Expert Workshop: The Impact of Red Tides and Harmful Algal Blooms on Desalination Plants

A joint expert workshop on the dangers of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), commonly called “red tides” for desalination plants is to be held in Oman on 8-9 February, organized by the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) in Oman, the National Centre for Excellence in Desalination Australia (NCEDA), and Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).  The two-day expert workshop will be held at MEDRC.

An international panel of presenters will discuss the incidence, control and impact of HABs on desalination plants. Issues to be discussed will include a review of the global diversity of HAB species, toxins, and bloom types, trends in HAB incidence, the fate of algal toxins during desalination, impacts of high algal biomass on filtration and membrane integrity, and potential mitigation strategies.  International and GCC regional case studies will be presented. Participants from industry, government, academia and research institutes will be invited.

The aim of this workshop is to define multi-client research initiatives to mitigate the impact of red tides/HABs on desalination plants. Partner organizations include; Public Authority of Water and Electricity (PAEW) Oman, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Wealth (MOAFW) Oman, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), The Research Council (TRC) Oman and International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA). Private sector operators will present case studies.