Dr. M. S. Al-AnsariDr. M. S. Al-AnsariUniversity of BahrainUniversity of Bahrain
Dr. Nader Al-MasriDr. Nader Al-MasriWater Research ExpertWater Research Expert
Muscat, December, 19-21, 2010Muscat, December, 19-21, 2010
Sustainable Desalination Technologies Sustainable Desalination Technologies
For GCC FutureFor GCC Future
Third SQU-JCCP Joint Symposium
Environmental Challenges & Mitigation Approachesfor Sustainable Development in the Oil & Gas Industry
Presentation OutlinePresentation OutlinePresentation OutlinePresentation Outline
Water stress regionally and globally.
Hybird desalination plants
MSF-RO plant
Nanofilteration and MSF
Hybirdization of Nuclear-powered MSF-RO
Environmental Impact of desalination plants
Energy sources for desalination
Futuristic development on membrane systems
Conclusions
Water Stress GloballyWater Stress GloballyWater Stress GloballyWater Stress Globally2.3 billion live in water-stressed areas, 1.7 billion out of them
live in water-scarce areas. This situation – in some
countries-is expected to be worth as a result of climate
change phenomena.
Thus, UN General Assembly set a target to halve the world
population who are unable to access safe drinking water by
the year 2015.
Possible options include:
Better Water Conservation
Better Water management
Pollutaion control
Water reclamartion
Water Desalination
Water Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater use in GCC countries is expected to increase by about
36% in the period 2000-2025. The increase is mainly due to
population increase, the high living standards, and
economic development. (Ref: ESCWA, 2005)
13.9
150.7
16.530.2
192.3
24.2
0
50
100
150
200
250
Domestic Agricultural Industrial
2000 2025Billion Cubic Meter
Water Uses in GCC countries
Water Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyGCC population is likely to hit 53 million capita by the year
2025 (ESCWA, 2005) with the vast majority of people under 25
years.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
Bahrain Kuwait OmanQatar KSA UAETotal
Million Capita
Total GCC
KSA
Other GCC countries
Bahrain2%
Kuwait8%
Oman7%
Qatar2% UAE
12%
KSA69%
Water resources include conventional resources (surface
water and groundwater) and Nonconventional sources
(treated wastewater, desalination, and agricultural drainage
water) .
The total water resources is about 14 billion cubic meter,
44.5% is surface water, 29.5% is groundwater, 19.9%
desalinated water, 5% is treated wastewater, and 1.1% is
agricultural drainage water.
68.8% of total water resources is located in KSA, followed by
Oman and UAE in ratios 12.3% and 11.4% respectively. Other
GCC countries account for only 7.5%.
Development of conventional sources has low potential
while development of nonconventional sources is very
costly and has impacts on the environment.
Water Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater Stress Regionally
(Ref: ESCWA, 2005)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Bahrain Kuwait Oman Qatar KSA UAE
Conventioal Resouces
Nonconvetioal Sources
Total
Million Cbic Meter
The annual per capita conventional water resources ranges
from 598 CM in Oman to 71 CM in Kuwait. The annual per capita
nonconventional water sources ranges from 306 CM in UAE to
45 CM in Oman. The total annual per capita water ranges from
643CM in Oman to 234 CM in Kuwait. (Ref: ESCWA, 2005)
All countries are well below the water poverty limit set by WHO
at 1000 CM per capita.
Water Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater Stress Regionally
Development of nonconventional water sources is very
promising especially the treatment/desalination costs are
gradually decreasing with more attention given to the
environmental impacts. The cost of desalination has dropped,
while the cost of water produced in conventional treatment
plants has risen, due to over-exploitation of aquifers, intrusion
of saline waters in coastal areas.
Water Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater Stress RegionallyWater Stress Regionally
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Time
Wa
ter
Co
st
(US
$/C
M) Seawater Desalination
Various Countries
Conventional water production
Ref: Wangnick, 2004
Desalination is an energy and capital-intensive process. It
consumes significant amounts of energy and materials whose
costs have risen in the past few years. Thus, desalination
projects have to balance these two factors and make further
technological advances in order to minimize the costs.
Given that global water demand growth is expected to require
an investment of $40–50 billion on desalination projects over
the next ten years, We have to look for new ideas on
hybridisation, energy recovery and more effective materials
and chemicals. We have to learn how to extend the life of
existing plants and upgrade existing desalination facilities.
In an era of high energy and material cost, technology with an
integrated use can compensate the impact on rising cost.
DesalinationDesalinationDesalinationDesalination
The following chart4 was adapted from the US Bureau of Reclamation Desalting Handbook for Planners and illustrates the relationship between production capacity
and water cost.
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%.
Plant Size The design complexity and operation of a large-scale RO plant is not significantly different than that of a smaller plant, and economies-of-scale can contribute to a considerable reduction in the cost of water production. Development and permitting costs are much more dependent on siting-related issues than they are to a plant’s production capacity
The hybrid desalting concept is the combination of two or more
processes in order to provide a better and lower cost product
than either alone can provide.
In desalination, there are distillation and separation processes
which under hybrid conditions can be combined to produce
water in a way that is economical.
There are two or three elements that can be integrated to tailor
hybrid desalination. They include Distillation (MSF, MED, and
VC), Membrane separation (RO, and NF), and Power (power
plants or electricity)
In the simple hybrid MSF/RO desalination power process, a
SWRO plant is combined with either a new or existing dual-
purpose MSF or MED desalination plants. The first simple
hybrid systems reported are Jeddah, Al Jubail and Yanbu-
Madina power desalination.
Hybrid desalination plantsHybrid desalination plantsHybrid desalination plantsHybrid desalination plants
Hybridization of SWRO and MSF technology was considered to
improve the performance of latter and reduce the cost of the
produced water.
“idle” power in winter (seasonal surplus of unused power) was
mainly utilized by RO to further reduce the cost of the hybrid
system for six months of the year.
Spinning reserve was also used to further reduce the cost of
the proposed hybrid system. Integration of the three processes
of MSF, MED, and RO desalination technologies could be made
at different levels through which the resulting of water cost will
depend on the selected configuration and the cost of materials
of construction, equipment, membrane, energy, etc.
Thus, the capital and annual operating costs were calculated. It
was reported that for all plant capacities, integrated hybrid
systems resulted in most cost effective solution.
Hybridization MSF-RO plantHybridization MSF-RO plantHybridization MSF-RO plantHybridization MSF-RO plant
Fujairah hybridiz MSF-RO plant is the largest seawater
desalination and power plant in the world hybrid configuration
of thermal processes and reverse osmosis to be implemented
up to now.
The Fujairah plant due to hybridisation generates 500 MW net
electricity for export to the grid, and 662 MW gross is used for
water production of 455,000 m3/d.
Hybridization MSF-RO plantHybridization MSF-RO plantHybridization MSF-RO plantHybridization MSF-RO plant
Hybird System Schematic Fujairah Desalination Treatment System
Removal or significant reduction of hardness in seawater,
lowering of TDS and removal of turbidity from the feed to
seawater desalination plants should lead to an improvement in
the conventional seawater desalination processes by lowering
of their energy requirement and chemical consumption, by
increasing water recovery with the ultimate benefit of lowering
the cost of fresh water production.
This has been shown to be feasible by a combination of NF
with the conventional seawater desalination processes.
Nanofiltration membrane softening technology increases the
capacity of existing MSF plant from nominal 22,700 m3/d to
32,800 m3/d (+40%).
Hybridization of nanofiltration and Hybridization of nanofiltration and
MSFMSFHybridization of nanofiltration and Hybridization of nanofiltration and
MSFMSF
Rising Costs, uncertain availability, environmental concerns of
fossil fuel have led to the need to use renewable and other
sustainable energy sources, including nuclear.
Desalination of seawater using nuclear energy is an option with
a proven track record (over 200 reactor-years of operating experience).
Water cost from nuclear seawater desalination are in the same
range as costs associated with fossil-fuelled desalination.
Utilizing waste heat from nuclear reactors have been proposed
to further reduce the cost of nuclear desalination.
Safety concerns have to be addressed including the possibility
of radioactive contamination.
Nuclear desalination has the potential to be an important option
for safe and sound, economic and sustainable supply of large
amounts of desalinated water.
Hybridization of Nuclear- powered Hybridization of Nuclear- powered
MSF-ROMSF-ROHybridization of Nuclear- powered Hybridization of Nuclear- powered
MSF-ROMSF-RO
MSF plants often use low-pressure steam as an energy source
while RO plants are operated by electrical power to derive the
high-pressure pumps and other plant auxiliaries.
RO power consumption depends mainly on water recovery and
the working pressure. Low pressure and temperature steam
extracted from nuclear heating reactors may be used for
supplying the necessary energy to derive the MSF units.
Electricity can be generated from the nuclear power reactor to
derive the high-pressure pumps of the RO desalination plants.
Coupling RO and MSF with nuclear steam supply system will
yield some economical and technical advantages.
The hybrid RO-MSF system has potential advantages of a low
power demand, improved water quality and possible lower
running cost as compared to stand-alone RO or MSF
Hybrid RO-MSF: option for nuclear Hybrid RO-MSF: option for nuclear
desalinationdesalinationHybrid RO-MSF: option for nuclear Hybrid RO-MSF: option for nuclear
desalinationdesalination
The world’s first nuclear-powered MSF-RO hybrid desalination
plant is established at MAPS, Kalpakkam, India. This plant is
based on indigenous MSF technology developed in India.
Although this plant is a small capacity demonstration plant
(6300 m3/d capacity hybrid MSF-RO), it has provided very useful data
for design of large size nuclear desalination plants in future.
The experience has indicated safe operation of such plants for
providing water for domestic as well as industrial needs.
Kalpakkam hybrid desalination Kalpakkam hybrid desalination
projectprojectKalpakkam hybrid desalination Kalpakkam hybrid desalination
projectproject
Desalting processes are normally associated with rejection of
high concentration waste brine in addition to thermal pollution
in case of thermal processes.
These pollutants increase seawater temperature, salinity, water
current and turbidity. They also harm the marine environment,
causing fish to migrate while enhancing the presence of algae,
nematods and tiny molluscus.
Sometimes micro-elements and toxic materials appear in the
discharged brine.
The impact encompass CO2 emissions, that with the current
environmental concerns worldwide due to climate change, are
likely to be taxed in future.
In general a carbon credit to be available for clean processes
will vary from $15/ton to $25/ton.
Environmental impacts of Environmental impacts of
desalinationdesalinationEnvironmental impacts of Environmental impacts of
desalinationdesalination
Relevant airborne emissions produced by desalination systems based on fossil fuels include: (Ref: different literatures)
Environmental impacts of Environmental impacts of
desalinationdesalinationEnvironmental impacts of Environmental impacts of
desalinationdesalination
Emission per m3 desalted water MSF MED RO
kg CO2 23.41 ± 1.52 18.05 ± 1.22 1.78 ± 0.05
g dust 2.04 ± 0.52 1.02 ± 0.02 2.07 ± 0.02
g NOx 28.29 ± 1.32 21.41 ± 1.02 3.87 ± 0.05
g NMVOC 7.90 ± 0.54 5.85 ± 0.05 1.10 ± 0.03
g SOx 27.92 ± 1.82 26.29 ± 1.12 10.68 ± 0.72
Emission per m3 desalted water MSF MED
kg CO2 1.98 ± 0.02 1.11 ± 0.12
g dust 2.04 ± 0.04 1.02 ± 0.11
g NOx 4.14 ± 0.42 2.38 ± 0.02
g NMVOC 1.22 ± 0.02 0.59 ± 0.03
g SOx 14.79 ± 0.21 16.12 ± 1.08
Relevant airborne emissions produced by MSF and MED when driven by waste heat include: (Ref: from different literatures)
Previous results show a drastic reduction in the emissions per
cubic meter of desalted water produced in the thermal
desalination plants utilizing waste-heat sources.
In case of nuclear and renewable energy-driven desalination
plants, there will always be lower emissions compared to
fossil-driven plants.
As most of the desalination capacity is needed in the water-
scarce areas of developing countries, there could be a greater
incentive of availing carbon credits as part of the Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM) and a resulting cost
reduction, if the heat for desalination is obtained from clean
energy sources such as renewable or nuclear energy (the latter
will also be accepted as CDM under the Kyoto protocol).
Environmental impacts of Environmental impacts of
desalinationdesalinationEnvironmental impacts of Environmental impacts of
desalinationdesalination
The world energy requirements are presently met from oil
(39%), coal (25%), gas (22%), hydro (7%), nuclear (6%) and
renewable energies (1%).
The contribution of non-fossil sources to worldwide energy is
13% while renewable sources (wind, solar, and geothermal is
only 1%.
Energy Sources for DesalinationEnergy Sources for DesalinationEnergy Sources for DesalinationEnergy Sources for Desalination
The co2 emissions from non-fossil sources range from 0.01 to
0.015 kg/kwh compared to 0.96, 0.85, and 0.64 kg/kwh for coal,
oil, and gas respectively.
The current contribution of renewable energy to desalination
is about 0.05%.
In recent years wind and solar sources are being considered
for sea water desalination.
Nuclear power is suggested for large scale desalination plants.
Nuclear powered desalination systemNuclear powered desalination systemNuclear powered desalination systemNuclear powered desalination systemNuclear energy is carbon-free generation and is a sustainable
solution and potentially competitive with fossil fuels. It is
necessary to consider it for desalination projects.
All nuclear reactor types can provide the energy required by
various desalination processes. However, Small and Medium
Reactors have the largest potential as coupling options to
nuclear desalination systems.
The coupling scheme is usually dictated by the maximum
economic and practical benefits that can be achieved, in terms
of water and electricity production.
In general, coupling is technically feasible but imposes
conditions such as avoiding radioactivity cross-contamination
and minimising the impact of the thermal desalination plant on
the nuclear reactor.
hybrid system coupledto a nuclear power plant
Reactor
SteamGenerator
Reheaters
MS
H.P.Turbine
FW Pump Turbine
L.P.Turbine
Generator
Condenser
Air Ejector
Multistage Flash Distillation
Brine Heater
Transfer Pump
Pretreatment System
BoosterPump
High PressurePump RO Membrane
Energy Recovery System
Permeate Water
Seawater
Distilled WaterBrine Blow down
Reject Brine
Packing Exhaust
Reactor
SteamGenerator
Reheaters
MS
H.P.Turbine
FW Pump Turbine
L.P.Turbine
Generator
Condenser
Air Ejector
Multistage Flash Distillation
Brine Heater
Transfer Pump
Pretreatment System
BoosterPump
High PressurePump RO Membrane
Energy Recovery System
Permeate Water
Seawater
Distilled WaterBrine Blow down
Reject Brine
Packing Exhaust
Wind powered desalination systemWind powered desalination systemWind powered desalination systemWind powered desalination systemThe present worldwide capacity of wind power is about 160
Gwe and is witnessing an annual growth of 25–30%.
Wind-powered desalination is one of the most promising uses
of renewable energies for seawater desalination.
The world’s first large size windmill-powered SWRO plant of
140,000 m3 /d capacity has been installed in Australia in 2006.
The RO plant power consumption varies from 4 to 6 kWh/m3 as
seawater temperature varies from 16°C to 24°C.
The availability of the plant is around 90%. The cost of the
water produced is reported to be Aus$1.17/m3 , which is higher
than that in conventional SWRO plants.
In addition, there are two wind-powered RO systems in Spain in
addition to a few small wind-driven desalination plants
operating in Italy, Algeria and Indonesia.
Solar desalination systemSolar desalination systemSolar desalination systemSolar desalination systemThe worldwide capacity of solar electric power is merely 800
Mwe. Solar desalination has been studied in many countries on
a small to medium size utilizing conventional solar stills and
collectors. The limitations include space requirements, lower
availability, and the need for appropriate heat storage system.
The largest size solar MED desalination plants reported are
3000 m3/d at Dead Sea in Israel and 6000 m3/d plant in Arabian
Gulf. These plants meet the need of small community in remote
areas.
The higher costs of water from these units are not important in
view of their meeting water needs of remote isolated localities.
There is however a good potential of solar thermal desalination
in future and efforts need to be directed tothis area.
Futuristic Developments on Membrane Futuristic Developments on Membrane
Systems Systems Futuristic Developments on Membrane Futuristic Developments on Membrane
Systems Systems There has been no significant breakthrough in the
membrane specifications in the last 20 years.
Following developments in the last few years are likely to
impact the cost-effectiveness of desalination with
favorable environmental impact. They include:
16’’ dia 1.5 m long spiral module developed by Koch
Membrane Systems
The Affordable Desalination Collaboration (ADC) has
been studying since many years on increasing the
energy recovery as well as the permeate recovery to
produce fresh water from SWRO plants at affordable
cost.
ConclusionsConclusionsConclusionsConclusions
Cost of desalinated water moved close to conventional water
supply and expected to decrease the production cost in future.
A number of technological upgrades and innovations in the
past few years have resulted in reduced cost of desalted water
to below $1.0/m3.
The increasing costs of materials and chemicals and rising fuel
costs in recent years have been challenging.
The hybrid desalination systems are proved to be technically
feasible, economically attractive, and environmentally
favorable.
Use of alternate renewable energy sources including nuclear,
wind and solar should be considered for a sustainable fresh
water source.
Thank youThank you