MRPL reasserts its green credentials with Karnataka's first desalination plant

MANGALURU: Come March 2020, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) will reassert its green credentials by commissioning Karnataka’s first desalination plant. Work on the Rs 600 crore 5MGD reverse osmosis plant has already begun on at Tannirbhavi hear here and will help the state’s only refinery reduce its fresh water intake to the bare minimum and for times when the Nethravathi is full and flowing to the brim.
M Venkatesh, managing director, MRPL told TOI that refinery requires nearly 13-14 MGD water for its operations. At present, MRPL sources river water from the Nethravathi through its weir at Shamboor. “With this desalination plant, we want to reduce intake from the river and ensure that it is used to meet drinking water and irrigation needs of the city and the district and excess if any made available for industrial use,” Venkatesh added.

The whole effort is aimed at reducing fresh water dependency, he said adding the company is also exhorting Mangaluru City Corporation to supply it with all treated sewage that it could possibly provide. At present, MRPL is getting around 2.5MGD of treated sewage and once all four sewerage treatment plants of MCC become functional, this source of water too will go up, further reducing its footprints on naturally available river water.

With dry months in the city normally spanning for two to three months, our endeavour with the desalination plant is to strike a balance with our water requirements, he said. Pre-project tendering activity and onsite preparatory work is presently on at Thannirbhavi on land leased from New Mangalore Port Trust, Venkatesh said, adding Mangalore Chemicals and Fertiliser too could source some of the desalinated water for their industrial use.

Incidentally, Shashi Shanker, chairman, MRPL at the 30th annual general meeting on Saturday assured shareholders that the company remains committed to reducing fresh water intake, maximizing recycling of treated effluent and decrease Sulphur oxide emissions. “The company has implemented the ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R)’ philosophy for its solid and Liquid Waste Management,” Shanker, also chairman of ONGC, said.