The International Desalination Association (IDA) has announced its continued support for the International Water Summit (IWS) which is being held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibit Centre between 18-21 January 2016.

“Now in its fourth year, the IWS is a global platform for promoting water sustainability and addressing water challenges across the region,” said the IDA in a statement.

Part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2016, IWS brings together world leaders, field experts, academics and business innovators to accelerate the development of new sustainable strategies and technologies in the water industry.

It is being held under the patronage of HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces.

IDA’s role as a supporter of the IWS is multi-level, including representation on the IWS’s International Advisory Board by IDA directors Leon Awerbuch and Michel Canet, secretary general Patricia A Burke, and former second vice president, Miguel Angel Sanz.

“We are pleased to continue our support of the International Water Summit. Its emphasis on fostering innovation, best practices and collaboration mirrors IDA’s role to promoting this approach to sustainable water solutions around the world,” said Burke.

In addition, several current and former IDA directors and past presidents will speak at the summit, including Dr Abdullah Al-Alshaikh, IDA’s immediate past president and now chief executive officer of Advanced Water Technologies; Leon Awerbuch, who also serves as president of Leading Edge Technologies; Dr Adil Bushnak, past IDA president, former IDA director, and chairman of Moya Bushnak; Carlos Cosín Fernandez, IDA director, chairman and chief executive officer of Abengoa Water; Miguel Angel Sanz, director of strategic development for Suez Environnement; and Dr Corrado Sommariva, past IDA president, former IDA director, and managing director of ILF Consulting Engineers.

The International Water Summit (IWS) is the leading global meeting point for showcasing and developing solutions for water sustainability in arid regions.

Arab Gulf countries already have the highest per capita consumption of domestic water in the world and its demand is expected to double in the next two decades, further adding to water stress. So there’s no better time or better place to grow.

World is already looking ahead to IWS 2016; whether you’re looking to access fast-growing opportunities in municipal water, industrial water or water for real estate.

2016’s version of the summit will discuss crucial and important topics like decarbonization and climate resilience amid the implementation and ramping up of the transformative Climate Action Post-Paris.

With the global population set to reach nine billion by 2030, ADSW promotes collaborative thinking and development to accelerate the sustainable solutions needed to support rapid economic and population growth.

Major Participants & Unique Inventions

Several major private conglomerates and governmental sides from different countries are participating in this year’s edition. There are Emirati participants like Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ADCCI), Abu Dhabi Environment (ADE), Abu Dhabi Environment, Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company, Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority, Al Wasail Industrial Company, and Amwal Magazine – Eurabia Media Corp.

There are organisations from other Muslim countries like Ak-Kim Kimya Sanayi ve Tic. A.S. from Turkey and Asian Water from Malaysia. That’s in addition to the Italian Watergas, British Aluline Grease Traps Ltd. and Pavilion Aquamatix Ltd. Other participants include the American Andrews Kurth, and Bio-Microbics, as well as the Swiss AquaSPE AG, German Avita Biomodulare Teichsysteme Gmbh, and Dutch Beeldstroo Consultancy.

The exhibition of the summit will show numerous new products and inventions which are beneficial for the water sector.

For example there is UFB AirMill BA 18900 which is a generator for enhancing the aeration of water for various applications. Another product is Gaia Alpha which is a unique and new revolutionary technology for organic substance decomposition and powderization based on oxygen radicals. This technology allows completely new opportunities to treat organic waste on a local and decentralized scale with extremely low energy consumption.

CanalworX is another exhibited application that’s designed to be used on canals, rivers, Lakes and Drainage systems as a water level sensor. Drinkable Air AWG machines is a brilliant invention that creates pure, fresh drinking water out of the air we breathe. ColiMinder® Industrial is a fully automated measurement system which is able to measure microbiological contamination of liquid samples within 15 minutes.

One of the products that is being shown in the exhibition in Abu Dhabi is Greywater Recycling which is a system that captures water used for showering or bathing and, after treatment through an ultrafiltration membrane system to prevent waterborne viruses and pathogens, is fed back into the property for use in non-potable purposes such as flushing toilets, irrigation and laundry.

GWTS system is another outstanding technology that destructs chemical waste (including halogenated waste) and for recovery of halogen acids. It’s based on plasma technology that produce a temperature of several thousand degrees (2000-4500°C), that breaks apart the molecular bonds of waste compounds. The waste is converted into non-hazardous gaseous products which are released to the environment.

This year’s exhibition also hosts the Plasma Arc Waste Destruction System (PAWDS); the world’s most compact, easy-to-operate, high temperature, plasma-based waste treatment system. With rapid startup and shutdown capabilities, PAWDS effectively destroys paper, plastics, food, oily rags, as well as waste oil, sewage sludge, hazardous gases, chemical waste, all with minimal segregation.

PGM is a Cutting-Edge zero waste solution based on the advanced Thermal Treatment Technologies (ATTT), such as Gasification, Pyrolysis, Plasma and Plasma Gasification to convert thermal energy of waste into a high calorific syngas. Additionally, Tyton-SIT VIPER is a self-restraining gasket for ductile iron pipes and fittings. Eliminates the need for thrust blocks and can result in an increase in pipe laying speeds of up to 60%.

One of the best invention in 2016 exhibition is TERRAST, a new, inorganic processing material, whose ingredients are recycled charcoal and aluminum. Just dropping TERRAST into the wastewater, it generates the electric potential difference and the electric current starts to flow. As the result, the electric current elutes active aluminum ion and heavy metals are condensed by the absorption reaction of aluminum ion.

The Emirati organisers created Innovate@IWS which is designed to find and accelerate next generation technologies in water sustainability. 16 finalists in three water categories – municipal, industrial and real estate – were brought before a distinguished panel of judges from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, in a live, ‘Dragon’s Den’-styled competition, to determine the most promising technologies.

The winners – each of whom, demonstrated excellence in three key areas: uniqueness, business potential and long-term vision – were announced by Stuart Moss of co-organisers Isle and Professor Bruce Ferguson of the Masdar Institute.