LG Chem to supply filters for Israel's large-scale water desalination plant

LG Chem has been chosen to provide filters for Israel's one of the five largest projects to turn seawater into fresh water. The company said it has been selected as the sole supplier of 30,000 reverse osmosis membranes.

The seawater desalination plant in Israel where LG Chem will supply its reverse osmosis is pictured. [LG CHEM]

LG Chem has been chosen to provide filters for Israel's one of the five largest projects to turn seawater into fresh water.

The chemical company said it has been selected as the sole supplier of 30,000 reverse osmosis membranes to a seawater desalination plant co-owned by Shapir, an Israeli engineering company, and wastewater firm GES.

Reverse osmosis is a process that removes solids such as salt from water.

"The Ashdod Rehabilitation Project is one of the five largest desalination plants in Israel," LG Chem said. "The 30,000 reverse osmosis membranes is enough to turn around 100 million tons of seawater into fresh water every year, equivalent to the amount of water needed for around 1.1 million people."

The membranes are slated to be commissioned by mid-2024.

LG Chem's reverse osmosis membranes deliver the industry's highest level of salt rejection with the ability to remove 99.85 percent of salts from the water, it said.

LG Chem has been expanding its filter business globally with its reverse osmosis membranes. Around 1.86 billion tons of water have been turned into fresh water through the company's products worldwide. That is approximately 5.1 million tons per day.

The world's wastewater filter market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 3.9 percent to reach 6.4 trillion won ($4.8 billion) by 2024, according to data by Global Water Intelligence.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]