Dr. M. S. Al-Ansari University of Bahrain Dr. Nader Al-Masri Water Research Expert Muscat, December, 19-21, 2010 Sustainable Desalination Technologies.

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