HBKU develops and installs MED seawater desalination pilot plant in Dukhan 05 May 2021 - 9:06 The Peninsula Doha: Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), has developed a seawater desalination pilot plant which is showing higher efficiency than conventional technology – both in energy recovery to reduce thermal energy consumption, and cost effectiveness. The Multi-Effect Distillation (MED) pilot plant was installed by QEERI in Dukhan, as part of a 20-year collaboration agreement with Qatar Electricity & Water Corporation (QEWC). Designed and developed by QEERI’s Water Center, the pilot plant has a nominal capacity of 25 to 50 m3 /day, and with the extensive research and technology that has matured over the last three years, the team estimates that the new pilot requires just 4.5 kWh/m3 to desalinate the high concentration seawater (57,000 ppm) of the Dukhan coast, west of Qatar.