Israel—1 April 2011—The Makteshim effluent desalination system in Ramat Hovav has commenced operation. Nirosoft was responsible for the design, manufacture, supply, and erection of the effluent desalination system. The plant is comprised of complete media pre-filtration and RO systems.
According to Alon Karni, Nirosoft’s project manager overseeing Makteshim, the system is designed for easy maintenance and low energy consumption, using a special energy recovery unit. The treatment process implemented in the Makteshim system was jointly developed with scientists from Ben Gurion University’s Sde Boker campus and Makteshim engineers.
In an article published on the Hayadan website on May 30th, 2011, it was reported that the treated industrial wastewater reaches an unprecedented level of quality. The plant allows the reuse in the factory of about 1,500 m3 of the 2,400 m3 effluent produced per day, doing away with the need to establish two new evaporation ponds out of the five planned and saving the factory about $12 million.
Makteshim expects that 90% of the desalinated water will be recycled for reuse, reducing the amount of water purchased from Mekorot, Israel’s national water company. The remaining 10% will be used for irrigation, with the approval of the Ministry of Health.
Ramat Hovav Council CEO Yossi Ziv was quoted as saying that until a few years ago, desalinating industrial wastewater was considered an unrealistic dream. “We are witnessing something that is nothing short of miraculous. We are not just talking in terms of water savings and resources but in also in reducing the use of evaporation ponds,” said Ziv.
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