Abu Dhabi-based water treatment specialist Concorde says that an innovative product it has been marketing in the UAE for the past five years has been helping a number of leading readymix concrete suppliers achieve substantial cost savings through reduced water consumption.

Concorde – which represents RGF-USA, a world leader in waste recycling systems – offers the ESP recycling system which not only reduces water consumption but is also environment-friendly, according to Mahtab Ahmad, senior sales engineer of Concorde, a part of the Corodex Group.
“The UAE’s construction sector, which has been growing steadily over a number of years, has witnessed a phenomenal surge in activity over the past few years,” says Ahmad. “Key players in this activity are readymix companies, which are delivering their products to construction site in concrete mixers. Every time a delivery is made, the mixers have to be cleaned with a large volume of water. The wastewater gathers in stagnant pools, seriously endangering the environment and the health of the people involved in the whole process.
“Readymix companies are paying a lot of money to have the water delivered to their factories and also for the trucks that are used to collect the wastewater.”
RGF’s products can be used to solve this problem through a simple and fully automated process, he points out.
Ahmad elaborates: “As a first step, the collected wastewater is stored in a holding tank and oils and heavy solids are removed. The water is then automatically transferred to the ESP system’s processing tank and premixed with floc. The programmed mixing cycle creates a rapid floc, which separates and then encapsulates the contaminants, thus removing them from the water.
“The filtered sludge is then dispensed to a filtering belt for dewatering. This belt advances automatically when the filters are clogged. The filtered water is collected in a tray and directed to discharge and collection. The collected and dried sludge, in many cases, meets disposal standards for non-hazardous landfills.
“Normally, the payback period for this system is 12 to 18 months. The whole system is automatic and it requires the least manual interference. The consumables are minimal and include filter paper, floc and chemicals.”
The ESP recycling system comes in different models, to cater to the volume of water consumption – ranging from 100 gallons per hour (ESP-100) to 600 gallons per hour (ESP 600). The system works automatically batchwise. The only manual effort required is to collect the solid waste falling from the tray.
Companies can save money through reduced requirements for water supply to their sites and again through not having to dispose of the wastewater, he adds. Besides the cost savings, the system also helps in conserving water and directly improving the environment.
Some of the customers who are benefiting from this chemical and filter-based RGF product include: Transgulf Readymix, Gulf Readymix, Conmix, Jotun Powder Coating, Al Futtaim Motors, Al Jaber-Abu Dhabi, Al Futtaim Tarmac, Emirates Printing Press, Khansaheb-Dubai, Tarmac Alawi-Oman and more recently the Austrian Arabian Readymix, Wade Adams Readymix and Galadari readymix.
Concorde-Corodex Group, headed by managing director Mahmood Awad, is a part of the MH Al Mana Group of Companies. It was established in 1974 to cater to the requirements of the construction, petroleum industry, fire protection, water and wastewater treatment and environmental specialists in the UAE.
Through offering an excellence in service over the years, the firm has evolved into a leading group of companies, incorporating a variety of business activities.
With its headquarters in Abu Dhabi and operating companies in Al Ain, Dubai, Sharjah, Qatar and Sudan, Concorde operates the following divisions: fire protection and safety, effluent and sewage treatment, water treatment, reverse osmosis (RO), chemical trading, swimming pools and sewage equipment.
The water division handles the land-based water treatment chemicals, UV (ultraviolet), disinfection systems, softeners and filters, ion exchange resins, industrial filters, dosing pumps and accessories, a wide variety of gravel and sands, activated carbons, industrial salt chemicals, RO plants and water bottling, water testing equipment and chemicals.
The effluent and sewage treatment division, which undertakes industrial effluent treatment and sewage projects, is the sole agent for internationally-renowned specialists such as EFLO, RGF, and Huber and is already handling prestigious projects including the Palm Jumeirah.