A review of geothermal integrated desalination: A sustainable solution to overcome potential freshwater shortages

Abstract

Drinking clean and freshwater is essential for human and life necessities such as agricultural, human, and industrial needs. In almost every part of the world, access to safe drinking water has increased remarkably and significantly improved over the past few decades. However, some analysts believe that by 2026, more than half of the world's population will be vulnerable to water, a situation the UN calls a "water crisis." Desalination is an alternative source of water that can be used for irrigation, industry, and municipal purposes. The separation methods differentiate thermal and membrane-based desalination technologies. Thermal desalination excludes salt from seawater via evaporation and distillation, whereas membrane desalination enables water to diffuse through a membrane while salts are almost completely retained. Reverse osmosis, ion exchange, and electrodialysis are examples of membrane desalination, while MED, MSF, mechanical, and thermal vapor compression are examples of thermal desalination. RO and MSF are the most widely used techniques in the world. In either case, the energy usage in such systems is high, necessitating alternative energy sources for powered desalination. Desalination technologies require plenty amount of energy, which can be met by renewable energy. Wind, geothermal and solar power are the most common renewable energy sources. This review study analyzes traditional desalination technology and the renewable energy integrated desalination process, with a focus on geothermal-based seawater desalination. The use of geothermal energy as an alternative and renewable energy source should be seriously considered. Different types, configurations, and techniques should be considered in the study. The goal of the study is to understand the design concept and geothermal desalination processes.