‘Desalination Research Center at KAUST is the need of the hour’

RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s dream project, the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, is scheduled to open on Sept.23, the Kingdom’s 79th National Day.

A distinctive feature of KAUST will be its world-class research centers. One of its major research centers will focus on water desalination and sewage water treatment — both of which are of vital importance in a region where water scarcity has been a perennial challenge.

With a deep understanding of the danger of depleting water sources, the governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), Feheid Al-Shareef, underscored the importance of the university’s Desalination Research Center which will undertake studies and devise strategies to develop indigenous technology for a profuse supply of water, apart from finding more employment, investment opportunities and diversification of the sources of the national economy.

“The Desalination Research Center at the KAUST is the need of the hour. Saudi Arabia has one of the highest averages of individual water consumption in the world. Our individual daily consumption ranges between 250 cubic meters and 300 cubic meters. The sources of potable water have been rapidly depleting. More than 60 percent of the water consumed in cities is desalinated,” Al-Shareef said in an interview with Arab News recently. “The SWCC will sign a memorandum of understanding for technical and research cooperation with KAUST in a few weeks,” the SWCC governor said.

Gary L. Amy, director of the Desalination Research Center and professor of environment engineering at KAUST, also stressed the growing need for extensive research into saline water conversion and sewage water treatment, not only in Saudi Arabia but in the whole world.

“About 2.8 billion people in 50 countries will be facing serious water shortages by the year 2025 thanks to a range of factors including climatic change, population growth and urban expansion,” Amy said.

Describing the research on desalination at KAUST as a strategic solution to the country’s water shortage problem, Amy said, “The center, with its vast potential, will push the Kingdom into the frontline of international research and environmental studies.”

The professor added that the research center would begin in September studying how to exploit the potentials of the saline and ground water with minimum dependence on fuel but with the least use of chemical substances. “The strategy of the center will include minimizing carbon emission and industrial wastes so that the environment remains unharmed,” he said.Attributing the present high cost of desalination to the high salt content in seawater, the scientist stressed the need for bringing down the costs and paying special attention to the treatment of sewage water.

The vice president of KAUST, Mohamed Samaha, said the new research center supported by internationally recognized researchers would go a long way toward solving the problem of water shortages both regionally and internationally.

Supplying more details about the center, Samaha said it would be starting with 10 researchers in the initial stage. “It will launch eight research projects on subjects including water resources, energy, environment and biosciences apart from studies in water desalination and sewage treatment and energy management.”

The vice president added, “The center will evolve new strategies of water preservation regionally and internationally and introduce the latest technology for water desalination and treatment requiring minimum energy.” He said that one of the priorities of the center would be to end the irritating daily problem of frequent interruptions in water supplies in cities.

Samaha hinted that the center planned to work in partnership with institutions such as the SWCC and international academic establishments such as the National University of Singapore and industrial giants such as General Electric aside from establishing strong ties with other universities in the Kingdom.

It will also work in close collaboration with the King Abdullah University Program For Industrial Collaboration and the King Abdullah University Institute for Research and Innovation, he said.