“Distinction awards” 2018 awarded to the Sarlux desalination plant
Innovating to remain competitive, in search of increased environmental sustainability:
Awarded in Paris the “Distinction awards” 2018 to the water desalination plant created by Sarlux.
Sarlux, a Saras Group company, has developed a comprehensive programme to improve its environmental performance,
in accordance with the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), which the company has joined.
Water is a very precious resource, especially in Sardinia.
Being able to rely on water resources is key for all activities, including industrial operations.
This is why Sarlux has focused on making its water management increasingly efficient.
A few important milestones: in 2012 we created a reverse osmosis plant for the recovery of sewer waters.
In 2015, with the acquisition of Versalis, the ultra-filtration plants afforded additional benefits.
Since ongoing improvement means asking for more, more we have provided.
We have gone beyond the concept of efficiency, seen as maintaining production performance
while decreasing consumption.
In 2017, we chose a leading company, Acciona Agua, to design and construct
at the SARAS Refinery a ‘tailor-made’ desalination plant, the largest in the Mediterranean,
able to produce no less than 12,000 m3 per day of demineralized water, by means of a continuous process
that instead of using chemicals relies on ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and electro-deionization.
The desalination plant received a “Distinction award” at Paris during prize awards
at the 2018 Global Water Intelligence summit, a competition that recognises the best initiatives
in the areas of water management, waste water treatment and desalination systems,
which employ innovative technologies and sustainable financial models.
The new plant will replace some older desalination units built in the 1990s and which are no longer energy-efficient.
This innovative investment produces environmental advantages for society as a whole
and for other economic activities which will benefit from the availability of a much greater quantity of water,
in a coastal area of the Sulcis that sees the coexistence of industrial, farming and tourist activities.