Blog

Spain is a worldwide leader in water engineering, more specifically in desalination processes. It is not by chance that the Region of Murcia, one of the most important agricultural areas in Europe, used to having to make the most of the very last drop of water, has developed membrane technology to the highest level.

Hidrotec, a company located in La Palma Industrial Estate in Cartagena, takes this technology all around the world, manufacturing equipment designed to suit many businesses.
Working on this market for over 20 years, Hidrotec designs and builds equipment for water desalination from salty wells and from the sea, using reverse osmosis technology.

However, in addition to reverse osmosis and as a result of several lines of research carried out by company technicians, less well known technologies have been developed such as removing dissolved oxygen or CO2 from water by means of membrane contactors, separating substances with different molecular weight using nanofiltration or using ultrafiltration as a treatment or pre-treatment for a range of other processes.

Consequently, Hidrotec works as technological support for the industry inside and outside the Region of Murcia in many cases, openly and actively involved in developing equipment required to optimise productive processes, or improve certain products, thereby making companies in the area more competitive.

One example is equipment to separate and concentrate mono and disaccharides (sugars), milk proteins, alcohol, fruit juices or any other process that requires molecular level separation using membrane technology.

In the same way, Hidrotec builds water treatment plants for the chemical industry, plants producing demineralised water for the food industry or ultrapure with electro-deionising systems for labs, research centres or the pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing under the strict European pharmacopoeia rules.

A different problem issue has been encountered in areas of Latin America such as Chile or Peru where work is already underway on technologies to remove pollutants that affect communities via the water, as a consequence of copious mining, applying selective ion elimination systems for boron or arsenic or in combination with others to eliminate chromium or cadmium.

They are also taking their technology to African countries such as Morocco, Equatorial Guinea or Senegal, working with the dairy or drinks industry, and making river water drinkable to supply cities in Angola using ultrafiltration systems, minimising the use of chemical products. Leachate treatment plants in Portugal or high quantity water supply to hotels around the world.

With over 25 years experience in the international market, Hidrotec professionals specialise in water treatment, developing products and incorporating the most advanced membrane technology into agricultural processes and industry with optimum results.

This Cartagena company specialises in treating fluids, desalination and reuse of water, or separation from other substances with high added value. The process involves applying technologies such as micro, ultra and nanofiltration, reverse osmosis or membrane contactor technology to remove or dissolve gases in fluids.

Reverse osmosis, well used throughout the region, is fundamentally used to desalinate water from wells or from the sea for irrigation or for process waters in industry, in hotels in tourist areas with scarce rainfall or where better water quality is required.

In this respect, it should be highlighted that, among its products, Hidrotec offers another complement to the modular range of ECO desalination plants. This is a compact equipment concept entirely installed on a standardised container that is fast and easy to install, move, locate and implement. These are EcoBox plants. These have been designed to be installed in a wide variety of places, merely requiring a firm base. They integrate all the necessary elements, including a chemical cleaning station and a feeder pump when necessary, in addition to completely automated sand filtration. It can produce up to 1100 m3/day in a 12 m container.

The micro, ultra and nano-filtration systems have the capacity to separate certain elements from a fluid depending on the size of their molecules. In other words, it is possible to selectively remove elements that we are not interesting in keeping in the final product from the fluid, opening up a wide range of possibilities for industry. Finally, nanofiltration, the most exhaustive filtration of the three, is used to remove pesticides and heavy metals from underground water, in recycling residual water, softening very hard water, removing nitrates, colour or organic material, CIP recovery, and so on and so forth.

The problem issue derived from using desalinated water for public supply and agriculture is well known in Spain due to high residual levels of boron in certain processes.
The selective ion treatment system for removing boron helps to remove excess quantities of this element from any water intended for irrigation or human consumption. An excess of this element in certain crops, fundamentally fruit with stones or pips, can reach a concentration that might be toxic and harm the plantation. This toxicity can have a greater effect when boron-contaminated residual or underground water is used for irrigation.

Hidrotec is also working in African countries such as Morocco, Equatorial Guinea or Senegal, where its water treatment technology is used for the dairy or drinks industry, and in making river water drinkable to supply cities in Angola using ultrafiltration systems, minimising the use of chemical products.

Hidrotec Tratamiento de Aguas has simplified the technology for eliminating boron from water by using HEB type treatment plants.

Although reverse osmosis water treatment can remove up to 50% of boron, in some cases this is not enough and this efficient system for removing boron is required.

The selective ion treatment system for removing boron helps to remove excess quantities of this element from any water intended for irrigation that reaches a concentration in certain crops, fundamentally fruit with stones or pips, which might be toxic and harm the plantation. This toxicity can have a greater effect when boron-contaminated residual or underground water is used for irrigation.

On the other hand, Hidrotec Tratamiento de Aguas is building reverse osmosis plants intended for the Mexican market where, due to the boom in agriculture and the arid climate in some areas, we come across a problem issue that we are all too familiar with: the water problem. The plants use latest generation reverse osmosis technology featuring low pressure membranes, thereby minimising the costs associated with obtaining each cubic metre of water.

In the same way, Hidrotec Tratamiento de Aguas builds plants to treat water for the chemical industry, produce demineralised water for the food industry or ultrapure water for labs or research centres, among other projects.

With over 25 years experience in the international market, Hidrotec professionals specialise in water treatment, developing products and incorporating the most advanced membrane technology into agricultural processes and industry with optimum results.

This Cartagena company specialises in treating fluids, desalination and reuse of water, or separation from other substances with high added value. The process involves applying technologies such as micro, ultra and nanofiltration, reverse osmosis or membrane contactor technology to remove or dissolve gases in fluids.

Reverse osmosis, well used throughout the region, is fundamentally used to desalinate water from wells or from the sea for irrigation or for process waters in industry, in hotels in tourist areas with scarce rainfall or where better water quality is required.

In this respect, it should be highlighted that, among its products, Hidrotec offers another complement to the modular range of ECO desalination plants. This is a compact equipment concept entirely installed on a standardised container that is fast and easy to install, move, locate and implement. These are EcoBox plants. These have been designed to be installed in a wide variety of places, merely requiring a firm base. They integrate all the necessary elements, including a chemical cleaning station and a feeder pump when necessary, in addition to completely automated sand filtration. It can produce up to 1100 m3/day in a 12 m container.

The micro, ultra and nano-filtration systems have the capacity to separate certain elements from a fluid depending on the size of their molecules. In other words, it is possible to selectively remove elements that we are not interesting in keeping in the final product from the fluid, opening up a wide range of possibilities for industry. Finally, nanofiltration, the most exhaustive filtration of the three, is used to remove pesticides and heavy metals from underground water, in recycling residual water, softening very hard water, removing nitrates, colour or organic material, CIP recovery, and so on and so forth.

The problem issue derived from using desalinated water for public supply and agriculture is well known in Spain due to high residual levels of boron in certain processes.

The selective ion treatment system for removing boron helps to remove excess quantities of this element from any water intended for irrigation or human consumption. An excess of this element in certain crops, fundamentally fruit with stones or pips, can reach a concentration that might be toxic and harm the plantation. This toxicity can have a greater effect when boron-contaminated residual or underground water is used for irrigation.

Hidrotec is also working in African countries such as Morocco, Equatorial Guinea or Senegal, where its water treatment technology is used for the dairy or drinks industry, and in making river water drinkable to supply cities in Angola using ultrafiltration systems, minimising the use of chemical products.