RO Plant Capacity Expansion — 50 MLD Upgrade in Oman

## Background Al-Ghubrah desalination plant, Oman's oldest large-scale SWRO facility, was commissioned in 2009 with a design capacity of 30 MLD. By 2022 demand had grown to require 50 MLD, and the site infrastructure — intake, pre-treatment, high-pressure pumping — was already in place. ## Challenge Expanding capacity inside the existing footprint without a full plant outage, while meeting Oman's 2030 energy-efficiency targets (≤ 3.5 kWh/m³ net) and the regulator's continuous supply obligation. ## Approach A phased membrane replacement programme swapped legacy 8" elements for high-rejection low-energy elements across 12 pressure vessel trains during planned maintenance windows. Isobaric energy-recovery devices replaced the old Pelton-wheel turbines on six trains. ## Results - Output raised from 30 to 50 MLD (66 % increase) - Specific energy consumption reduced from 4.1 to 3.37 kWh/m³ - No unplanned outage during the upgrade programme - Payback on membrane investment: 28 months