Transcript Slide 1

Seawater Desalination
the heated push for the future
Reverse osmosis (RO)
vs.
Distillation
Who will be the freshwater champ of 2004?
•
By Robert Bennedsen and Chris Stoll
Who in the world would use this?
• Southwest Florida Water Management
District
• Saudi Arabia
• Bahrain
• Several counties in California
• 7,500 world wide!
• 60% is in the middle east
Is the United States using it?
• Yes, states like California have used this
process due to the growing number of
drought seasons in the state.
• 12% of the total water separated is in the
United States. most of which are in Florida
and the Caribbean.
• However with the higher cost of producing
water production plans have been limited.
Why is it important?
-Countries such as Iraq have little fresh
water.
-They depend on other sources to make
fresh water.
-Seawater is the most abundant resource.
-Reduces the dependence on natural fresh
water.
Process
• Reverse Osmosis (RO)
• Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO)
• http://cape.uwaterloo.ca/che100projects/s
ea/ro.html
How does it work?
• Reverse Osmosis (RO)
Is it efficient?
• Fuel costs are high.
• Membrane changing is costly and requires
shutting down the factory.
• Disposal of the salt/brine.
• (RO) removes unwanted contaminates.
-trihalomethane-precursors, pesticides, and bacteria.
Limitations
• Energy Costs
• Pipeline Costs
• Concentration Disposal
Solutions
• Location of Desalination Plants
• Nanofiltration
• Pressure Recovery
Collocation
• Power Plants
• Method for Dilution
• Heated Water
Is it working?
MSF
Saudi Arabia
Emirates
Kuwait
Qatar
Bahrain
Iraq
3,449
1,944
1,469
510
161
11
RO
1,627
140
52
3
129
233
Others
total
177
80
17
19
89
5,253
2,165
1,538
513
309
333
number of units
1,137
169
69
6
111
110