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ACHIEVEMENTS
Immediately after the establishment of the CEDT on the 1st of Ramadan 1429H (1st of September 2008) following the decision of H.E. the President of King Abdul Aziz University, the CEDT management launched awareness campaign to inform stake holders about purpose and mission of CEDT. An inauguration workshop was held on February 9, 2009, titled “Future Research and Development Trends for Desalination Industry” with participation of eminent speakers as well as representatives from desalination industry, academic and research institutions. The main output of this workshop was a roadmap draft for the future research endeavors of the CEDT.
Based on the results of the workshop, the CEDT prepared its strategic plan which provides the road map for the CEDT's future research program and activities. The strategic plan includes the statements of vision, mission, and objectives of the CEDT as well as its research program and operational plan for the following five years.
To widen the research base for the CEDT, several faculty members involved in desalination related applied research at KAU were invited to submit research proposals for development of desalination technologies relevant to the vision of National Plan of Science and Technology and Innovations on Water. Several research proposals were submitted and further peer reviewed by international experts. The approved research projects represent the nucleus of the core research activities at the CEDT.
The CEDT participated actively in a series of meetings aiming toward unifying research efforts among researchers of different universities and integrating and linking researchers and experts in universities and industry within the KSA. The 4th meeting of this series was organized by CEDT at KAU in Jeddah on 15/01/1432 (12/12/2010) which was attended by more than 50 researchers and experts from universities and research centers concerned with Desalination technology.
Efforts have been undertaken to establish modern facilities and infrastructure at CEDT for successful fulfillment of its research programs. Also CEDT established partnership and collaboration agreements with national and international research institutions to promote its research efforts.
The following is a review of the Center's most important achievements according to each of its objectives:
Objective 1: Providing resources, equipment and central laboratories for use by researchers specialized in research fields related to water desalination science and technology.
In the early years of incorporation, the Center's administration focused on the provision of infrastructure and institutional structures while providing the necessary human resources to carry out scientific research projects and other academic activities in the Center's area of focus. The Center has now become an active institution, and it conducts numerous academic and research activities . The process of finding a suitable building, processing the Center's labs, and organizing the administrative and research process has taken considerable time and effort since the first day following the signing of the agreement to establish the Center. Despite the important achievements, the development process is still ongoing, especially with regard to recruiting research staff and graduate students. Taking into consideration that the Center is an emerging research institution, it will obviously face many practical and institutional difficulties and challenges. The most important results in the field of construction and processing can be summarized as follows:
Organizational, Institutional and Planning Capabilities
- Forming the Board of Directors of the Center, defining its powers, and holding its meetings on a regular basis; forming an advisory body for the Center, consisting of six internationally experts in the field of water desalination technologies.
- Preparing of the strategic plan of the Center, which includes the vision, mission and goals of the Center in addition to the roadmap for future Center research trends (research programs); Preparing of the five-year operational plan, as well as the organizational administrative structure and the administrative functions description.
- Preparing research project proposal forms; administrative and financial forms; and developing the technical, administrative and financial information system of the Center.
- Launching the Center's website and continuously updating its contents.
Infrastructure Preparation: facilities and Equipment
The Center was keen on equipping the center labs with integrated modern research equipment compatible with research programs. This would enable researchers to conduct measurements and implementation of advanced research projects that serve the needs of the national desalination industry in its wide areas. The Center's Labs can be divided in terms of function and objective achieved under four main groups:
1. Desalination and treatment processes
2. Development and fabrication of membranes
3. Characterization and diagnosis
4. Modeling and simulation
The achievements of this framework can be summarized as follows:
- Rehabilitation and maintenance of the Center's dedicated building, including the preparation and renovation of laboratories, offices, as well as equipping them with office and labs furniture covering a total area of more than 2000 square meters, in addition to the Center's lab. located at the university site in Abhur.
- Supply of research equipment for Center labs (water analysis lab, water microbiological analysis lab, desalination processes and treatment lab, membranes characterization and testing lab, membrane fabrication lab, electron microscopy lab, membrane distillation pilot plant unit).
Provision of Capable Staff
- Employing two Saudi researchers (PhD), and three non-Saudi researchers in addition to recruiting eight research assistants (MSc), including four Saudis.
- Attracting more than twenty researchers from faculty members working in different University academic departments related to water desalination as collaborators in carrying out some research projects in the center.
- Six administrative employees have been recruited to fulfil the need as per the different administrative units of the organizational structure.
Objective 2: Providing professional solutions to practical problems on the basis of modern scientific studies related to desalination
All currently implemented Research projects at the Center focus on a number of practical problems related to desalination and water treatment. Among these problems that the Center seeks to achieve professional solutions for are the following:
Problem of Reverse Osmosis Membranes Fouling
Membranes biofouling are considered a major challenge for the reverse osmosis desalination plants and are the most common. This negative phenomenon is a complex multi-stage process, that varies in detail from place to place depending on the changing conditions of the marine environment. The Center implements two practical / scientific projects to search for solutions to this problem. The first project is implemented in cooperation with the Hitachi plant technologies company(Japan), and aims to develop a modern method for continuous testing of seawater using an advanced sensor (quartz crystal microbalance) to measure the rate of accumulation of sediments on the membranes and then link it to the rate of change of station performance through a computer program. This test is vital in the design stage of the station in order to maintain its performance and continuous productivity. It enables the designers of the Ro plant to select and adapt the initial treatment based on the actual need while avoiding expensive exaggeration or a harmful lack affecting the operation process.
The second project is a study aimed at characterizing micro-organisms in seawater that feed desalination plants in Jeddah. In its first phase, the project aims at using the latest genetic code analysis techniques to locate and identify microbial species inhabiting plant feeding water as well as those in different stages of desalination plants. This is conducted in order to find effective ways to combat this phenomenon while evaluating the efficiency of various treatment processes in limiting such phenomenon.
Recently, the Center received the approval of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) to support a project entitled "The Use of Ceramic Membranes and Nanosilver-Coated Polymers and for the Primary Treatment of Feed Water in the Process of Seawater Desalination with Reverse Osmosis". The aim of this research is to conduct preliminary experimental tests for filtration using ceramic membranes and nanosilver-coated polymers in order to evaluate the expected effectiveness and utility of this process as a primary treatment method for desalinating Red Sea water with reverse osmosis.
The problem of managing disposed brine from MSF desalination plants
A project entitled "Assessment of the Possibility of Using Membrane Distillation Technology to Increase the Rate of Reclamation and Overall Efficiency of Desalination Plants" is being implemented in cooperation with the Desalination Technology Research Institute (DTRI) of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation(SWCC). One of the advantages of this modern desalination technology is the possibility of using commonly wasted heat sources or solar energy to drive the desalination process. This process is piloted in local operating conditions with developing ways to overcome technical obstacles facing this nascent technology.
The problem of rising groundwater levels in the city of Jeddah
This project aims at assessing the feasibility of applying advanced and emerging membrane operations in the desalination of shallow and polluted groundwater in the Jeddah basin. The project also aims at evaluating the possibility of establishing small decentralized desalination units in order to utilize this water source for industrial and agricultural uses. This is expected to improve the city's water cycle in addition to alleviating the problem of rising groundwater levels present in many neighborhoods in Jeddah. In this context, the Center will soon launch a project entitled " Studies in the Application of Forward Osmosis Technology for the Desalination of Contaminated Groundwater in the Jeddah basin and Evaluation of the Systems of Forward Osmosis Membranes installed with Other Types of Membranes " with possible funding by KACST.
Furthermore, several research projects are working on studying technical problems in desalination systems through mathematical modeling and computerization, which leads to a better understanding of these problems, suggesting technical solutions, and testing these solutions at a later stage. Among these problems are following:
The problem of developing new designs for more efficient and less expensive membrane modules
In cooperation with a research group at the University of Palermo in Italy, the Center conducted a project funded by the National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan and (NSTIP) at KACST to develop an integrated modelling-computational-experimental approach for the characterization of fluid dynamics and heat transport within the spacer-filled channels of spiral-wound membrane modules with special focus on membrane distillation (MD). The research project followed two main parallel lines of work. The modelling and simulation line which involved development, implementation, testing, and validation of system-level model and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based models for the detailed characterization of flow and heat transport within spacer-filled channels. The experimental line involved utilization of a built test rig for measurement of pressure drops, and transported scalar distribution, flow visualization, and quantification of temperature polarization distribution through the use of thermo-chromic liquid crystals.
In addition to gaining and extending fundamental understanding of the details of local momentum and scalar transport phenomena inside spacer-filled membrane separation channels, the project aimed to develop a reliable tool and methodology for optimizing the design of such channels, which will be invaluable in membrane module design. The importance of such a tool towards fulfilling Saudi Arabia’s strategic objectives of possessing the capability and technical know-how for producing, rather than merely consuming, desalination technology cannot be under-estimated.
Development and testing of novel hydrophobic membranes for membrane distillation processes
This research project is approved by KACST to develop innovative polymer membranes for membrane distillation process. The project will prepare and test flat membranes and other hollow fiber membranes using the new labs and facilities that have been installed at the Center for these purposes. This project is expected to be of high value to the Kingdom, both in terms of the importance of membrane distillation and its suitability for desalination using renewable energy.
Objective 3: Conducting and supporting research on improving the economics of desalination
1. Providing approval and funding for several research project proposals in the framework of CEDT research program which are being implemented.
2. The Center had won two projects supported by KACST within the framework of the NSTIP, and started their implementation in Dec. 2013, and Dec. 2014. Four other research proposals was approved by KACST and still awaiting funding.
3. Launching a research collaboration project with the DTRI-SWCC in Jubail and launching another collaboration project with Hitachi Plant Technologies (Japan).
4. Publishing many scientific papers in refereed scientific ISI journals, while some still in review process, in addition to submitted abstracts in a number of local and international conferences and workshops, in addition to contributing to the writing of a book on mathematical modeling and applications.
Goal 4: Spreading awareness of the desalination industry and developing education in the field of desalination
1. 14 public scientific lectures were delivered by the center that deals with some of the most important evolving and recent developments in desalination technology delivered by internationally renowned experts. Interested researchers in universities and industries related to desalination have been invited.
Objective 5: Training researchers interested in the field of water desalination
1. Several of the Center's staff have attended training courses and a symposium on membrane dehydration, desalination economics and membrane technology for water desalination and reuse.
2. Organizing and implementing four training courses in membrane fabrication, applications of advanced membrane techniques, and engineering of membranes and membrane contactors, which are attended by faculty members, researchers and students from the university and professionals from the local industry.
Objective 6: Enriching and supporting postgraduate programs in the field of water desalination science and technology
1. Participated in the preparation of curricula related to desalination for the postgraduate plan for several academic departments.
2. Supported postgraduate students willing to conduct research at the Center.
3. Provided support for Saudi postgraduate students abroad to conduct their research at the Center under joint supervision.
Objective 7: Providing consultancy services and expertise for executive authorities and industry
1. The Director of the Center participated as a representative of King Abdulaziz University in the development of the desalination and water reuse road map of the NSTIP in KACST.
2. Contributed to the establishment of a group focusing on uniting national research efforts in the field of water desalination and participating periodically in the group meetings, as well as organizing the events of the fourth meeting of the group at King Abdulaziz University in December 7, 2010.
Objective 8: Establishing links and enhancing cooperation with local and international bodies, universities, research centers, institutes and companies related to desalination technologies
1. scientific and research collaboration agreements were signed with some of the leading local and international research and industrial institutions, including the Saline Water Conversion Corporation-SWCC, Hitachi Plant Technologies (Japan), Institute of Membrane Technology (Italy), a research group of the University of Palermo (Italy) and GMVP research project group (S.Korea).
2. CEDT has participated in a number of local and international conferences and associated exhibitions via invited lectures, accepted oral presentations and technical posters.
3. The Director of the Center, and his deputies made a number of collaboration visits to several related institutions inside and outside KSA in order to introduce the Center, and to discuss possible collaboration opportunities with them.
4. A number of local and international experts and professionals visited the Center in order to review scientific research trends and discuss possible collaboration opportunities.
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