Today, only one in three Latin Americans has regular access to quality water and sanitation services. This is happening in a huge area that accounts for nearly 30% of the world’s drinking water sources, where the combination between inefficient management of water supply networks and the lack of funding severely slows down both human and economic development. Are we ready to develop effective solutions to water scarcity?

The impact and great potential of new technologies in the water sector will be fundamental in the development of new large-scale solutions aimed at ensuring a stable and secure supply of drinking water for the ever-growing world population, which depends on increasingly scarce water reserves. This is why at Protec we believe that innovation is an essential tool for long-term growth and sustainability in our sector.

Under these circumstances, the model for dealing effectively with drought must be proactive and propose structural solutions that can contribute to reduce the vulnerability of our current global water management systems, as well as mechanisms to reduce future impacts. Planning is the best tool to prevent future water shortages, and this means improving our pressure vessels, processes and technologies every day to respond effectively to the specific needs of each client and region.

In the case of Latin America, the main issue of concern to experts in this field is even though the region has sufficient water resources, the geographical and socio-economic differences between countries prevent from building up an effective hydrological infrastructure, and the institutional capacity to guarantee water security (understood as the efficient use of water for human consumption, agricultural use industrial activities) is unevenly developed.

Desalination has proved to be a reliable guarantee to produce water of the quality needed for each application. Nevertheless, extracting seawater from the ocean and turning it drinkable is a highly energy-consuming process. Therefore, operating costs related to power are crucial and directly affect the sustainability and profitability of a desalination plant.

However, technological evolution makes it possible to change the rules of the game. At Protec, we develop the technology and products to make possible a fair exchange of water resources in the future, as we are well aware that desalted water is expected to fulfil new and innovative functions, especially as the support of a wide range of economic and human activities.

Innovation related to the water sector, be it of the engineering or digital type, has become an unavoidable requirement for safeguarding water security in a growing number of countries. Now, the energy required to obtain fresh water from the oceans is more affordable and sustainable.

We can take the example of Israel, which not long ago suffered the worst drought in centuries, and now has a surplus of desalted water from the Mediterranean Sea. This remarkable progress was made possible through national programs implemented to conserve and reuse the country’s scarce water resources, but the biggest impact came from the new wave of desalination plants in the 21st century, more efficient and more economic.

As global leaders in FRP pressure vessel and rack manufacturing for reverse osmosis processes, our goal is to participate in major desalination projects that can generate employment opportunities in regions with water deficiencies, in order to provide efficient engineering solutions for a better and more sustainable seawater treatment.

Protec Arisawa is a forward-looking company always searching for new solutions in our field, and we are committed to improving processes and products day by day, so as to reach the highest quality and efficiency levels. This allows us to be major players in new markets, in a permanent search for competitive excellence and new challenges, in a sector that will increasingly require a more effective and sustainable desalination in every way.