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The First Large-Scale Desalination Plant Will Be Built in Brazil

Written by Paulo Nogueira
Published on 20/01/2019 at 13:30
Updated on 01/02/2019 at 14:27
Obras em Usina de Dessanilização ArcelorMittal
A ArcelorMittal vai utilizar tecnologia de dessalinização usada em Israel para captação de água para abastecimento de sua siderúrgica no Espirito Santo, sinalizando obras e empregos.
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ArcelorMittal Will Use Desalination Technology Used in Israel for Water Supply to Its Steel Mill in Espírito Santo, Signaling Jobs and Construction.

ArcelorMittal SA (MT.AS), the world’s largest steelmaker, is set to build its first desalination unit in Brazil to meet unexpected water needs at its factory in eastern Espírito Santo, senior executives said in an interview on Friday. The unit aims to reduce the company’s dependency on the state water supply company Cesan and avoid production cuts during water crises, such as the state experienced in 2015 and 2016, said Jorge Ribeiro, president of ArcelorMittal’s Flat Steel Division in Brazil.

Although the plant will be ArcelorMittal’s first, desalination facilities have already become common in several rival steel mills and mining operations, which tend to be water-intensive.

The company is in the final stages of selecting a firm to construct the plant, Ribeiro said, adding that a decision will likely be made next month, with companies from India, the United States, and Spain among those interested.

The planned investment is around 50 million reais (US $ 13.32 million) and the project is expected to start operating in two years, he said.

In an initial module, the plant will be able to desalinate 500 cubic meters (132,100 gallons) of seawater per hour.

“It’s a modular process, more modules can be added in the future”, Ribeiro said.

The CEO of ArcelorMittal Brazil, Benjamin Baptista Filho, noted that during the 2015 water crisis in Espírito Santo, the company received a directive from the state government to reduce Cesan consumption by 30%.

“What we are doing is safe, because if there is another rationing event, we can respond… If there is another rationing, without desalination, we would have to halt part of production,” Filho stated.

According to Filho, the desalination plant will be the first in Brazil to operate exclusively with seawater. The plant will use reverse osmosis technology and will consume electricity produced by the steel mill itself.

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Paulo Nogueira

Graduated in Electrical Engineering from one of the country's technical education institutions, the Instituto Federal Fluminense - IFF (formerly CEFET), he worked for several years in the offshore oil and gas, energy, and construction sectors. Today, with over 8,000 publications in online magazines and blogs on the energy sector, the focus is to provide real-time information on the Brazilian job market, macro and microeconomics, and entrepreneurship. For questions, suggestions, and corrections, please contact us at informe@clickpetroleoegas.com.br. Please note that we do not accept resumes at this contact.

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