ACCIONA, a key player in the provision of regenerative solutions for a decarbonized economy, has unfolded a cutting-edge turbidity prediction system for its desalination plants, which utilizes two models based on different technologies.
Developed in-house at ACCIONA’s Infrastructure division, these pioneering models are redefining the way that desalination plants are managed by forecasting the quality of water entering the plant in both the short term (measured in hours) and the long term (measured in days).
The prediction system is running at Ras Abu Fontas 3 (RAF 3) reverse osmosis desalination plant in Qatar, where the first version of the model has been successfully operating for the past eleven months.
An advanced monitoring system provides the plant staff with real-time predictions on water turbidity, allowing operators to anticipate potential quality changes and adjust the process accordingly.
The system allows the prediction of events, in which water turbidity exceeds the threshold that could hinder the operation of the plant or even make it advisable to shut down temporarily. This enables plant equipment to be prepared in advance, avoiding damage to the most sensitive components and optimizing plant availability.
It also ensures more efficient management of water distribution networks and enhances plant resilience to climatic events and other water quality variabilities.
The pioneering predicting system is backed by years of systematic data collection at desalination plants, which has helped ACCIONA to understand how this phenomenon works on a local scale. By integrating this data with satellite information and artificial intelligence algorithms, ACCIONA has set benchmarks in the industry.
BENEFITS FOR SOCIETY
This advancement not only enhances the operation of desalination plants, but also helps to extend their useful life and make more efficient use of the water and energy employed, ensuring a clean and accessible water supply.
This boosts the profitability of the investments while fostering the construction of resilient infrastructures capable of coping with the challenges posed by climate change and other extreme weather events.
With the successful deployment in RAF 3, ACCIONA is working on a new version of the model to optimize its operation, with a view to implementing it in more desalination plants globally. The integration of this prediction system represents a new technological standard that will continue to differentiate ACCIONA’s value proposition, consolidating its leadership in the sector.
