Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) will be organizing a webinar on “Innovation in Desalination Brine Mining” on July 29. Several international experts and senior executives of global desalination companies are expected to participate in the webinar.

SWCC, represented by its research arm —the Desalination Technology Research Institute (DTRI) — will organize the event, under the patronage of SWCC Governor Abdullah Al-Abdul Kareem.

The webinar will be conducted in partnership with the International Desalination Association (IDA) and is part of SWCC’s efforts to emphasize Saudi Arabia's contribution to the advancement of desalination technology and in support of local content by strengthening knowledge-based economy and by building bridges of international cooperation with researchers and experts worldwide.

The webinar comes as a first step prior to holding an international workshop in Jubail during the first quarter of 2021, with the participation of SWCC governor and practitioners, scholars and scientists from around the world.

The webinar will be chaired by the Director General of DTRI, Dr. Ahmed Al-Amoudi and will include research experts from the DTRI who are engaged in the development of innovative technology for advanced brine concentration and zero liquid discharge.

The webinar will discuss the brine management challenges the desalination industry faces and their innovative solutions, and will create an opportunity to build global partnerships and identify promising markets for ZLD technologies and beneficial use of valuable minerals extracted from the brine.

With the dual brine concentration technology recently developed by DTRI, the Kingdom has become a global partner for cooperation with leading universities, research institutes and investors interested in the development, licensing and operation of advanced brine mining and ZLD technologies.

The webinar is set to highlight SWCC’s continuous achievements and institute’s innovations, the most notable of which is the dual brine concentration/ZLD desalination technology that enables the conversion of brine produced by its desalination plants into valuable commercial products and rare metals.

Treatment of brine for ZLD is a sustainable solution to the water scarcity problem. It provides high water recovery, zero liquid waste generation and valuable salt production.

SWCC has signed a memorandum of understanding last month with the SABIC company, Petrokemya, to sell the concentrate brine for its commercial operation. Also, it plans to sign a similar memorandum with a petrochemical company soon.