As demand for potable water rises in arid regions worldwide, desalination has become a critical solution to water scarcity. The global desalination market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.6% from 2025 to 2033, with significant project activity across the Middle East and Africa.
While many new plants are under construction, older facilities are now entering maintenance-intensive phases, placing renewed focus on infrastructure durability and lifecycle performance.
One of the greatest challenges facing desalination infrastructure is corrosion. Seawater, with an average salinity of 3.5%, and even more aggressive brine water pose a constant threat to reinforced concrete structures.
Over time, chloride penetration and moisture exposure can lead to steel reinforcement corrosion, cracking, and reduced service life. Addressing this risk early and effectively is essential to ensuring long-term operational reliability.
Cortec offers practical solutions to these challenges through its Migrating Corrosion Inhibitors. Designed to protect reinforced concrete in aggressive environments, Cortec MCI products help delay the onset of corrosion and significantly reduce corrosion rates once they begin.
These inhibitors can be added as concrete admixtures or applied to the surface, where the chemistry migrates through concrete pores to form a protective molecular layer on embedded steel reinforcement.
This protective layer shields steel from corrosive elements such as chlorides and moisture and remains effective even when cracks form as concrete ages.
Unlike traditional calcium nitrite admixtures, Cortec MCI products do not negatively affect concrete properties, making them easier to use on site. Importantly for desalination and potable water infrastructure, several MCI products are certified to meet ANSI NSF Standard 61 requirements for use in drinking water structures.
Real-world applications demonstrate the effectiveness of MCI technology in desalination environments.
In Europe, a large desalination plant constructed in 2003 to supply water to two million people incorporated surface-applied MCI 2020 to protect reinforced concrete at the brine discharge channel, where salinity levels are approximately double that of seawater. MCI 2005 was also admixed into concrete at critical points along the discharge system.
In the Middle East, a major desalination project developed between 2010 and 2013 used MCI products extensively across multiple process stages. Precast concrete intake pipes transporting seawater to the plant were treated with MCI 2005 alongside crystalline waterproofing admixtures.
The same approach was applied to pretreatment sand filtration bins and brine water reservoirs. Where construction limitations resulted in insufficient concrete cover in some reservoirs, surface-applied MCI 2020 was used after construction to provide additional corrosion protection.
Beyond desalination plants, MCI technology has also been successfully applied in concrete water tower repairs, highlighting its versatility across both new construction and rehabilitation projects.
As municipalities and utilities increasingly turn to desalination to meet growing water demand, the need for durable, long-lasting infrastructure becomes more critical.
By protecting reinforced concrete from corrosion in harsh marine and brine environments, Cortec solutions help extend service life, reduce maintenance costs, and support the sustainability of vital water infrastructure worldwide.