Singapore gets its own drinking water supply
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Winner Mr. Humphrey Spoor, Sontex Switzerland and Frank van Heusden, Norit Filtrix with the LineGuard System During the Aquatech 2006, two Norit Filtrix LineGuard systems were raffled at the Norit booth. From the business cards left at the booth, two winners were drawn and each was rewarded with one of these very advanced point-of-entry purification systems based on Norit ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. The winners of the LineGuards were Mr. Humprey Spoor, R&D Manager at Sontex, a Swiss manufacturer of thermal energy measurement and flow control systems and Mr. Peter Bielars, publisher of the Dutch water magazine H2O. LineGuard Lottery at the Aquatech In general, a LineGuard serves as a whole house filtration system or as a Legionella prevention gatekeeper system. In special aid projects, LineGuards are applied as drinking water systems in small third world hospitals, where they highly contribute to the quick recovery of people suffering from illnesses. However, Sontex came up with yet another application of the LineGuard. It is their intention to use the system for producing ultra pure water for their calibrating system - a new, but indeed very smart and interesting application of the LineGuard. H2O magazine decided to donate their LineGuard to the Tusiadiane Foundation, a small welfare organization based in Uganda, Africa. There the LineGuard is installed in an orphanage home in the northern area of Uganda, which has been troubled by a cruel civil war for more than 30 years. The POE purification system produces safe drinking water from rainwater collected from the roofs of the buildings. Other contributors to this project are Van Wijk & Boerma Pompen and Allfilter, who donated a vacuum pump and a set of prefilters. The Tusiadiane Foundation is now trying to raise funds for solar panels to complete the project. For Norit Filtrix, it is very pleasing to see that both LineGuard systems have found their way into very useful applications, thereby adding to the success of the LineGuard product. For more information: frank.van.heusden@filtrix.com www.filtrix.com To date, Singapore has largely relied on imports from Malaysia for its supply of drinking water. In order to reduce this dependency, it was necessary to expand the provision of drinking water in Singapore. Nijhuis Pompen BV is supplying the pumps required for this project. The Public Utilities Board, the company that is responsible for infrastructure work in Singapore, launched the large-scale project under the name ‘Marina Barrage’. The aim of the project is threefold: water supply, flood protection and the creation of leisure facilities. A dam will separate Marina Bay from the ocean, creating a basin in which rainwater can be collected. The intention is that within two years of closing the dam, the seawater will be converted into normal fresh water by means of ‘natural flushing’, thereby making it suitable for drinking water treatment and leisure purposes. So that the water level in the basin is kept under control, a drainage system with seven pumps will be installed next to the dam to discharge excess water back into the sea. This will keep the basin’s water level constant and prevent flooding. Major project for Nijhuis Pompen BV Singapore gets its own drinking water supply The Singapore-based company Metax Engineering is acting as the supplier of the complete mechanical system for this project. Metax has commissioned Nijhuis to provide the seven vertical pumps. Nijhuis has taken on the design of the entire pump system, the model tests and the supply of the pumps. The capacity of the pumps constructed for this project is 40 cubic meters per second, with a head of 3.8 mlc. One pump weights 28,000 kilograms and is 7.8 meters high when assembled. The propeller measures 3.2 meters in diameter. As it would be very complicated to transport Norit the pumps in their assembled state, the pump components will be assembled in Malaysia. Assembly will take place under the supervision of experienced Nijhuis employees. This section of the project is scheduled to be completed in mid-2007. The final transfer of the entire project from Metax to the Public Utilities Board, the end customer, is scheduled for late 2007. Norit Norit Synergy Award The winner of the prestigious Norit Synergy Award for the 2nd quarter in 2007 is Norit Purification Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd (NPS) for their sales efforts in growing the Norit Group sales from 5 Million Euros to a projected 34.2 Million Euros in 2007 durng the last three years in the China market. Duan Shaleite, Managing Director, explains that this success is solely the result of a strong team spirit within the organization in China. “All of our personnel, whether sales, marketing, finance or operations are committed to the concept of cross selling, customer support and first class response to client needs, he says. “Our China team truly believes: No following. Norit. Just leading.” For more information: duan.shaleite@norit.com.cn www.norit.com Joost Jacobs, Commercial Director Norit Membrane Technology NethWater provides integrated solutions on the international industrial water market The Dutch companies Evides, Norit Membrane Technology, Royal Haskoning, and Witteveen+Bos have formed a consortium under the name of “NethWater”, in order to promote the export of Dutch expertise in the field of water technology. NethWater provides integrated technology solutions for companies that require large amounts of process water. These solutions are implemented by NethWater on the customers’ premises, by means of DBFO contracts (Design, Build, Finance, Operate). This means that the consortium provides complete solutions including financing, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the installations. The consortium deals with the supply of industrial and process water, as well as the cleaning and re-use of wastewater. China, the Gulf States and the Near East constitute very promising markets for the consortium’s services. The first contacts with potential customers in China and the United Arab Emirates have already been forged, and these have given rise to concrete tenders. The recycling of wastewater is becoming an increasingly important link in the water chain – treated wastewater can be reused as a source of process water. The advan- tage is not only that the water is used in a more sustainable way, but also that the water management costs for the industry are reduced. For more information: j.jacobs@noritmt.nl www.