Stamp of approval for desalination plant

IT is officially all systems go for South32 to build the first desalination plant in KZN at its Hillside aluminium smelter in Richards Bay.

The KZN Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DEDTEA) last week gave the nod and signed the project’s Basic Assessment Report.

The R32-million plant, which will remove minerals from seawater abstracted from the port, will essentially be a lifeboat for Hillside which cannot operate without clean water essential for its operations.

South32’s environmental consultant SE Solutions said as severe drought conditions continue to threaten the industry, this alternative source of water supply becomes increasingly important for both the company and the local economy.

If the smelter had to close down, there would be a loss of up 10% of the GDP in the region, a staggering loss of 20 000 jobs in SA affecting the livelihoods of around 80 000 dependents and the downstream industry would need to import aluminium at a cost of R4.1-billion per annum.

To avoid this damaging domino effect, the desalination plant will be built within the next three months on the Hillside site to purify saline water pumped through a Foskor pipeline from berths 609 and 701 at the harbour.
Foskor is currently using the abstraction point for their backup sea water supply.

It is designed for a capacity of 1 250m3 per hour, of which only 700 megalitres are utilised in emergency situations.

Minimum impact
‘Hillside proposes to use this facility as a seawater source for the desalination plant, of which most of the infrastructure required for abstraction and transferring of seawater to the Hillside Smelter is already in place, including the piping system required for the disposal of brine using uMhlathuze Water’s sea outfall line,’ stated SE Solutions.

‘The desalination plant will be constructed on the already existing concrete slab within the Hillside Aluminium smelter complex, and there will be no clearance of sensitive vegetation and no watercourses to be impacted upon within and adjacent the site owing to construction.

‘It would be a fully containerized plant in that it would be completely modular, therefore there would be no need for extensive construction activities on the site.

‘The abstraction infrastructure is already in place between berths 609 and 701, and most of the pipelines to transfer seawater from the pumps are already in place or will be installed within the existing corridor adjacent to the above ground conveyor system. No major construction activities are anticipated.’

The overall project, including the electrical and pipe infrastructure, design work and construction of the plant, will come to R62-million.

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