---
title: "Energy recovery at scale: King Abdulaziz International Airport"
description: FEDCO supplies high pressure pumps and turbochargers, powering reliable seawater desalination for Mexico's tourism industry
---

[Customer stories ](https://www.fedco-usa.com/customer-stories)

# [Energy recovery at scale: King Abdulaziz International Airport](https://www.fedco-usa.com/customer-stories/king-abdulaziz-international-airport-swro)

 Written by [Admin](https://www.fedco-usa.com/customer-stories/author/admin) | March 31, 2023 at 1:26 PM

At a glance

- Six RO trains provide **48,000 m3/d** of permeate for Saudi Arabia's busiest airport.
- Just **one HPB turbocharger per train** is required for effective energy recovery.
- Just **two high-speed mechanical components per train** are required for pressure boosting and energy recovery: the high pressure pump and turbocharger ERD.

About the project:

Located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) is the busiest airport in the country, serving over 40 million passengers per year. It is a hub for the country's national carrier, Saudia and serves as a gateway to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The airport has three terminals and offers flights to destinations around the world.

Since 2008 KAIA has relied on FEDCO equipment to ensure reliable water supplies to support the airport's operations. To meet their needs for high energy efficiency, low energy consumption, and reliable water production, KAIA installed a 40,000 m3/d seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) facility with a FEDCO HPB-1000 energy recovery turbocharger recovering brine energy on each 8,000 m3/d train.

Following successful commissioning and operation, KAIA added a further 8,000 m3/d SWRO train to the facility using the same design, bringing the total production capacity to 48,000 m3/d.

 

*KAIA SWRO membrane array (left) and HPB Series turbocharger (right)*

 

Find out more:

[High Pressure Pumps - ](https://www.fedco-usa.com/pumps/)[Energy Recovery Devices - ](https://www.fedco-usa.com/energy-recovery/)[Retrofits](https://www.fedco-usa.com/upgrades-and-retrofits/)

Our RO expertise can help you improve membrane performance and increase SWRO recovery using our patented [BiTurboTM](https://www.fedco-usa.com/es/packages/biturbo-multi-stage-ro) technology. Our product range covers any scale system, from containerized RO units to [mega-scale SWRO](https://www.fedco-usa.com/packages/mega-scale-swro). To learn more about working with FEDCO on your next new-build or retrofit reverse osmosis project, [contact our sales team ](mailto:sales@fedco-usa.com)today.

[View full post](https://www.fedco-usa.com/customer-stories/king-abdulaziz-international-airport-swro)

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