Seawater Desalination
LG Chem announced on May 18 that it signed a contract to supply reverse osmosis membranes for a large-scale seawater desalination project in Israel. The company has been selected as the sole supplier of reverse osmosis membranes for the Ashdod Desalination Project in Israel. Ashdod Seawater Desalination Plant is one of the five largest desalination plants in Israel and is jointly owned by global engineering firm Shapir and water treatment company GES.
LG Chem will supply approximately 30,000 reverse osmosis membranes to Ashdod Desalination Plant from the second half of this year through the end of the year. The plant will be able to desalinate 100 million tons of seawater per year, producing enough water for about 1.1 million people.
By 2024, when the plant will become fully operational, the total amount of Mediterranean water purified by LG Chem’s reverse osmosis membranes in Israel will reach 300 million tons per year. This is more than one-third of the fresh water used in the entire country.
LG Chem’s reverse osmosis membrane has the world’s highest salt removal rate of 99.89 percent. When seawater is passed through it, only 11 out of 10,000 sodium chloride molecules remain. In particular, nanoparticles are applied to the surface of the membrane with thin-film nanocomposite technology to maintain the salt removal rate, while its flux is more than 20 percent higher compared to other products. Another advantage is that LG Chem’s reverse osmosis membranes donot require high pressure, which saves energy.
LG Chem plans to expand its market share in the Mediterranean region based on large orders from Israel. Since 2014, when LG Chem started its water treatment filter business, it has steadily increased its order intake. Currently, 1.86 billion tons of water are purified by LG Chem’s reverse osmosis membranes annually. Countries such as Egypt and the Spanish Canary Islands rely on LG Chem’s reverse osmosis membranes for more than 50 percent of their water needs.
According to global water treatment research firm GWI, the water treatment filter market is expected to grow from 5.3 trillion won (US$4.0 billion) in 2019 to 6.4 trillion won (US$4.8 billion) in 2024.