Alstom reinforces its leadership in air quality control equipment in the Middle East

Alstom, a supplier of air quality control equipment, has secured contracts worth over €100 million for air quality control equipment in the Middle East.

In the United Arab Emirates, Emirates Aluminium Company Limited has awarded Alstom the contract to provide air quality control equipment for the second phase of the EMAL aluminium smelter in the Al Taweelah industrial zone, Abu Dhabi.

Under the terms of this contract, Alstom will design, engineer, supply, install and commission two Gas Treatment Plants and one Fume Treatment plant at the aluminium smelter. The plants, due on stream in 2013 and 2014, will capture, filter and recycle corrosive gas produced by the smelter, notably hydrogen fluoride, improving air quality and conforming to environmental requirements.

Alstom has also installed four Gas Treatment Plants and two Fume Treatment Plants for Phase one of the Emal smelter. These systems were successfully commissioned in 2010 and are currently the largest installed in any smelter worldwide. The EMAL smelter complex project is the largest industrial project outside the oil and gas industry in the UAE. Phase two will increase the production of aluminium from the smelter by 600,000 tonnes.

In Saudi Arabia, Hanwa Engineering and Construction has awarded Alstom the contract to engineer, supply and supervise the commissioning of seawater flue gas desulphurisation (SWFGD) systems* for phase 2 of the Marafiq power plant in the Yanbu Industrial Area, located on the Red Sea coast. Phase 2 includes three steam power plant blocks, each generating 276 MW. Alstom’s technology uses only seawater and air, to remove 90% of sulphur dioxide from the plant. The first unit of Yanbu phase 2 is scheduled for completion in October 2013, with the entire project due to be completed by January 2014.

Most of the SWFGD’s supplied in Saudi Arabia have been provided by Alstom. The technology is also being implemented in Yanbu units 5 and 6, a 2 x 275 MW extension of the existing Marafiq Power Station in Yanbu. This project is well under way and the first unit is scheduled for start up in July 2012. Alstom is also implementing this technology at Shoaiba, the largest oil-fired power plant in Saudi Arabia.

Andreas Lusch, Senior Vice President in charge of Alstom’s steam business, commenting on these contracts said, “Alstom is a leader in clean power solutions. Our world-leading air quality control equipment allow our customers to produce cleaner power. These contracts reinforce Alstom’s technological leadership and project execution capabilities in environmental control systems for power plants and industrial solutions and further strengthen our already strong presence in the Middle East.”

Growing concern over climate change, combined with ever stricter regulations and compliance deadlines, have increased international demand for air quality control systems in industry. Alstom has the world’s largest installed base in air pollution control, with approximately 120,000 MW of wet and dry FGD systems and over 40 years of experience in FGD design.