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Saudi Arabia’s sustainable desalination strategy

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Sarper Sarp
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Sarper Sarp

Saudi Arabia’s sustainable desalination strategy

Author
Sarper Sarp
Saudi Arabia’s sustainable desalination strategy
View of an integrated reverse osmosis membrane desalination plant. (SPA/file photo)
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https://arab.news/vnnjp

The Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea are major sources of seafood and vital reservoirs of two of the most precious resources: water and oil.

The rich marine ecosystems within these bodies of water are characterized by a diverse array of unique and indigenous plants and animals that play crucial roles in maintaining ecological balance.

However, these sensitive habitats may experience significant physical and chemical stresses if the natural equilibrium is disturbed. 

Saudi Arabia is taking a leadership role on the global stage with its innovative and patented technologies developed by the Saudi Water Authority’s Water Technology Innovation and Research Development Institute.

These initiatives are focused not only on efficient desalination, but also on the responsible management of brine as a resource rather than merely as a waste product.

WTIIRA-SWA has created a groundbreaking dual brine concentration design that combines a nanofiltration system upstream of a reverse osmosis system and a membrane brine concentration system downstream.

This technology enables the extraction of two valuable brine streams: one that consists of concentrated and purified monovalent ions, which can be used to produce high-purity sodium chloride and bromine, and another that is rich in divalent ions usable for manufacturing various calcium and magnesium salts.

Such innovation not only contributes to the sustainability of desalination processes but also opens new avenues for economic viability, connecting the desalination industry to a range of applications in sectors such as chlor-alkali production, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

These initiatives are focused not only on efficient desalination, but also on the responsible management of brine as a resource rather than merely as a waste product.

Sarper Sarp

Another noteworthy achievement in this field is the extraction of vaterite calcium carbonate, distinguished by its unique chemical properties, including high porosity, increased surface area, greater solubility and biodegradability.

These attributes make vaterite calcium carbonate especially suitable for controlled release in pharmaceutical formulations, serving as an effective carrier for drug delivery. By harnessing such advanced materials, WTIIRA-SWA underscores its commitment to innovation in resource recovery.

Moreover, WTIIRA-SWA has implemented several pioneering strategies to minimize the environmental impact of desalination brine and preserve the precious ecosystems surrounding the Kingdom.

Efficient technology implementation: Modern desalination plants in Saudi Arabia utilize advanced technologies that emphasize energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. 

Brine disposal management: In Saudi Arabia, the strategies for brine disposal are carefully considered. Detailed studies of dilution factors, dispersion patterns, and the assimilative capacity of the receiving marine environment are conducted to ensure that discharged brine is safely integrated without detrimental effects on marine life.

Monitoring and regulation: Rigorous environmental monitoring programs are established to assess the impact of desalination plant effluents on the marine ecosystem. 

Coastal ecosystem preservation: Strategic placement of desalination plants is intended to reduce impacts on sensitive coastal ecosystems. 

Research and development: Ongoing research and development initiatives aim to improve desalination technologies and processes further. 

Through these comprehensive approaches, WTIIRA-SWA is not only addressing the challenges of desalination but also setting a global standard for sustainability in the management of water resources.

• Sarper Sarp is a senior expert at the Saudi Water Authority’s Water Technology Innovation and Research Development Institute.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view

Japan’s atomic bomb survivors to accept Nobel Prize in Oslo

Japan’s atomic bomb survivors to accept Nobel Prize in Oslo
Updated 9 min 21 sec ago
AFP
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Japan’s atomic bomb survivors to accept Nobel Prize in Oslo

Japan’s atomic bomb survivors to accept Nobel Prize in Oslo
  • 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima when the United States detonated an atomic bomb in 1945
  • Another 74,000 were killed by a US nuclear bomb in the Japanese city of Nagasaki three days later
Updated 9 min 21 sec ago
AFP

Oslo: This year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be presented Tuesday to Japan’s atomic bomb survivors’ group Nihon Hidankyo, which lobbies against the weapons now resurging as a threat 80 years after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
The three co-chairs of Nihon Hidankyo will accept the prestigious award during a ceremony starting at 1:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) in Oslo’s City Hall, at a time when states like Russia increasingly threaten to break the international taboo on the use of nuclear arms.
“Nuclear weapons and humanity cannot co-exist,” one of the three co-chairs, Terumi Tanaka, told a press conference on Monday in the Norwegian capital.
“Humanity may come to its end even before climate change brings its devastating impacts,” the 92-year-old said.
Nihon Hidankyo works tirelessly to rid the planet of the weapons of mass destruction, with testimonies from survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as “hibakusha.”
Around 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima when the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city on August 6, 1945.
A further 74,000 were killed by a US nuclear bomb in Nagasaki three days later.
Survivors suffered from radiation sickness and longer-term effects, including elevated risks of cancer.
The bombings, the only times nuclear weapons have been used in history, were the final blow to imperial Japan and its brutal rampage across Asia. It surrendered on August 15, 1945.
Tanaka was 13 when the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing five members of his family.
On Monday, he expressed alarm at the resurgence of nuclear threats and urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop brandishing the threat to prevail in the war in Ukraine.
“President Putin, I don’t think he truly understands what nuclear weapons are for human beings,” he said.
“I don’t think he has even thought about this.”
Putin began making nuclear threats shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He signed a decree in late November lowering the threshold for using atomic weapons.
Russia has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world.
On November 21, Moscow fired its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in an escalation of the almost three-year war.
The missile is designed to be equipped with a nuclear warhead, but was not in this case.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that Moscow was ready to use “any means” to defend itself.
“It is crucial for humanity to uphold the nuclear taboo, to stigmatize these weapons as morally unacceptable,” the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, said on Monday.
“To threaten with them is one way of reducing the significance of the taboo, and it should not be done,” he added.
“And of course, to use them should never be done ever again by any nation on Earth.”
North Korea, which has increased its ballistic missile tests, and Iran, which is suspected of developing nuclear weapons though it denies this, are also seen as posing a threat to the West.
Nine countries now have nuclear weapons: Britain, China, France, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United States, and, unofficially, Israel.
In 2017, 122 governments negotiated and adopted the historic UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), but the text is considered largely symbolic as no nuclear power has signed it.
This year’s Nobel prizes in the other disciplines — medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics — will be awarded at a separate ceremony in Stockholm.

Topics: Japan Oslo Nobel Prize

Pakistani embassy evacuates 100 nationals from Syria via Lebanon border

Pakistani embassy evacuates 100 nationals from Syria via Lebanon border
Updated 12 min 15 sec ago
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Pakistani embassy evacuates 100 nationals from Syria via Lebanon border

Pakistani embassy evacuates 100 nationals from Syria via Lebanon border
  • Over 1,300 Pakistanis were stranded in Syria last week, when Syrian opposition forces seized the capital of Damascus
  • Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says the return of Pakistanis stranded in Syria is a ‘matter of concern’ for his government
Updated 12 min 15 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR & Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s embassy has evacuated 100 Pakistani nationals from Syria through its border with Lebanon, an embassy official said on Tuesday, shortly after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said their return was a “matter of concern” for Islamabad.
More than 1,300 Pakistanis were stranded in Syria last week, when Syrian opposition forces seized the capital of Damascus unopposed following a lightning advance that sent President Bashar Assad fleeing to Russia on Sunday.
Pakistan’s foreign office said these Pakistanis would be evacuated once the Damascus airport reopened, but on Monday, PM Sharif sought his Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati’s “personal intervention” in evacuating these Pakistani nationals.
“We have evacuated 100 Pakistanis from the Syria-Lebanon border. There are 80 pilgrims and 20 Pakistani residents,” Muhammad Nafees, an official at the Pakistani embassy in Damascus, told Arab News on Tuesday.
“Embassy officials transported them in buses to the Syria-Lebanon border.”
Officials of the Pakistani embassy in Lebanon received these Pakistani nationals at the border, according to Nafees.
“They are returning to Pakistan on two flights” he shared. “The Pakistan embassy in Syria is working to evacuate all remaining Pakistanis within a couple of days.”
The development came shortly after PM Sharif said around 250 Pakistani pilgrims had recently gone to Syria.
“The pilgrims and other Pakistani teachers and students, their return is a matter of concern and we have to rapidly make arrangements,” the premier said in televised comments after a meeting of his cabinet.
“Apart from the 250 pilgrims, 300 more Pakistanis want to go back to Pakistan. We are concerned about this and have to do arrangements.”
Sharif said the Lebanese premier had assured him of helping Pakistan evacuate its nationals in their telephonic conversation on Monday.
“He said ‘it doesn’t matter if there are visas or not, we will look after them and you should begin the process’,” the Pakistan premier said.
Pakistan’s embassy earlier said Syria’s airports and borders with Jordan and Oman were currently closed, posing a “major challenge” to the repatriation effort.
The embassy said it would accommodate Pakistani nationals at a school run by the mission so they could have a secure place to stay while repatriation flights were arranged.

Topics: Pakistan Syria Ties Lebanon border

Hezbollah must focus on Lebanon not wider region, senior politician Bassil says

Hezbollah must focus on Lebanon not wider region, senior politician Bassil says
Updated 14 min 39 sec ago
Reuters
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Hezbollah must focus on Lebanon not wider region, senior politician Bassil says

Hezbollah must focus on Lebanon not wider region, senior politician Bassil says
  • Parliament meets on Jan. 9 to decide on president
  • Hezbollah weakened after war with Israel
Updated 14 min 39 sec ago
Reuters

PARIS: Iran-backed Hezbollah needs to focus on domestic issues in Lebanon and not the wider region, senior Lebanese Maronite politician Gebran Bassil said on Tuesday, adding that he was against the head of the army running for the presidency.
A year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, which culminated in a tentative ceasefire brokered by the United States and France in November, saw more than 4,000 killed, thousands displaced and the powerful Shiite group considerably weakened militarily with many of its leaders dead.
“It’s a process whereby Hezbollah accepts that they are part of the Lebanese state and are not parallel to the state,” Bassil, a Maronite Christian, who is one of Lebanon’s most influential politicians, told Reuters in an interview in Paris.
“We don’t want their end. We want them to be partners in the Lebanese nation, equal to us in abiding by the rules and preserving the sovereignty of Lebanon. We agree with them on defending Lebanon and supporting the Palestinian cause, but politically and diplomatically, not militarily.”
Bassil, who said the group should distance itself from the Iran-aligned “Axis of Resistance,” is head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), a Christian party founded by former President Michel Aoun, his father-in-law, that has been aligned with Hezbollah.
He was sanctioned by the United States in 2020 for alleged corruption and material support to Hezbollah. He denies the accusations.
He was in Paris meeting French officials. He declined to say whether he met Donald Trump’s regional envoy and fellow Maronite Massad Boulos, who accompanied the US president-elect to France last weekend.
Since the truce, Paris has increased efforts to discuss with the myriad key actors in Lebanon over how to break a political impasse after two years without a president or permanent government.
The presidential post is reserved for Christians, but part of the standoff reflects rivalries among the community as well as crucial political and religious balances in the country.
Authorities finally announced that the parliament would meet on Jan. 9 to elect a new president.
Bassil, who has enough lawmakers to block a Maronite candidate, said he was against the candidacy of Joseph Aoun, the head of the army, who diplomats say both the United States and France consider as a serious candidate.
He said Aoun’s appointment would be against the constitution and that he did not have consensus among all the Lebanese factions.
“We are against him because we don’t see him as being fit for the presidency,” Bassil said. “We need candidates who can bring the Lebanese together,” he said declining to name one.

Topics: Battlefield Lebanon Lebanon Hezbollah

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Gunmen kidnap at least 50 in nigeria’s zamfara state, residents and police say

Gunmen kidnap at least 50 in nigeria’s zamfara state, residents and police say
Updated 38 min 57 sec ago
Reuters
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Gunmen kidnap at least 50 in nigeria’s zamfara state, residents and police say

Gunmen kidnap at least 50 in nigeria’s zamfara state, residents and police say
Updated 38 min 57 sec ago
Reuters

MAIDUGURI: A gang of gunmen kidnapped more than 50 women and children in a raid on Kakin Dawa village in Nigeria’s northwest Zamfara state, police and residents said.
Kidnapping for ransom by gunmen, known by locals as bandits, is rife in northwest Nigeria due to high levels of poverty, unemployment and the proliferation of illegal firearms.
Zamfara police said the incident took place on Sunday and that additional security forces were being deployed to the area.

Topics: Nigeria Gunmen kidnap

Robust manufacturing sector lifts Saudi industrial index by 5%: GASTAT

Robust manufacturing sector lifts Saudi industrial index by 5%: GASTAT
Updated 57 min 3 sec ago
MIGUEL HADCHITY 
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Robust manufacturing sector lifts Saudi industrial index by 5%: GASTAT

Robust manufacturing sector lifts Saudi industrial index by 5%: GASTAT
Updated 57 min 3 sec ago
MIGUEL HADCHITY 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s industrial production index rose by 5 percent year on year in October, driven by robust growth across key economic sectors, official data showed. 

According to figures from the General Authority for Statistics, the index also edged up 0.4 percent month on month, reaching 106.9 points. 

The mining and quarrying sub-index, which includes oil production, recorded a slight 0.4 percent annual increase, with oil output ticking up to 8.97 million barrels per day from 8.94 million a year earlier. 

Despite the annual increase, monthly performance for this sector remained stable with no significant changes recorded between September and October. 

The manufacturing sector continued its robust growth, recording a 12.4 percent year-on-year increase in October. This expansion was primarily driven by a 32.6 percent surge in the production of coke and refined petroleum products compared to the same month of 2023. 

Saudi Arabia’s industrial production, central to Vision 2030, is driving economic diversification through manufacturing and non-oil growth. 

Other contributors to the sector’s growth included the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products, which rose by 0.6 percent, and food products, which grew by 4.8 percent. 

On a month-to-month basis, the manufacturing sub-index advanced by 1.1 percent, driven by a 2.7 percent increase in coke and refined petroleum products and a 0.2 percent rise in chemicals and chemical products.  

Other manufacturing activities exhibited varied growth rates. The manufacture of non-metallic mineral products increased by 1.8 percent year-on-year and 0.8 percent month-on-month. 

Basic metals manufacturing expanded by 4.3 percent annually and 1 percent compared to the previous month. 

Paper and paper product manufacturing saw an 11 percent annual rise and a 1.1 percent monthly increase, while the production of electrical devices grew by 9.2 percent year-on-year and 0.1 percent month on month. 

Furniture manufacturing posted notable growth, rising 14.4 percent annually and 0.5 percent monthly. Other economic activities within the manufacturing sector recorded a 4.3 percent year-on-year increase and a 0.3 percent monthly uptick. 

In the utilities sector, the sub-index for electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply rose by 6.2 percent year on year. Similarly, the sub-index for water supply and sewerage as well as waste management activities climbed by 8.4 percent over the same period. 

These sectors also recorded positive monthly growth. The sub-index for electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply rose by 0.9 percent compared to September 2024, while the water supply, sewerage, and waste management sub-index increased by 1.4 percent. 

In October, oil-related activities expanded by 5.4 percent year on year and 0.5 percent month on month. 

Non-oil activities also showed solid growth, rising 4 percent annually and 0.3 percent monthly. This highlights Saudi Arabia’s commitment to diversifying its industrial base as part of its Vision 2030 initiative. 

The IPI tracks changes in industrial output, using the International Standard Industrial Classification framework to monitor sectors such as mining, manufacturing, utilities, and waste management. 

Topics: manufacturing General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) Industrial Production Index

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