Energy Recovery, Inc. (ERI®), the global leader of ultra high efficiency energy recovery products and technology for reverse osmosis (RO) desalination announces a new energy recovery contract for the 55,000 m3/day (14.5 Million US Gallons per day) desalination plant located near Swakopmund, Namibia; a country bordering Angola, Botswana, Zambia and South Africa.
The new Uramin desalination plant will supply water for the Trekkopje Uranium project and increase the water supply to the region. Namibia, the world’s fifthlargest producer of uranium has an extremely dry climate with erratic and sparse rainfalls; and within the nation, natural resources such as diamonds, copper, uranium, silver, tungsten and lead are abundant.
The project, awarded to Keyplan (Pty) Ltd Namibian Subsidiary is expected to provide 20 million cubic meters of water per year to the mine initially. An expansion to the project could double the capacity to address the needs of nearby residents as well as possibly other mines. Keyplan’s selection of ERI PX® Pressure Exchanger technology as the plant’s energy recovery solution is due in large part to its increased global presence in areas such as the Middle East and North Africa, as well as its flexibility for other applications, including the mining sector. Adrian Viljoen, Keyplan’s technical director says that the ERI technology provides the right solution to maximize power savings, an important factor for the region. The plant will be equipped with PX220 devices. Construction of the plant is expected to start early next year, with initial water production anticipated by 2009.
Borja Blanco, ERI Vice President, Large Projects Group, stated “Southern Africa as well as other dry countries are in need of desalination, and specifically our technology to ensure the most reliable and economical in terms of energy savings is provided. We are happy to provide a solution that will promote safe drinking water as well as other creative applications such as uranium mining.â€
Earlier this year, ERI was awarded the Global Water Awards 2007 Environmental Contribution of the Year by desalination industry leaders. In addition, the Company was named the 2006 and 2007 U.S. Export Import Bank and US Commerce Department’s “Environmental Exporter of the Year,†an honor awarded for its technological leadership and innovation in bringing costeffective desalination to nations around the globe. The San Leandro, Californiabased company also received the European Desalination Society’s prestigious Sidney Loeb Award for outstanding innovation in 2006.
Currently, ERI’s patented PX technology is making costefficient desalination of seawater possible in over 30 countries worldwide, covering six continents.
About ERI®
Energy Recovery, Inc. (ERI) is the global leader in high efficiency energy recovery products and technology. Our PX Pressure Exchanger® (PX) energy recovery device is making desalination affordable. The PX device is rotary positive displacement pump that recovers energy from the highpressure waste stream of SWRO desalination systems at up to 98% efficiency with no downtime or scheduled maintenance. Since its introduction in 1997, PX technology has emerged as the industry standard solution for SWRO desalination. There are currently over 6,000 PX units installed or contracted in SWRO plants worldwide, significantly reducing the cost to produce over 5.2 million cubic meters (1.4 billion US gallons) of fresh water per day, and saving customers an estimated 500 MW of energy or over $350 million a year in operating costs.
ERI’s headquarters is situated in the San Francisco Bay Area; San Leandro, California USA with offices in every continent of the globe including: Sunrise, Florida; Madrid, Spain; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Shanghai, China; and service representatives in Sydney, Australia. For more information, please go to www.energyrecovery.com.
