The DESAL Research Group at KAUST is participating in ACWA Power Innovation Days in Riyadh as part of an ongoing industry–research collaboration focused on improving the operational performance of large-scale desalination plants.

The collaboration centers on R&D for the early detection of membrane fouling in reverse osmosis (RO) systems, a critical challenge that directly affects plant reliability, maintenance strategies, and operating costs in desalination facilities. Early-stage fouling is often difficult to identify using conventional monitoring approaches, leading to reactive maintenance and unplanned downtime.

During the Innovation Days event, ACWA Power presented key elements of the joint research, highlighting how DESAL’s work is contributing to real operational discussions. The research explores the use of AI-driven monitoring frameworks, combining sensor data with membrane surface imaging, to detect fouling at early stages and support a shift from reactive to predictive maintenance strategies.

Throughout the event, Prof. Noreddine Ghaffour, Group Leader of DESAL, engaged in technical discussions with ACWA Power teams and other leading water companies, focusing on deployment pathways and scale-up considerations. In parallel, Najat Amin, a member of the DESAL research team, presented ongoing results through a poster titled “AI-Driven Framework for Predictive and Efficient Reverse Osmosis Desalination,” sharing insights from the current R&D work.

Participation in ACWA Power Innovation Days underscores the importance of close industry–research collaboration, where operational challenges inform research priorities and research outcomes are tested against real plant needs. For DESAL, such partnerships are essential to ensuring that advanced analytics and AI-based tools move beyond the lab toward solutions that can be validated, integrated, and deployed in operating desalination plants.

For further information on DESAL’s industry collaborations and ongoing R&D activities, please contact:
Prof. Noreddine Ghaffour — noreddine.ghaffour@kaust.edu.sa