Middle East requirements

Potable Water RO and NF both play a major role in providing potable water, defined either by the WHO criterion of <1000 ppm total dissolved solids (TDS) or the U.S. EPA limit of 500 ppm TDS. RO is most prominent in the Middle East and on islands where potable-water demand has outstripped natural supply. A plant awaiting startup at Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia produces over 1 mVs of fresh water (see Table 22-17). Small units are found on ships and boats. Seawater RO competes with multistage flash distillation (MSF) and multieffect distillation (MED) (see Sec. 13 Distillation ). It is too expensive to compete with conventional civil supply (canals, pipelines, w ls) in most locations. Low-pressure RO and NF compete with electrodialysis for the desalination of brackish water. The processes overlap economically, but they are sufficiently different so that the requirements of the application often favor one over the others. 

Tphe Middle East oil crisis increased natural gas needs, and dwindling gas reserves have intensified the need to use our huge coal reserves for the synthesis of gas, especially methane. Energy requirements will double in the next 10 years and triple before the turn of the century. Use of pipeline gas has been increasing by 6% per year, almost double the overall energy demand. The rate of gas discovery in the United States has not kept pace with use, and the estimated reserves of some 2,500 trillion cubic feet could easily be depleted in 25 years. Liquid natural gas is imported to ease shortages, but it is 5-10 times as expensive as natural gas. 

Assessing die universality of the CWC (by the way one of the requirement of the First Review Conference), one can come to interesting results comparing this requirement with the status of other principal agreements on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as can be demonstrated by table 1. It seems that one could be satisfied with relatively high number of SPs, seven years after EIF in comparison with other presented arms-control / disarmament agreements. Nevertheless, for the prevention of any use of CW, it is necessary to reach higher number of SPs mainly because most of the above mentioned important non-SPs concentrated in Near and Middle East and on Korean peninsula are supposed nearly certainly to be possessors of CW (not to speak on possession of other kinds of WMD like in the case of Israel). 

Flavourings created for the US market or Israel normally have to follow requirements for kosher status, whereas markets as the Near and Middle East and parts of Asia (e.g. Indonesia, Philippines) have a strong need for halal flavourings. As the flavour market is becoming more and more global, even the European companies in the flavour industry have to be certified by the respective certifying authorities. In general these requirements result in a reduced number of raw materials and in specific cases also carrier materials (e.g. omission of ethanol for halal flavours) for the daily project work of a fiavourist. 

Sour Crude—Crude oil which (1) is corrosive when heated. (2) evolves significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide on distillation, or (3) produces light fractions which require sweetening. Sour crudes usually, but not necessarily, have high sulfur content. Examples are most West Texas and Middle East crudes. 

The site survey discussed was conducted by an overseas water treatment distributor (located in the Middle East). The distributor employed a particularly well-educated male/female team. However, most members of the staff lacked experience and sought advice on the survey from a U.S.-based tech-nical/marketing support office. They required an interpretation of the data obtained, and some directional focus for future commercial and technical action. 

Information on the commercial and political questions raised shows that any decision to change will take time, patience, and persistence. Such a decision would require an understanding of the Middle East culture. Some further investigation from the distributor is required. The present water treatment vendor has held the account for several years. Some vendor loyalty is evident. 

In the foreseeable future a strong requirement for gas supply to Europe from new sources, including those of the Caspian region, is likely to occur. In Europe the Caspian gas will have to compete primarily with the established suppliers. At the same time the North Sea reserves will be on decline. The pipelines for supply of the Algerian gas through Morocco and Tunisia have limited capacity. LNG imports from the Middle East and Africa will reach their limits. And Russia will face significant difficulties in developing new reserves in Siberia and the Barents Sea [24,25],... 

Conservation in the transportation sector holds similar potential. The U.S. transportation sector consumes 28% of the total energy use, or approximately 28 Q. Today, in the United States it requires 35% more gasoline to drive a mile than it does in Europe. If U.S. transportation efficiency was increased to the European level, the savings would amount to 9 Q, which alone exceeds the total oil imports from the Middle East. 

It is becoming increasingly important that we recognize that all of the future increase in the GNP in the United States for the next ten years or more is dependent upon imported oil. The bulk of this increased oil requirement will come from the Middle East and particularly from one country—Saudia Arabia. 

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