Advanced Water Treatment (DESALINATION)

EENV 5330

PART 1
Instructors : Dr. Yunes Mogheir Dr. Azzam Abu Habeeb
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Introduction
Global water availability & problems Water availability and problems in Gaza Strip Terminology Overview of desalination technologies Source water quality & constituents Minerals (brackish & seawater)
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Global water availability & problems

Approximately 97.5 percent of the water on our planet is located in the oceans and therefore is classified as seawater. Of the 2.5 percent of the planets freshwater, approximately 70 percent is in the form of polar ice and snow and 30 percent is groundwater, river and lake water, and air moisture.

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WATER
2.5 % freshwater
70 % polar ice and snow 30% groundwater, river and lake water
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97.5 % oceans(seawater)

Global water availability & problems Over the past 30 years, desalination has made great strides in many arid regions of the world, such as the Middle East and the Mediterranean. At present, desalination plants operate in more than 120 countries worldwide. Some desert states, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, rely on desalinated water for over 70 percent of their water supply.
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Global water availability & problems The brackish water quantity on the planet is fairly limited (0.5 percent), and most of the large and easily accessible brackish water aquifers worldwide are already in use. A significant portion of the new capacity growth is expected to come from the development of seawater desalination plants. While brackish water sources, especially brackish aquifers, are finite in terms of capacity and rate of recharging

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Global water availability & problems Over 50 percent of the worlds population lives in urban centers bordering the ocean. Seawater desalination provides the logical solution for a sustainable, long-term management of the growing water demand pressures in coastal areas. Brackish desalination is also expected to increase in capacity, especially in inland areas with still untapped brackish water aquifers.

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Global water availability & problems

A clear recent trend in seawater desalination is the construction of larger-capacity plants, which deliver an increasingly greater portion of the freshwater supply of coastal cities around the globe.

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Water availability and problems in Gaza Strip As noted by the CMWU (2010), the supply of fresh water to the population of approximately 1.6 million in Gaza at the present time relies almost totally on the underlying groundwater (the aquifer). 5 Minor volumes of fresh water (4.7 million cubic metres/year, recently) are imported from Israel, and it has not been possible to date to increase those flows. Further very small volumes arise from several scattered desalination facilities in Gaza (Hilles and Al-Najar, 2011), but these are currently insignificant at the strategic level.
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 The annual sustainable yield of the aquifer within the geographical boundary of Gaza is widely quoted as 55 million cubic metres (MCM). Recent rates of pumping from the aquifer are estimated at 170 MCM/year (this estimate, for 2010). The abstraction rates have increased markedly over the last three decades, due to a combination of inadequate available water imports to Gaza; the expanding population; and the drilling and use of unlicensed wells (especially to provide irrigation for agricultural activities). The over-abstraction has caused saline intrusion. A second problem also exists, this being driven primarily by contamination of the shallow groundwater from activities at the surface or near-surface of the land in Gaza.
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Levels of chloride (denoting salinity) in the groundwater within the borders of Gaza, for the years 2000 and 2010, plus predicted data for 2020. (Data from the Palestinian Water Authority, Gaza).

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The depth to the groundwater table within the borders of Gaza, for the years 2000 and 2010, plus predicted data for 2020. (Data from the Palestinian Water Authority, Gaza).

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Terminology (TDS)

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), the concentration of which is expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/L) or parts per thousand (ppt). (US EPA) under the Safe Drinking Water Act, have established a maximum TDS concentration of 500 mg/L as a potable water standard. This TDS level can be used as a classification limit to define potable (fresh) water.

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Terminology (TDS)
TDS concentration higher than 500 mg/L and not higher than 15,000 mg/L (15 ppt) is classified as brackish. TDS concentrations higher than 15,000 mg/L are generally classified as seawater.

Pacific Ocean seawater , This concentration can actually range from 33,000 to 36,000 mg/L at various locations and depths along the coast.

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Overview Of Desalination Technologies Two general types of water treatment technologies: technologies: Thermal Evaporation (distillation). Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane separation. In Thermal Distillation: freshwater is separated from the saline source by evaporation. In Reverse Osmosis Desalination: freshwater is produced from saline source water by pressure-driven transport through semipermeable membranes.
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Overview Of Desalination Technologies Besides thermal distillation and RO membrane separation, two other mainstream desalination technologies widely applied at present are electrodialysis (ED) and ion exchange(IX). Electrodialysis is electrically driven desalination in which salt ions are removed out of the source water through exposure to direct electric current. IX is the selective removal of salt ions from water by adsorption onto ion-selective resin media.
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Overview Of Desalination Technologies

Separation Process

Range of Source Water TDS Concentration for Cost-Effective Application, mg/L

Distillation Reverse osmosis separation Electrodialysis Ion exchange

Table1.1 Desalination Process Applicability

Overview Of Desalination Technologies

Currently, approximately 60 percent of the worlds desalination systems are RO membrane separation plants and 34 percent are thermal desalination facilities. At present, ED- and IX-based technologies contribute less than 6 percent of the total installed desalination plant capacity worldwide.

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Source water quality & constituents The constituents contained in source water used for desalination can be classified in four main groups: (1) dissolved minerals and gases. (2) colloids and suspended solids. (3) organics. (4) microorganisms.

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Minerals (brackish & seawater) Mineral Content of Seawater A commonly used measure of the content of dissolved minerals is the concentration of total dissolved solids (salinity). Table 2.1 shows key ion content and total dissolved solids(TDS) concentrations of typical Pacific Ocean water

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Parameter

Calcium Magnesium Sodium Potassium Boron Bromide Total Cations Bicarbonate Sulfate Chloride Fluoride Nitrate Total Anions TDS

TDS Concentration, mg/L Raw Water Permeate Cations 403 0.6 1298 1.3 10,693 88.0 387 4.3 4.6 0.8 74 0.7 12,859.6 95.7 Anions 142 2.2 2710 7.1 19,287 145.0 1.4 0.0 0.00 0.0 22,140.4 154.3 35,000.0 250.0

TDS Concentration, meq/L Raw Water Permeate 20.1 106.2 464.9 12.9 1.5 0.9 606.5 2.24 56.6 542.6 0.06 0.0 601.5 1208.0 0.03 0.11 3.82 0.14 0.26 0.01 4.37 0.03 0.16 4.24 0.00 0.00 4.43 8.80

Table2.1 Typical Pacific Ocean Water Quality

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Minerals (brackish & seawater) Mineral Content of Brackish Water

Table2.2: Seawater TDS and Temperature of Various Ocean Water Sources

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Table2.3 Brackish Water Quality of Several Sources

Minerals (brackish & seawater)

Therefore, in practice, TDS concentration is often monitored continuously by measurement of the electrical conductivity (EC) of the water. Electrical conductivity (also known as specific conductance) is a measure of a solutions ability to conduct electricity. Conductivity is expressed in microsiemens per meter (S/m).

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Minerals (brackish & seawater)

The ratio between TDS and EC in source water is site specific and usually varies in a range between 0.67 and 0.70. For example, seawater with a TDS concentration of 35,000 mg/L would typically have a conductivity of 50,000 to 52,000 S/m.

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