Desalination Issuesin the United States
M. Kevin PriceManager, Water Treatment Engineering and Research Group
Bureau of ReclamationDenver, Colorado
California Colloquiumon WaterApril 13, 2004
Outline
• Introduction to Desal
• Research Roadmap
• Current Activities
• Next Steps
• Available Information
1902 Population – 11 million 1990 Population – 76 million2000 Population – 91 million
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Primary Issues for Water Resources
The Approaching Water Supply Problem in the 17 Western States
Based on USGS Estimated Use of Water in the US 1995
Primary Issues for Water Resources
• Growth of population and water demand
• Drought and decadal climate patterns
• Shifting and more complex demand
• Water supply (quantity & quality)
• Environmental impacts
• Global climate change impacts
Hierarchy of the Nation’s Water Solution Toolbox
Pricing Conservation activities
Demand Mitigation
Dam and diversion
Water transfers
Management approaches
Improve reuse rates
Upgrade impaired waters
Technology approaches
Supply Enhancement
Solutions to the Nation's Water Supply Issues
Pricing Conservation activities
Demand Mitigation
Dam and diversion
Water transfers
Management approaches
Improve reuse rates
Upgrade impaired waters
Technology approaches
Supply Enhancement
Solutions to the Nation's Water Supply Issues
National Research Council on Technology and Water Supply
“As scarcity continues to intensify, the search for new supplies can be enhanced by 1) the development of new supply-enhancing technology and 2) reducing the costs of some existing technologies.”
NRC: Envisioning the Agenda for Water Resources Research in the 21st Century. June 2001
Desalination as a Solution
Saline Aquifers
Benefits of Desalination
• Increased supply from non-traditional sources• Drought proofing• Local control• Regional redundancy, security• High quality supply• Reduced costs, improved technology• Avoid competition for limited water sources
(agricultural, urban, environmental)
Water Resources May be Augmented by New Technology
“The single most frequent failure
in the history of forecasting has been
grossly underestimating
the impact of technologies”
Peter Schwartz fromThe Art of the Long View
Potential Uses for Desalination Technologies
• Major Metropolitan Areas• Industries Requiring Pure Water• Rural and Native American Drinking
Water• Treatment of Produced Water from Coal
Bed Methane Production • With significantly lower costs -
Agriculture
Desalination Costs
• Water rental/purchase in NM $350/ac-ft• MWD rate ca. $500/ac-ft• Conservation $350 - 500/ac-ft• Water Recycling $400 - 800/ac-ft• Bottled Water (based on $1/liter) $1,200,000/ac-ft
Sea Water Desal $650 - 1000/ac-ft Brackish Desal* $325 - 650/ac-ft
* Very dependent on chemical make up of brackish water
Worldwide Capacity of MSF and RO
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
Year
MSF
RO+NF
from Dave Furukawa, 2003
MSF in Saudi Arabia
from The ABCs of Desalting, available from IDAfrom The ABCs of Desalting, available from IDA
MSF Unit in Saudi Arabia
from The ABCs of Desalting, available from IDAfrom The ABCs of Desalting, available from IDA
Seawater RO in Spain
Seawater RO in Tampa Bay, Florida
Seawater RO in Tampa Bay, Florida
Decline in Seawater Desalination CostsRepresents Evolution in Technology and
Facility Size
from Dave Furukawa, 2003
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
SantaBarbara 1991
Bahamas1996
Dhekelia1997
Larnaca 1999 Trinidad 2000 Tampa 2000 Ashkelon 12001
Ashkelon 22002
Singapore2003
$/m
3, $
/100
0g
$/m3
$/1000g
6.7 mgd
2.6 mgd15.8 mgd
10.5 mgd
28.8 mgd
25 mgd 36 mgd 36 mgd37.5 mgd
SWRO Improvements
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2010
Year
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00U
nit
Imp
rov
emen
t (1
980
bas
e)
CostProductivityReciprocal Salt PassageMembrane LifeEnergy Recovery
2005
from Dave Furukawa, 2003
Improvement in Energy Consumption(SWRO)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Year
En
erg
y C
on
sum
pti
on
, kw
h/m
3 Mubeen
Andrews
Childs
ERI @Pt. Hueneme
com piled
(DWEER)(Vari-Ro)
from Dave Furukawa, 2003
Water Production from Seawater per Unit Energy
0
200
400
600
800
1000Th
ousa
nd g
allo
ns p
er M
W th
erm
al
EDR MSF MED RO w/Pelton
VARI-RO VARI-RODDE
VARI-ROTM, USBR report no. 33VARI-ROTM, USBR report no. 33
NUMBER OF DESALTING PLANTS BY STATE
0
1-5
6-19
20-99
> 100
Plants Proposed Around the U.S.
U.S. Desalination Coalition, 2003
Brackish
Seawater
Opportunities to Further Reduce Costs
• Low to No Further Cost Reduction Potential• Creative Financing• Co-location with existing power plants
• Some opportunity from regionalization Need to encourage utilities to join together
• Highest PotentialBetter technology through R&D and Technology Transfer which can also help to enhance competition in industry
Desalination Research Roadmap
• Partnership between Reclamation and Sandia National Labs
• www.usbr.gov/pmts/water/desal.html
• Executive CommitteeResource economist, public health expert, head of large utility, political scientist, university professors, desalination consultants
• National Research Council Review
Architecture of the Roadmap Process
VISION 2020
DEFINE HIGH LEVEL NEEDS- Geographic Case Studies
DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE FUTURE COST
SCENARIOS
DEFINE CRITICAL OBJECTIVES- Define High-Level Objectives- Identify Specific Performance Metrics & Targets
IDENTIFY TECHNOLOGY AREAS AND SPECIFIC RESEARCH NEEDS- Basic Science and Technology Areas- Specific R&D Needs
Roadmap Development - Vision
Safe:• Meet drinking water standards• Meet agriculture and industry standards• Enhance water securitySustainable:• Meet today’s need without compromising our future
suppliesAffordable:• Provide future water at a cost comparable to today’sAdequate:• Assure local and regional availability through periods of
episodic shortages (droughts)
By 2020, desalination and water purification technologies will contribute significantly to ensuring a safe, sustainable, affordable, and adequate water supply for the Unites States.
Coastal Urban CommunitiesCurrent Challenges• 54 % of the US population lives in coastal
regions and this percentage is growing; therefore, demand must be managed.
• Tampa Bay – manage aquifer replenishment and pressure on environment
• Southern California – reduce reliance on Colorado River Water
• Coastal Texas – manage subsidence and balance water demands Desalination Needs
• Reduce the cost of desalting seawater
• Maintain biologic stability of reclaimed water
• Reduce reliance on surface water to protect estuaries and coastal regions
• Decrease reliance on remote sources of water
0.0
1000.0
2000.0
3000.0
4000.0
5000.0
6000.0
7000.0
8000.0
1900
1905
1910
1915
1920
1925
1930
1935
1940
1945
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
Bill
ions
of 1
996$
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
Cub
ic k
ilom
eter
s pe
r ye
ar w
ithdr
awanUS GNP
US Water Withdrawals
Inland Urban Areas
Current Challenges• Sustainability is questionable• Provide affordable water and address
the need for reclamation and reuse• Assure adequate supplies through
increased recycling, upgrading impaired water, mitigating demand, and purchasing water rights
Desalination Needs• Reduce the cost and enable the
disposal of concentrate• Reduce the cost for desalination
processes• Develop beneficial uses for
concentrate• Manage salt on a regional basis
Las Vegas, NV
Phoenix, AZ
El Paso, TX
Las Vegas, NV
Phoenix, AZ
El Paso, TX
DroughtMap
Rural Inland Communities
Current Challenges• Provide adequate, affordable
supplies of water for agriculture and municipal consumers while ensuring that aquatic environments are protected.
Alamogordo, New MexicoAlamogordo, New Mexico
Saline Aquifers
Desalination Needs• Reduce capital and operating
costs• Protect water quality• Characterize the saline aquifers
Oil, Gas and Coal Basins
Current Challenges• Opportunity to convert produced
water disposal cost to new water supply
• Coal-bed methane production techniques are unsuited to produced water injection
Desalination Need• Develop cost effective
pretreatment technologies for small hydrocarbon residuals
• Facilitate cost effective disposal of concentrate
• Assure water quality standards are met
The Mid Atlantic
Current Challenges• Protect water supply for public health
and sanitation from environmental hazards
• Keep surface water flowing in streams, lakes, estuaries and bays
• Prevent groundwater overdraft
Likely Derivative Benefits from Desalination Advances• Assure safety of water in heavily-
urbanized areas through on-demand removal technologies for emerging contaminants
• Develop true indicators of contaminants
Critical Objectives Driven by the Need to Keep Water Affordable
Long-term Critical Objectives• Reduce capital cost by 80% • Increase energy efficiency by
80%• Reduce operating costs by 80%• Reduce cost of ZLD by 80%
Near-term Critical Objectives• Reduce capital cost by 20%• Increase energy efficiency by
20%• Reduce operating costs by 20%• Reduce cost of ZLD by 20%
Critical Objectives Driven by the Need to Ensure Adequate Supplies/Sustainability
Long-term Critical Objectives• Decrease cost of reclaimed
waters by 80%• Beneficial use: 15% of
concentrate • Reduce average reject to 5% for
non-surface water applications
Near-term Critical Objectives• Maintain stability of reclaimed
waters over time• Decrease cost of reclaimed
waters by 25% • Beneficial use: 5% of concentrate • Reduce average reject to 15% for
non-surface water applications
Six Technology Areas
• Membrane Technologies• Thermal Technologies• Recycling/Reuse Technologies• Concentrate Management Technologies• Alternative Technologies• Cross Cutting Technologies
National Need: Keep Water Affordable
MID/LONG-TERM
NEAR-TERM
Cost of Desalinated Water Decreases
Concentrate Management Technologies• Create a “super concentrate” technology – complete solidification of residuals
and 100% recapture of water • Cross-cutting: Develop methods of immobilizing/sequestering the concentrate
stream • Cross-cutting: Develop beneficial uses for the concentrate stream to improve
the economics of disposal for ZLD processes.
Reuse/Reclamation Technologies• Enhanced membrane bioreactor technology • Document the lifecycle economics of water reuse for various applications
Novel Technologies• Magnetics • Nanotechnology (active/smart membranes)
Thermal Technologies• Forward osmosis • Clathrate sequestration• Hybrid – membrane and thermal
Membrane Technologies• Basic research to improve permeability
•Minimize resistance •Model/test non-spiral configurations
• Develop new methods of reducing/recovering energy
• Integrate membrane and membrane system designs
Reuse/Reclamation Technologies• Pretreatment
•Filtration •Biological coating (disinfectant) •Research to enable prediction of migration and recovery through aquifers
Novel Technologies• Capacitive desal
•Nanotubes or large surface areas •Current swing sorption
Near-term Critical Objectives• Reduce capital cost by 20%• Increase energy efficiency by 20%• Reduce operating costs by 20%• Reduce cost of ZLD by 20%
Mid/long-term Critical Objectives• Reduce capital cost by 80% • Increase energy efficiency by 80%• Reduce operating costs by 80%• Reduce cost of ZLD by 80%
Research & Demonstration
• Create options• Share risk of R&D investment• Show how new technologies and practices
may be more sustainable• Provide information on cost-effectiveness,
reliability• Create and share knowledge • Create confidence in technologies & science
Current Activities – Inland Brackish Water
Tularosa Basin Facility
Photovoltaic/Reverse Osmosis
Current Activities – Inland Brackish Water
Dewvaporation
Enhanced Evaporation - Concentrate Disposal
Current Activities – Recycling and Reuse
Mitsubishi Membrane Bioreactor
Zenon Membrane Bioreactor
Current Activities – Seawater Desalination
High Efficiency High Pressure Pump
Nano/Nanofiltration
Current Activities – Seawater Desalination
Modeling of Seawater Concentrate MF/UF Pretreatment for Reverse Osmosis
Current Activities – Irrigation Return Flows
Large-scale reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis treatment in the San Joaquin Valley
Next Steps
• Current solicitation for laboratory, pilot, and demonstration projects
• In-house studies on ‘net new water’, water portfolio– Identify obstacles: physical, financial, institutional,
regulatory– Tools
• Continuation of Roadmapping activities– National Research Council proposal– Additional activities
Next Steps
• Desalination Clearinghouse
• USGS study of brackish sources
• Reauthorization of the Water Desalination Act of 1996
• World Bank, WHO, FAO, MEDRC
Alcatraz Island: A Search for Sustainability
• No fresh water on island• 1.4 Million visitors/year
– 5300 people on an average summer day• 2-5k turned away• Sold out 10 days in advance
– Special events (1-2/month)• 80 staff working daily
Alcatraz Island: A Search for Sustainability
• Fix cisterns and capture rainwater• Reuse• Desalination• Renewable energy
Membrane Concentrate Disposal Manual
WTCost – Water treatment cost estimation program sponsored by AMTA
DesalNet- 50 years of full text desal literature database sold through AWWA
Desalination Planner’s Handbook
Program Homepage - www.usbr.gov/pmts/water/desal.html
Newsletter - www.usbr.gov/pmts/water/wfw.html
Reports - www.usbr.gov/pmts/water/reports.html
Information Available from the Bureau of Reclamation
