Saudi’s Kaust launches first mobile wastewater treatment unit: KSA-based water recycling firm Al Miyah Solutions — a subsidiary of Saudi’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) — installed a first-of-its-kind mobile off grid waste water treatment unit at the NWC Wastewater Treatment Plant in Rabigh, Saudi Gazette reports. The new plug-and-play unit will treat and convert wastewater into reusable water for areas not connected to the centralized sewer network, filtering some 150 cubic meters of sewage water at half the energy consumption rate of traditional treatment methods, the news outlet notes.

How does it work? The new tech uses an aerobic granulation method that mobilizes toxins like phosphate and ammonium and transforms them into large blocks that can be easily separated from clean water, reducing operational costs compared to conventional separation processes that see the usage of microorganisms to remove pollutants from wastewater, Al Miyah’s founders told Saudi Gazette.

Who will it benefit? Some 40% of households in Saudi Arabia lack access to centralized sewage networks and Al Miyah aims to recycle their wastewater for horticulture, irrigation, and industry-driven applications in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 target to reuse 70% of water resources.

Kaust has more sustainability and decarbonization plans up its sleeve: The university signed an agreement with the Saudi Electricity Company last November to co-develop cryogenic carbon capture plants in KSA’s 605 MW integrated solar combined cycle power plant Green Duba, and signed a similar agreement in December with Neom’s water and energy subsidiary Enowa to develop a plant with a carbon capture capacity of 30 tons per day in Neom. It is also exploring the use of geothermal energy — a renewable source of energy that generates heat within the earth — with a series of experimental wells being dug on its premises.