Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) has awarded a US$10 million (AED 36 million) contract to Italian manufacturer, Società per Impianti Generali (SPIG) for the supply of its cooling towers. EMAL’s power plant will use SPIG’s cooling tower technology to reduce the temperature of the water used during the energy production process and ensure that water is returned to the sea within a one degree Celsius temperature range. This is well within Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency guidelines which allow up to a five degree Celsius increase.
EMAL CEO, Duncan Hedditch said, “EMAL is committed to using the most environmentally sound technology available and the SPIG cooling tower technology helps safeguard the delicate marine eco system of Al Taweelah.”
The two cooling towers, to be engineered, designed, supplied and installed by SPIG, will be the largest sea water cooling facility in the UAE. As Marianna Caputo, SPIG marketing manager notes, “SPIG uses the latest technology to reduce environmental impacts from cooling towers, surpassing the highest standards set in the industry.”
SPIG cooling towers are specifically designed to withstand the effects of sand storms and control noise emissions. The cooling towers include seismic design vibration control and reduced energy consumption.
The EMAL 6km² production facility in Taweelah, Abu Dhabi, is currently being built in two phases and is set to become the world's fifth largest aluminium producer. Phase One, to be completed by 2010, will have a production output of approximately 700,000 tonnes. At full capacity, it will boast an output of 1.4 million tonnes of primary aluminium for the world's manufacturing, packaging and construction sectors.
