Dow Filmtec desalination membranes at Tampa Bay

Edited by the Processingtalk editorial team Apr 23, 2008

Dow Engages in a conference on the 'Future of Water' with a presentation about low pressure membranes for water desalination and filtration projects

This week water industry leaders, investors, environmentalists and engineers gathered in London to discuss sustainable solutions to the global water crisis at the 'Water, Finance and Sustainability' conference organised jointly by Global Water Intelligence magazine and the International Desalination Association.

Ian Barbour, general manager of Dow Water Solutions, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, highlighted the latest advances in filtration technology in a presentation on 'The low-pressure membrane revolution'.

Dow membrane technology is at the heart of the world's largest desalination projects, such as at Ashkelon, Israel; Perth, Australia; and Tampa Bay, Florida, as well as several further facilities under construction.

Advances in the Filmtec reverse osmosis membranes from Dow have made desalination an economically and environmentally viable option for communities struggling with declining fresh water supplies.

With lower energy usage, higher throughput and longer useful life for the filtration membranes, desalination technology has the potential to "unlock" vast resources to help alleviate the plight of the 1.2 billion people affected by water shortages.

The London conference will coincide with the announcement of the winners of the 2008 Global Water Awards.

One of the four projects shortlisted in the "Desalination Plant of the Year" category is the Tampa Bay desalination plant - a facility that produces clean water for 2.4 million Tampa Bay area residents.

Dow has contributed to the success of this plant by providing technological expertise and filtration components.

Dow believes that world water problems can be solved through technology, sound management and pricing policies, cooperation of the public and private sectors, and education.

The Dow commitment to deploy science and technology to provide pure water for both industrial applications and human consumption, globally, is part of the Dow 2015 Sustainability Goals.