Hadera Desalination Plant
Hadera Desalination PlantBackground, Site Visit, and
Significance for IsraelSDesalination in Israel1999: Government
initiation of long term, large-scale SWRO desalination program2002:
Construction of the first large-scale desalination facility2005:
Desalination program makes first contribution of potable water to
the national grid2014: Expected desalinated water closes gap
between supply and demand in Israel- SWRO: Sea water reverse
osmosis- Program designed to provide for the growing demands on
Israels scare water resources and to mitigate the drought
conditions that have characterized most years since the
mid-1990sPrivate companies win government funding for construction,
maintenance and operation 2Desalination in Israel
Increasing steadilyDesalinated water expected to supply 577
MCM/year by 2014 and 750 MCM/year by 2020
3Hadera Plant Fact SheetOne of three large-scale desalination
plants in operation in IsraelCapacity: 127 M m3/yearTechnology:
Reverse OsmosisProject Type: BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer)Worlds
largest SWRO plantProducing over 30% of desalinated total4Site
Visit
Struck by the magnitude of the facility -- First step: massive
volume of saltwater pumped directly from the Mediterranean5Site
Visit
Water is then filtered in these white tanks, percolating through
sediment to trap particles like rust, calcium carbonate and organic
chemicals 6Site Visit
Seawater put under high pressure (30 to 35 times the pressure of
a car tire) that force it through special membranes tens of
thousands of themMembranes have pores so tiny that the salt is left
behind but as only the fresh water flows through
(For additional background: Osmosis refers to the way that
solvent moves between two different solutions separated by a
semi-permeable membrane to REDUCE differences in concentration [of
the solutions]. In reverse osmosis, high pressure is applied to the
high concentration solution [seawater, in this case] to overcome
osmotic pressure and force the solvent out). 7Site Visit
About 50% of the seawater that comes through ends up as potable
water and that water is sent to Israels national water grid after
addition of mineralsThe other 50% is pumped back into the
Mediterranean as a concentrated brine8Importance for IsraelPast
decade Severe drought and growing populationDesalination part of
the solution for IsraelProblems to be addressed: Environmental
concernsLand useEnergy efficiencyDrought + growth in an already
water-scarce region of the world has created problems for many
Middle Eastern countiesIsrael has security issues on top of that,
that increase the urgency of independently solving its water
problemDesalination is part of the solution expensive (both in
terms of money and land) and not environmentally neutral, but so
far the tech companies and Israel have shown themselves willing to
adapt and innovate in response to challenges
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