products for Degrémont’s needs,” comments Mr Font.
For the Barka 2 desalination plant project, Vacon supplied
Degrémont with Vacon NXC (690 V) cabinet drives and Vacon
NXL and NXS AC drives (415 V). In the power range 1.5 to 800
kW (with a total power of more than 13 MW), most of the Vacon
AC drives control sea water pumps, permeate pumps, dosing
pumps, agitators and mixers. The drives are connected to the
Modbus fieldbus.
Vacon AC drives play an important role in the production of
high-quality drinkable water at Barka 2. As desalination technology is a more energy-intensive process than conventional
water treatment, variable speed AC drives are being used to
an increasing extent in modern desalination plants. The use
of Vacon AC drives brings great benefits such as energy savings, optimized control, operational reliability and extended
life time for the machinery. In short, they optimize the plant’s
profitability.
Special precautions to reduce impact on environment
Special precautions were taken to reduce the impact of the
Barka seawater desalination plant on the marine environment. Brine resulting from seawater desalination is recycled
within the cooling system of the power plant to achieve a quality of seawater output that does not have a harmful impact on
the environment. Cooperation between the professionals of
GDF SUEZ Energy International and Degrémont and their collective innovation capacity were decisive factors in winning
the contract.
* GDF SUEZ Energy International is the business line of GDF
SUEZ responsible for the Group’s electricity and gas activities
outside Europe. Mubadala Development is a leading business development and investment company based in Abu Dhabi. National
Trading Company is a local industrial player in Oman.
• Barka 2, a 678-MW electric power plant combined with a
seawater desalination plant with a capacity of 120,000 m3
a day, started operations in the Sultanate of Oman in November 2009. Owned by Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (PWP), Barka 2 increases PWP’s electricity generation capacity in the Middle East to 5,500 MW and
its potable water production capacity to over one million
cubic metres a day. The new plant is located next to the
existing Barka 1 power and desalination plant.
• The Barka 2 desalination plant uses Degrémont’s reverse osmosis technology — a desalination process that
uses membrane technology. Unlike “natural” osmosis,
which facilitates solvent migration so that concentrations
are even on both sides of the membrane, reverse osmosis
involves forcing water at high pressure through a membrane that is almost impervious to suspended minerals.
In the end pure water is left on one side and highly concentrated brine on the other.
Photos courtesy of Degrémont
Tel. +358 (0)201 2121
Fax +358 (0)201 212 205
www.vacon.com
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Vacon Group
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