Water. desalination + reuse

BUSINESS | 18 | Desalination & Water Reuse | February-March 2014 coRpoRate changes DESalItEch tIES Up wIth JapaN'S toyo Innovative reverse-osmosis (RO) developer Desalitech and Japan's Toyo Engineering Corporation announced on 11 December 2013 the formation of a strategic partnership to introduce water and wastewater treatment solutions to Japanese, East Asian and international markets. The collaboration will bring Closed Circuit Desalination (CCD) RO solutions to East Asian and other international markets to increase water recovery, improve energy efficiency, reduce environmental impact and reduce disposal costs. Desalitech claims that its patented CCD systems are able to achieve recovery rates of 93% or greater, compared with 75% recovery or less with most conventional RO systems. Higher recovery produces less waste, resulting in lower disposal costs. "Our goal is to reduce our customer's water and energy footprint while increasing process reliability and flexibility," said Toyo senior executive officer Kumar Akhilesh, Infrastructure Business Unit director. "This combination of better performance and greater environmental responsibility is important for Japanese and global markets." Frac watEr FIrm allIES wIth Evaporator maNUFactUrEr Frac-water management provider AES Water Solutions has entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Resource West Inc (RWI), a Colorado-based designer, manufacturer and provider of modular above-ground storage tanks and onsite wastewater evaporation units. This agreement was formed to broaden and enhance the overall services of AES by offering rapid deployment water storage tanks and oil & gas flowback/wastewater disposal systems to customers actively seeking comprehensive water management services and cost reduction systems. AES Water Solutions will purchase RWI's Landshark Wastewater Evaporator Units and associated equipment package. Landshark units are able to operate at flow rates of 110 GPM (6.9 L/s), distributing frac flowback and produced water from holding ponds and other water retention facilities through high volume spraying units. The application of evaporating the wastewater onsite is usually in connection with customers leaving a site where there is no need to reuse the remaining wastewater. Onsite accelerated evaporation allows oilfield customers to reduce or eliminate the higher cost of trucking and disposal of their onsite remaining unwanted liquids. RWI's equipment and systems will enable AES to provide modular on-site water storage tanks and an operation to minimize wastewater disposal for its clients' well site operations which allows AES to address the varying needs of its customers when alternatives such as large open pits are not applicable or cost prohibitive. Brent Mulliniks, president of AES Water Solutions, stated, "We believe RWI's technologies and equipment provides an advantage for AES in the Texas and Oklahoma markets, where we operate by providing a lower cost alternative for customers in respect of their wastewater disposal needs." prESSUrE-ExchaNgEr coUrt caSE goES to haUgE The latest round of the "pressure-exchanger wars" between inventor Leif J Hauge, his company Isobarix Inc and energy- recovery equipment manufacturer Energy Recovery Inc (ERI) has gone in favour of Hauge. A four-week jury trial at the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, ended in early December with the complete acquittal of all charges of misappropriation of trade secrets made against Hauge and Isobarix. ERI had claimed damages in excess of US$ 13 million, but was awarded just US$ 2,285 for intentional misrepresentation by a former employee. ERI's California complaint was associated with a pending lawsuit in Virginia based on the same set of facts and alleging breach of a settlement agreement from 2001, where Hauge retained ownership to future patents and was to observe a two- year non-compete order. An order and injunction against Hauge, issued on 25 June 2013 from the federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which found that he had breached the order, was subsequently stayed in September 2013 pending review of the Court of Appeals. Isobarix has developed and is marketing a proprietary axle-based ceramic pressure-exchanger for use in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO). The company currently has SWRO installations in Mexico, Greece and Denmark.. FEDco opENS NEw DUBaI SalES aND SErvIcE cENtEr Fluid Equipment Development Company (FEDCO) relocated its Dubai sales and service office to a new facility in November. The new location, strategically placed in Jebel Ali South TechnoPark brings enhanced sales and support to FEDCO customers throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Including a fully air-conditioned shop, the 3,000 m 2 facility provides increased shop space for parts inventory, repair and overhaul of the various FEDCO product lines including its energy-recovery turbochargers and high-efficiency feed pumps for sea- and brackish-water reverse-osmosis applications. The facility includes a comprehensive customer-training center with seminars set to begin in April 2014. Customers will learn all aspects of installation, operating and maintenance of FEDCO's expanding product lines. The FEDCO Sales and Service Center is co-located with Torishima Service Solutions FZCO (Dubai Branch) for large- scale desalination project coordination and additional service capabilities. "The Jebel Ali TechnoPark provides an ideal location for expanded FEDCO pump and energy-recovery turbocharger servicing capabilities. The expansion is necessary to meet current and future demand of products and services. The new facility includes an international training center for products at a convenient location," stated Casey Bly, Middle East sales and service manager. Sanjeev Verma, FEDCO's sales and marketing director, added "This move is essential for the continued growth

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