Toray Industries, Inc. (Tokyo) announced that it has supplied reverse osmosis (RO) membranes to the Shuaibah 3 IWP seawater desalination plant in Saudi Arabia through Dammam-based subsidiary Toray Membrane Middle East LLC. The Plant’s daily potable water production capacity is 600,000 cubic meters. This facility provides stable supplies of drinking water to Mecca, Jeddah, Taif, and Bahah, where demand for this vital resource has risen owing to population and inbound tourism growth.
The Shuaibah 3 IWP project has converted a conventional seawater desalination facility consuming a lot of energy and producing significant carbon dioxide emissions through regular evaporation into a more eco-friendly setup employing advanced RO membrane technology. A solar power system supplies the equivalent of 65 megawatts peak to the plant. This project will cut annual emissions by around 45 million tons of carbon dioxide and reduce crude oil consumption by about 22 million barrels per year. It will thus be a key contributor to the Saudi Vision 2030 program’s sustainable development and decarbonization goals.
Toray’s selection for this innovative environmentally sustainable project stemmed from its enduring commitment to providing advanced membrane technologies for sustainable water infrastructure development in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East. The company will keep contributing to stable water supplies across the region by expanding its product lineup and leveraging its new Middle East Water Treatment Tech Center (note 2) to bolster its sales, technical, and production capabilities. Such efforts are in line with Saudi Vision 2030’s industrial localization and sustainable development goals and Toray Vision 2030, which seeks to achieve sound, sustainable growth.
Toray develops and manufactures everything from RO and ultrafiltration membranes to membrane bioreactor modules. It offers solutions for an array of needs, with its applications including drinking water, industrial, agricultural, and wastewater treatment, and wastewater reuse. The company will continue to provide advanced water treatment membrane technologies and reinforce technical services in regions with rising demand. It will thereby help resolve water issues worldwide, particularly in the Middle East, where water demand should increase significantly with industrial expansion and population growth.