Dow Water to discuss regional water challenges
ABU DHABI, January 14, 2016
Dow Water & Process Solutions, a leader in sustainable water separation and purification technologies and a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, will discuss global water trends and the water challenges facing the region at the International Water Summit (IWS).
The conference will run from January 18 to 21, in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Zakia Bahjou, regional commercial manager for Middle East, Africa and Turkey, will moderate a panel on the challenges faced by the GCC’s industrial sector and the investment and development opportunities that are being created.
Scheduled for January 20, members of the panel include industrial water authorities from public and private sector.
The panel will examine the growth of the industrial water sector over the next decade, the demand for industrial treatment and network services, as well as the impact on oil & gas, refining, mining, and food & beverage sectors.
“The industrial water sector is being squeezed on both ends – the quality of incoming water has become increasingly impaired and requirements for their outgoing water/discharge are becoming more stringent,” said Bahjou.
“This is an important and timely topic, and one that Dow has been addressing both globally and regionally,” she said.
Snehal Desai, global business director for Dow Water & Process Solutions will also take part in a panel on energy efficiency in water production on January 20.
The panel, hosted by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, will discuss the performance of solar photovoltaic powered water desalination plants, the latest low-energy efficiency technologies for RO plants and next generation developments on the horizon.
“Over the past 40 years, advancements in membrane chemistry, module design, higher efficiency pumps and energy recovery devices, as well as innovative system design, have driven down cost to make desalination an efficient and cost-effective reality” said Desai.
“Discussion on desalination should take its place among the industry and a country’s options for water reuse,” he said.
The region is home to Dow’s first reverse osmosis manufacturing plant outside of the US, which will officially open later this year in Jubail Industrial City II at the Sadara Chemical Company complex in Saudi Arabia.
Alex Lane, commerical director - EMEA, said: “We’ve been committed to progressing water solutions and technologies in the Middle East for over 40 years now.
“Our new world class manufacturing facility for Dow Filmtec RO Elements in Saudi Arabia is another step to cement our presence in the region, and will deliver cutting-edge technologies for various industrial water and water re-use applications.” - TradeArabia News Service
