Reform of industrial wastewater treatment in Saudi Arabia through demonstration of a3op® technology

The Saudi Arabian water sector faces a central challenge: highly toxic industrial wastewater, particularly “spent caustic” streams, needs to be treated both safely and economically. Under Vision 2030, Saudi authorities are tightening requirements for the reuse of industrial wastewater. Conventional methods such as incineration or wet oxidation are costly, energy-intensive, safety critical, and environmentally damaging. a3op® technology offers a scalable alternative: it combines ozone injection with acoustic energy input to oxidize toxic compounds using considerably less energy, and it does so safely at ambient pressure and temperature. That means lower operational risk alongside lower investment and running costs.

RiAD sets out to prove that a3op® technology works under real operating conditions, and to turn what’s learned into something others can build on. A modular, container-based pilot plant is being installed and operated at selected partners in Saudi Arabia, not just to demonstrate the technology, but to train local specialists and connect the relevant players in the sector. The findings then feed into existing technical, regulatory, and institutional structures, laying the groundwork for the technology to continue and be replicated elsewhere.

The project begins with requirements definition, laboratory analyses, and engineering and design of the a3op® plant. From there, a mobile pilot plant is built, documented, piloted on site, and used to train the partner in Saudi Arabia. Alongside this, the project develops a communication concept to support change management and builds a partner network backed by a potential and acceptance analysis. Rounding it out is a 3D visualisation model of the technology for training purposes, along with regional utilisation concepts that secure the transfer of the project’s results.