DK to study water needs of industries

Mangaluru: A meeting convened by deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim to explore the possibility of industry exclusively using desalinated water for their use has decided to carry out a study of industrial requirement of water over the next 20-25 years.
The meeting entrusted Gokuldas Nayak, joint director, district industries centre, to conduct the study while at the same time exploring means to set up a special purpose vehicle that could take forward the idea of setting up a desalination plant.
K Prabhakar Rao, director, Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCF) Limited, said desalination of sea/river/brackish water is a proven global technology. It is time for industries to adopt the same, given that the availability of water for industrial use is under cloud with growth in human population and the first priority always given to meet human need. The company internally has embraced the technology that has ensured it has become a zero liquid discharge unit, utilizing every available drop used by it.
The MCF, which initially utilized 4 million gallon per day of water provided by Mangalore City Corporation (MCC), has since reduced it to 1.8 mgd, he said. While using sewage treated water is the best and cost effective solution, if one takes in to account the capital intensive nature of setting up sewage treatment plants, it makes sense to go in for using desalinated water, he said. With the civic body inclined to stop giving water to industry due to perennial shortage, such alternatives should be explored, he added.
Sridhar, representative from Mumbai-based Ion Exchange (India) Ltd, a company with expertise in setting up desalination plants in the country, said the operating cost of producing a kilo litre (KL) of water works out to around Rs 40.
Now, the MCC is providing water for industrial use at Rs 60/KL. If one takes both variable and fixed costs, the cost will come to around Rs 60/KL, he said, adding it makes sense for industries to go in for desalination plants in the long run.
G Srinikethan, professor, department of chemical engineering, National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, said recycling water using all available means will be the order of the day. "Desalination technology has improved over the years, and industries in the region should adopt it," he said, while supporting the idea mooted by Prabhakar Rao that a SPV be set up for the purpose where all industries could become stakeholders and the executing company maintain the desalination plant on build-own-operate mode.
The DC said it is within his powers to allot land up to two acres if the process to set up a desalination plant is taken forward. With Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules favouring setting up desalination plants, the DC said once study (on industrial water requirement) is complete and proposed SPV set up, the process of getting environment clearance from the ministry of environment and forests can be taken up. It roughly requires around 5 acres to set up a 10 million litres per day plant, and the plant size will be determined by requirement, he said.