Desalination As An Alternative To Alleviate Water Scarcity And a Climate Change Adaptation Option In The MENA Region
Credit to: http://www.kas.de/remena
Publisher:
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Regional Program Energy Security
and Climate Change
Middle East and North Africa (KAS – REMENA)
2, Rue Honaine, Angle Av. 16 Novembre
Agdal – Rabat 10106 Morocco
Author:
Dr. Jauad El Kharraz
Head of Research MEDRC Water Research
This report has been prepared by Dr. Jauad El Kharraz at MEDRC with the support of Eng. Ayisha Al-Hinaai, Eng. Riadh Dridi, Ms. Elsa Andrews, Ms. Jackie Allison, and Eng. Georges Geha. This study was peer reviewed by three international experts. We would like to thank them for their reviewing work
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Desalination Technology Trends
Abstract:
Texas’ increased interest in desalination reflects a worldwide trend to include it as a viable alternative water supply option in any long-term water strategy. Recent technological developments and new methods of project delivery are driving this heightened level of interest to the point that desalination is now being seriously evaluated on projects where it would not have been considered ten years ago. The most significant trend in desalination is the increased growth of the reverse osmosis(RO) market. Technological improvements have both dramatically increased the performance of RO membranes. Today’s membranes are more efficient, more durable, and much less expensive. Improvements in membrane technology are complimented by improvements in pretreatment technology, which allow RO membranes to be considered on a much wider range of applications. Energy costs are directly related to the salt content of the water source, and may represent up to 50% of a system’s operational costs. There has been a growing trend to reduce energy costs through improvements in membrane performance and by employing modern, mechanical energy recovery devices that reduce energy requirements by 10-50%. The growing trend to build larger desalination plants recognizes the inherent modularity of RO systems and the fact that the development, design, and permitting costs are somewhat independent of plant size. The result is that larger plants are being constructed to take advantage of economies-of-scale, which reduce the unit cost of desalinated water. Other trends that will be reviewed in more detail include the co-siting of desalination plants with electric power generating plants and other industrial facilities, and the hybridization of distillation and membrane processes.
Desalination Technology Trends
Abstract:
Texas’ increased interest in desalination reflects a worldwide trend to include it as a viable alternative water supply option in any long-term water strategy. Recent technological developments and new methods of project delivery are driving this heightened level of interest to the point that desalination is now being seriously evaluated on projects where it would not have been considered ten years ago. The most significant trend in desalination is the increased growth of the reverse osmosis(RO) market. Technological improvements have both dramatically increased the performance of RO membranes. Today’s membranes are more efficient, more durable, and much less expensive. Improvements in membrane technology are complimented by improvements in pretreatment technology, which allow RO membranes to be considered on a much wider range of applications. Energy costs are directly related to the salt content of the water source, and may represent up to 50% of a system’s operational costs. There has been a growing trend to reduce energy costs through improvements in membrane performance and by employing modern, mechanical energy recovery devices that reduce energy requirements by 10-50%. The growing trend to build larger desalination plants recognizes the inherent modularity of RO systems and the fact that the development, design, and permitting costs are somewhat independent of plant size. The result is that larger plants are being constructed to take advantage of economies-of-scale, which reduce the unit cost of desalinated water. Other trends that will be reviewed in more detail include the co-siting of desalination plants with electric power generating plants and other industrial facilities, and the hybridization of distillation and membrane processes.
Assessment Of Best Available Technologies For Desalination In Rural/Local Areas
Introduction: The Sustainable Water Integrated Management (SWIM) is a European Union(EU)-funded Regional Technical
Assistance Program [1] that “aims at supporting water governance and mainstreaming by promoting sustainable
and equitable water resources management to become a prominent feature of national development policies and
strategies (agriculture, industry, tourism, etc).” [2]
Countries in the south of the Mediterranean are facing increasing water scarcity. This scarcity is driving the need
for augmenting conventional water supply with alternative water sources. Rural and remote areas are particularly
disadvantaged because such areas are often located far away from municipal water supply systems and
conventional water sources, and are often not connected to the electric power grid. There is good potential for
addressing the water scarcity problem in rural and remote areas through sustainable saline water desalination
technologies. Seawater and brackish water desalination are well-established industries comprising a wide variety
of available technologies with decades of accumulated experience. There are many advancements and evolution in
desalination technologies. The numerous technologies and processes available have different characteristics,
advantages and disadvantages that make each suitable for particular market segments or specific niches.
Moreover, much of the cumulative technology experience is related to large urban supply plants that are either
connected to the grid, or are themselves part of large power and desalination cogeneration plants. Rural and
remote areas have special requirements that influence the appropriate selection of technologies. These include
technical requirements related to small-scale application using renewable energy sources, ease of operation and
maintenance, and simple design; requirements dictated by geographical location; as well as socio-economic and
socio-cultural requirements related to the communities that are intended to operate and benefit from the
technology. Successful implementation and long term sustainability (operational and environmental sustainability)
of desalination projects for rural and remote locations requires that all the relevant requirements be identified and
addressed from the earliest stages of the project.
Assessment Of Best Available Technologies For Desalination In Rural/Local Areas
Introduction: The Sustainable Water Integrated Management (SWIM) is a European Union(EU)-funded Regional Technical
Assistance Program [1] that “aims at supporting water governance and mainstreaming by promoting sustainable
and equitable water resources management to become a prominent feature of national development policies and
strategies (agriculture, industry, tourism, etc).” [2]
Countries in the south of the Mediterranean are facing increasing water scarcity. This scarcity is driving the need
for augmenting conventional water supply with alternative water sources. Rural and remote areas are particularly
disadvantaged because such areas are often located far away from municipal water supply systems and
conventional water sources, and are often not connected to the electric power grid. There is good potential for
addressing the water scarcity problem in rural and remote areas through sustainable saline water desalination
technologies. Seawater and brackish water desalination are well-established industries comprising a wide variety
of available technologies with decades of accumulated experience. There are many advancements and evolution in
desalination technologies. The numerous technologies and processes available have different characteristics,
advantages and disadvantages that make each suitable for particular market segments or specific niches.
Moreover, much of the cumulative technology experience is related to large urban supply plants that are either
connected to the grid, or are themselves part of large power and desalination cogeneration plants. Rural and
remote areas have special requirements that influence the appropriate selection of technologies. These include
technical requirements related to small-scale application using renewable energy sources, ease of operation and
maintenance, and simple design; requirements dictated by geographical location; as well as socio-economic and
socio-cultural requirements related to the communities that are intended to operate and benefit from the
technology. Successful implementation and long term sustainability (operational and environmental sustainability)
of desalination projects for rural and remote locations requires that all the relevant requirements be identified and
addressed from the earliest stages of the project.
Concentrating Solar Power For Seawater Desalination
Introduction:
The general perception of “solar desalination” today comprises only small scale technologies for decentralized water supply in remote places, which may be quite important for the development of rural areas, but do not address the increasing water deficits of the quickly growing urban centers of demand. Conventional large scale desalination is perceived as expensive, energy consuming and limited to rich countries like those of the Arabian Gulf, especially in view of the quickly escalating cost of fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal. The environmental impacts of large scale desalination due to airborne emissions of pollutants from energy consumption and to the discharge of brine and chemical additives to the sea are increasingly considered as critical. For those reasons, most contemporary strategies against a “Global Water Crisis” consider seawater desalination only as a marginal element of supply. The focus of most recommendations lies on more efficient use of water, better accountability, re-use of waste water, enhanced distribution and advanced irrigation systems. To this adds the recommendation to reduce agriculture and rather import food from other places. On the other hand, most sources that do recommend seawater desalination as part of a solution to the water crisis usually propose nuclear fission and fusion as indispensable option.
Concentrating Solar Power For Seawater Desalination
Introduction:
The general perception of “solar desalination” today comprises only small scale technologies for decentralized water supply in remote places, which may be quite important for the development of rural areas, but do not address the increasing water deficits of the quickly growing urban centers of demand. Conventional large scale desalination is perceived as expensive, energy consuming and limited to rich countries like those of the Arabian Gulf, especially in view of the quickly escalating cost of fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal. The environmental impacts of large scale desalination due to airborne emissions of pollutants from energy consumption and to the discharge of brine and chemical additives to the sea are increasingly considered as critical. For those reasons, most contemporary strategies against a “Global Water Crisis” consider seawater desalination only as a marginal element of supply. The focus of most recommendations lies on more efficient use of water, better accountability, re-use of waste water, enhanced distribution and advanced irrigation systems. To this adds the recommendation to reduce agriculture and rather import food from other places. On the other hand, most sources that do recommend seawater desalination as part of a solution to the water crisis usually propose nuclear fission and fusion as indispensable option.
Tailoring Advanced Desalination Technologies for 21st Century Agriculture
Abstract: Substantial parts of the U.S., particularly drier landlocked regions, are facing acute water shortages and water quality issues that decrease agricultural productivity. Reduced crop yields cause billions of dollars in losses annually, affecting the livelihoods of thousands. A combination of population growth, inefficient agricultural practices, and resource demanding consumption trends is only expected to increase pressure on our water supplies. This research proposal seeks to address water and food security issues by cost-effectively and energy-efficiently enhancing water quality and water supply in greenhouses; a $22.93 billion dollar industry in 2017 that is rapidly growing at an annual rate of 8.92%. Greenhouses widely practice desalination of salty irrigation water to improve their operations. However, currently used desalination methods do not tailor greenhouse waters based on crop requirements. This work investigates a fully integrated desalination solution that treats and tailors brackish source waters ingreenhouses to save fertilizer and water. Specifically, this project experimentally studies multi-ion transport in and assesses the economic viable of monovalent selective electrodialysis (MSED). MSED allows for the selective removal of monovalent ions damaging to crops and the retention of divalent ions beneficial for crops, unlike the widely used reverse osmosis (RO), which removes all ions from greenhouse source water. First, we evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of MSED compared to other brackish desalination technologies for agricultural applications, based on primary market research we conduct with over 70 greenhouses.
These include conventional technologies, such as reverse osmosis (RO) and electrodialysis (ED), and advanced technologies, such as closed circuit reverse osmosis (CCRO). The analysis determines the levelized costs of water, the capital costs and energy requirements of these technologies, and how these vary with feed salinity, system capacity and recovery ratio. Then, we build a bench-scale setup to experientially characterize MSED membrane properties, including monovalent selectivity, ion transport, limiting current and resistance, for multiple brackish feedwaters and for two sets of MSED membranes: the widely used Neosepta ACS/CMS membranes and the new Fujifilm Type 16 membranes. Both MSED membranes show notable monovalent selectivity for all tested compositions, reflecting the potential of the technology for selective desalination in greenhouses. The measurements are compared to a model for MSED in multi-ion solutions. The model predicts multi-ion transport for the Neosepta and Fujifilm MSED systems within 6% and 8%, respectively.
Tailoring Advanced Desalination Technologies for 21st Century Agriculture
Abstract: Substantial parts of the U.S., particularly drier landlocked regions, are facing acute water shortages and water quality issues that decrease agricultural productivity. Reduced crop yields cause billions of dollars in losses annually, affecting the livelihoods of thousands. A combination of population growth, inefficient agricultural practices, and resource demanding consumption trends is only expected to increase pressure on our water supplies. This research proposal seeks to address water and food security issues by cost-effectively and energy-efficiently enhancing water quality and water supply in greenhouses; a $22.93 billion dollar industry in 2017 that is rapidly growing at an annual rate of 8.92%. Greenhouses widely practice desalination of salty irrigation water to improve their operations. However, currently used desalination methods do not tailor greenhouse waters based on crop requirements. This work investigates a fully integrated desalination solution that treats and tailors brackish source waters ingreenhouses to save fertilizer and water. Specifically, this project experimentally studies multi-ion transport in and assesses the economic viable of monovalent selective electrodialysis (MSED). MSED allows for the selective removal of monovalent ions damaging to crops and the retention of divalent ions beneficial for crops, unlike the widely used reverse osmosis (RO), which removes all ions from greenhouse source water. First, we evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of MSED compared to other brackish desalination technologies for agricultural applications, based on primary market research we conduct with over 70 greenhouses.
These include conventional technologies, such as reverse osmosis (RO) and electrodialysis (ED), and advanced technologies, such as closed circuit reverse osmosis (CCRO). The analysis determines the levelized costs of water, the capital costs and energy requirements of these technologies, and how these vary with feed salinity, system capacity and recovery ratio. Then, we build a bench-scale setup to experientially characterize MSED membrane properties, including monovalent selectivity, ion transport, limiting current and resistance, for multiple brackish feedwaters and for two sets of MSED membranes: the widely used Neosepta ACS/CMS membranes and the new Fujifilm Type 16 membranes. Both MSED membranes show notable monovalent selectivity for all tested compositions, reflecting the potential of the technology for selective desalination in greenhouses. The measurements are compared to a model for MSED in multi-ion solutions. The model predicts multi-ion transport for the Neosepta and Fujifilm MSED systems within 6% and 8%, respectively.
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in simple terms that should leave the reader with a better overall understanding of Reverse Osmosis technology and its applications.
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What is Reverse Osmosis?
Reverse Osmosis is a technology that is used to remove a large majority of contaminants from water by
pushing the water under pressure through a semi permeable membrane. This paper is aimed towards an audience that has little of no experience with Reverse Osmosis and will attempt to explain the basics
in simple terms that should leave the reader with a better overall understanding of Reverse Osmosis technology and its applications.
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