Water Desalination & Reuse as Non-Conventional Solution for

Water Supply in WANA

Noreddine GhaffourWater Desalination & Reuse Center

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

WANA Forum ConsultationAmman Feb. 22nd 2011

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Introduction

Water is an essential component of the life support system

Middle East region has 5% of the world population but only 1% of the world’s renewable resources

Why go for desalination and water reuse? Lack of water resources

Deteriorating quality of fresh water sources

Reduced cost of water produced by desalination

Security of supply

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Water in the WANA Region

Future water shortages foreseen, if not now

Additional, reliable, and safe water supply needed for population and industrial growth

Water supply is an issue of economic growth and national sustainability

Water can be a possible source of conflict

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Market Evolution

Source: GWI/IDA, 2011

Total capacity: 2006: 40M m3/d2010: 64M m3/d2015: 98M m3/d

The review indicates it is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 55%.

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Relevant Technologies in Use

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Desalination Usage

Current production of seawater corresponds only to the demand of 60 million inhabitants

Desalination is no longer a marginal water resource as some countries such as Qatar and Kuwait rely 100% on desalinated water for domestic and industrial use

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Forces Behind the Development Potential of Desalination

Independent of climatic variations

Compared to conventional resources (civil engineering projects) , desalination projects:

• can be built quickly (2-3 years), close to demand

• have less problematic right of way

• are less likely to meet opposition of local groups

• are modular and easily adapt to demand evolution

• are more susceptible to private sector investment

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Wastewater as a Source

The driving force for wastewater becoming a water source has been the advancement in water treatment technologies

Conventional wastewater treatment of primary, secondary and tertiary steps give policy makers a choice in cost versus product and versus use

Available technologies to produce even more superior quality water at a reasonable cost has widened the options for use

It is technically and economically possible to produce potable water from wastewater

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Wastewater Reuse in the Region

Reuse varies widely, but mostly for agriculture

GCC countries generally treat the wastewater up to tertiary treatment

► Major amount dumped into the sea after conventional treatment.

► Partly used for greening and agriculture

► Presently there are plans to store the treated wastewater in aquifers

Sulaibiya Wastewater Treatment Plant

Capacity: 375,000 m3/d

RO process: 3 stages. 83 % recovery.

Singapore NEWater Treatment Plant

Capacity: 24,000 m3/dPurpose : High GradeWater Reclamation Plant

Product waterNEWater & Sulaibiya→ WHO drinking water quality standards

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Main Pollutants to Remove for Potable Water Production

Total Suspended Solids (Turbidity)

Clarifier, Membrane Bacteria, viruses …(E Coli, Cryptospridium, Giardia, rotavirus,…)

Disinfection, filtration, clarifier, Membrane Organic matter (TOC)

Clarifier, PAC, Ozone-GAC, Membrane Refractory compounds (pharmaceuticals, pesticides,…)

Oxidation, Adsorption, Membrane Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

Membrane, Distillation, ED, EDI,… Specific Dissolved Species (Mn, Fe, As, Bromate, F, B …)

Specific processes based on raw water quality and regulation

DENTALFLUOROSIS(F- > 2 mg/L)

10 years of exposure to 4 mg/L F-, in Fatick, SENEGAL

(Sy M.H., Sene P., Diouf S., Soc. d’Ed. des de l’Assoc. Des Hop. De Paris, 1996 15/2 p.109 )

Regulation (drinking water) : < 1.5 mg/L (WHO, 2006)

(TRAVI Y. Sciences géologiques, (1993), mémoire 95, ISSN 0302-2684)

Ex. Fluoride Removal

OSSEOUSFLUOROSIS(F- > 4 mg/L)

15 years of exposure to 6-10mg/L F-, in Fatick, Senegal

6(Sy M.H., Sene P., Diouf S., Soc. d’Ed. Assoc. Des Hop. De Paris, 1996 15/2 p.109 )

Regulation (drinking water) < 1.5 mg/L (WHO, 2006)

(TRAVI Y. Sciences géologiques, (1993), mémoire 95, ISSN 0302-2684)

Ex. Fluoride Removal (Cont’d)

Less fluorides in drinking water, better health and

dignity recovering !

Thiadiaye, January 2010

THE FIRST DEFLUORIDATION UNIT IN THE WORLD – 2010

Ex. Fluoride Removal (Case Study)

Maxime PONTIE1, Hanane DACH1,2, Pascal JAOUEN1, Courfia DIAWARA3, Jérôme LEPARC4, Mohamed HAFSI4, Norredine GHAFFOUR5

3rd Oxford Water and Membranes Research Event – September 12th - 15th 2010, Lady Margaret Hall, The University of Oxford (UK)

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Trends in Water Cost

RO cost is reduced to a level to compete with traditional water supply options

Due to technological maturity and the various developments as well as transparency and competition, produced water from thermal and RO plants has considerably declined in the last 20 years.

US cent

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1990 2000 2010 2020

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$/m

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1990 2000 2010 2020

Marginal waterwithdrawal

Freshwater treatment

Reuse

Desalination

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Desalination ProcessesThermal – needs thermal and electrical energy

Membranes – needs electrical energy only

Both are energy intensive, accounting for

40-75 % of the operating cost

Why reduce energy consumption cost and CO2 emissions

Introduction to Energy & Desalination

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Energy Consumption

Process Thermal energy kWh/m3

Electrical energy kWh/m3

Total energykWh/m3

Capital cost$/m3/d

Unit water cost$/m3

Typical single train capacityM3/day

MSF 7.5 - 12 2.5 – 3.5 10 – 15.5 1000 - 1500

0.8 - 1 5000 - 70000

MED 4 - 7 1.5 - 2 5.5 - 9 900 - 1200

0.6 – 0.8 500 - 12000

SWRO -

3 - 6 3 - 6 800 - 1000

0.5 – 0.8 1 - 25000

BWRO -

0.5 – 2.5 0.5 – 2.5 < 800 0.1 – 0.3 1 - 25000

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Minimum Energy Required

Minimum energy for separation of pure water from saline water at 25 oC

Salinity, ppm Minimum energy, kWh/m3

35,000 0.71

49,000 0.84

68,600 0.97

104,000 1.16

137,200 1.30

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Attractive to reduce dependence on fossil fuels but capital costs still high

Can be used in remote and rural areas for small scale applications

RE can provide thermal, electrical or mechanical energy

Renewable Energy & Desalination

RE Desalination Sources & Combination

Biomass

Power oriented RE technologies are based on three major resources:

Solar or wind based solutions are particularly suitable for desalination purposes, given the resource availability in most of the water stressed areasWave energy is available where sea water is available, which is needed for desalination. The technology is little developed but has a huge potential.

RE : Power Oriented Technologies(Electricity Production)

Heat oriented RE technologies are based on three major resources:

RE : Heat Oriented Technologies(Heat Production)

Intermittent, difficult to predict and fluctuant.

What are The Limitations in Using RE?

Occupy large areas (cases of solar collectors, solar PV fields or wind farms)

Adverse impact on the environment:

• Visual impacts,

• Affection to marine and aerial life

• Noise (Wind for example )

Seawater Greenhouse

Inside the greenhouse

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Seawater Greenhouse (Oman)

Sureste SWRO Plant

• Capacity (small):25,000 m3/d

• Photovoltaic cells (rooftop):minor share of RO energy demand

• Rest from grid:energy mix includeswind energy

Solar MD

Solar distillation

MSF plant with CSP

Almeria, Spain

The Desert of Tomorrow! Heaven on Earth

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Idea developed by Dr. Paton, SWGH, England

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Growth of desalination is phenomenal in the region

Water reuse is not widely accepted, can play an important role

Desalination and water reuse technology responds to market needs

Factors constraining growth rate of desalination:• Energy consumption can still be reduced

• Environmental impacts are positive, new guidelines

• Distribution infrastructures/rehabilitation foreseen

• Cost is declining, can be further reduced

RE systems have proven to be reliable. They are the technologies of the future and will play a role in future scenarios. It has great potential in WANA

Presently solar desalination can be used for small/medium scale applications in remote locations where grid electric power is not available

Conclusions

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