31 Aug MEDRC Conducts a Desalination Module Training Program in Palestine and Jordan

MEDRC’s Development Cooperation and Training departments recently conducted two online training courses in Jordan and Palestine for over 20 trainees, as part of its Desalination training module for plant operators, supervisors and managers, with funding provided by the Federal German Foreign Office.

The MEDRC Desalination training module follows a progressive course program with seven to nine tailored course offerings, comprehensively covering the skills and topics of the Reverse Osmosis desalination process. Trainees are tested before and after each course to gauge their learning and progress as RO desal plant operators or managers.

The first course, ‘RO Water Chemistry’ was conducted over 3 days online and provides the necessary theoretical review and foundational skills necessary to fully understand desalination plant processes, operations and maintenance. The content includes water chemistry principles, chemical calculations, mathematical calculations including mass and charge balance, to interpret and predict water contents and behaviors for optimal RO system management.

Upon course completion and with sufficient test scores, trainees were invited to partake in the next Desalination module course, ‘RO Operations, Maintenance & Troubleshooting Level 1’, which provides practical knowledge training and proven methods for application to technical issues related to the running of RO desalination plants. The course focuses on achieving optimum operation standards, while minimizing operational and maintenance costs. Trainees participated in this training course over a full four-day period, covering concepts and skills related to RO desalination membranes, plant performance, chemical cleaning, and monitoring and troubleshooting best practices.

“Water safety planning and monitoring of the water supply chain provided through RO technology, as per the PWA strategic plan, cannot be maintained without having the scientific background on the operation of reverse osmosis technologies. Identifying the potential risks associated with the operation of RO plants, such as biofouling, will help us to ensure proper water safety planning, management, and monitoring.”

Reem Shomar, Palestinian Water Authority, Public Health Specialist & MEDRC phD Fellow

Due to the ongoing Covid19 pandemic these training courses were conducted online using dedicated teaching platforms. From 2022, MEDRC will resume its in-person and hands-on training course formats for the Level 2 and Level 3 Desalination module courses, and other training programs on Wastewater on Water Finance & Strategy.