List of Water Desalination Technologies in Saudi Arabia

Various methods are employed in water desalination plants across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, all aiming to remove salts and purify water for drinking and human use or to produce distilled water. The technologies used include:

Multi-Stage Flash Distillation (MSF): Many desalination plants in the Kingdom have operated using the Multi-Stage Flash Distillation technology, with capacities ranging from four thousand to thirty thousand m of water.

Multi-Effect Distillation (MED): The Multi-Effect Distillation technology is similar to Multi-Stage Flash Distillation. This process consists of multiple components, where chemically treated seawater passes through a series of horizontally arranged tubes in the heat exchanger. Its main function is to condense steam to produce distilled water.

Reverse Osmosis (RO): Reverse Osmosis technology works by separating water from a pressurized saline solution through a membrane. This process does not require heating or a phase change, with the energy needed being primarily for pressurizing the feedwater.

Desalination of Saline Water Using Solar Energy in the Kingdom, al-Khafji desalination plant project, launched by Crown Prince and Prime Minister His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz in November 2018, applies reverse osmosis technology with a production capacity of up to ninety thousand m of desalinated water per day. The project successfully reduced the cost per mby 40 percent.