Hot off the press! The State of Desalination and Brine Production: A Global Outlook, Science of the Total Environment, Volume 657, March 2019, p. 1343-1356. by EdwardJones ManzoorQadir, Michelle T.H.van Vliet,Vladimir Smakhtin and Seong-muKang.
Each of the authors (except for Michelle T.H. van Vliet) is from UNU-INWEH (United Nations University Institute for Water, Enviroment and Health) in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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Highlights
- Desalinated water production is 95.37 million m3/day.
- Brine production and energy consumption are key barriers to desalination expansion.
- Brine production is 141.5 million m3/day, 50% greater than previous estimates.
- Innovation and developments in brine management and disposal options are required.
- Unconventional water resources are key to support SDG 6 achievement.
Abstract
Rising water demands and diminishing water supplies are exacerbating water scarcity in most world regions. Conventional approaches relying on rainfall and river runoff in water scarce areas are no longer sufficient to meet human demands. Unconventional water resources, such as desalinated water, are expected to play a key role in narrowing the water demand-supply gap. Our synthesis of desalinationdata suggests that there are 15,906 operational desalination plants producing around 95 million m3/day of desalinated water for human use, of which 48% is produced in the Middle East and North Africa region. A major challenge associated with desalination technologies is the production of a typically hypersaline concentrate (termed ‘brine’) discharge that requires disposal, which is both costly and associated with negative environmental impacts. Our estimates reveal brine production to be around 142 million m3/day, approximately 50% greater than previous quantifications. Brine production in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar accounts for 55% of the total global share. Improved brine management strategies are required to limit the negative environmental impacts and reduce the economic cost of disposal, thereby stimulating further developments in desalination facilities to safeguard water supplies for current and future generations.
Graphical abstract:
Cutting to the chase:
Conclusion and Outlook
Against the backdrop of increasing global water scarcity, desalinated water is increasingly becoming a viable option to narrow the water demand-supply gap, particularly in addressing domestic and municipal needs. Desalinated water can substantially extend the volume of high-quality water supplies available for human use. A steady and assured supply of high-quality water is crucially important in an era when the world at large is embarking on the Sustainable Development Agenda to ensure access to safe water for all by 2030, and for the achievement of SDG 6 to safeguard water supplies for current and future generations. In addition to SDG 6, a variety of other SDGs are inextricably linked with water resources management, such as SDG 2 aiming at zero hunger, SDG 3 ensuring healthy lives, SDG 8 promoting sustainable economic growth, SDG 11 making cities and human settlements inclusive, and SDG 13 combating climate change. These SDGs have water-related targets that must be achieved before their ultimate realisation is possible.
Although desalination can provide an unlimited, climate-independent and steady supply of high-quality water, there are specific challenges to harness the vast potential of desalinated water, such as relatively high economic costs and a variety of environmental concerns. A major environmental concern arises from the large volume of brine produced in the desalination process that requires management. Brine management is both economically expensive and technically difficult, and hence most desalination plants discharge untreated brine directly into the environment. Addressing these challenges, research studies have demonstrated that there are economic opportunities associated with brine, such as commercial salt and metal recovery and use of brine in fish and halophyte production systems. There is a need to translate such research to convert an environmental problem into an economic opportunity. This is particularly important in countries producing large volumes of brine with relatively low efficiencies, such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.
Although smaller amounts of desalinated water are used for the power and irrigation sectors, water is desalinated primarily for municipal and industrial purposes. In this regard, desalinated water provides a safe and sustainable source of good-quality water for domestic purposes. Such potable water supplies are critically important in water scarce areas where water quality deterioration is also on the increase. The use of desalinated water in producing high-value crops and crop commodities would be another avenue whilst considering expansion of desalinated water to other sectors (Silber et al., 2015).
Due primarily to the relatively high economic costs, desalination is currently concentrated in high income and developed countries. There is a need to make desalination technologies more affordable and extend them to low income and lower middle income countries, increasing the viability of desalination for addressing SDG 6 in areas that developments have previously been limited by high economic costs. To do this, technological refinement for low environmental impacts and economic costs, along with innovative financial mechanisms to support the sustainability of desalination schemes, will likely be required. The expansion pattern and economics of desalination facilities in recent decades suggest a positive and promising outlook for expansion in desalination facilities around the world.
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