Assessment of large scale brackish water desalination plants in the Gaza Strip

Water scarcity is a serious challenge in the Gaza Strip, a region that is mostly considered to be semi-arid. In this region, the population's options for provision of potable water are limited to desalination of saline groundwater. Six large brackish water desalination plants (BWDPs) and one seawater desalination plant are operating and providing drinking water along with small private plants. The BWDPs were assessed in terms of operational conditions and quality of their feed and permeate with the aim of estimating essential improvements required as well as performance significance. All these plants are reverse osmosis plants and their operational conditions are similar in terms of production, recovery rate, and energy consumption. The quality of the plants’ feed was found not to comply with WHO and Palestinian Standards in most cases, unlike the permeate from all plants. The assessment made through this study assists in better understanding of the current situation of the large-scale desalination plants in Gaza and recommending essential improvements needed to increase water production of these plants without increasing abstraction and feed quantities. In addition, multi-criteria analysis used to evaluate BWDPs performance may assist in prioritizing improvements application.

Brine salty water that is produced from Reverse Osmosis desalination plants usually has very large quantity and contains much higher salts ratio than that found in the sea. The disposal of such brine water has risks on environment. The objective of the research is to investigate the best brine disposal option in Gaza Strip. Five options for the disposal of brine were studied: 1) disposal of brine to the sea; 2) discharge of brine to wastewater plant; 3) deep well injection; 4) evaporation pond and 5) land irrigation. The new desalination plant Short-Term Low Volume (STLV) of a capacity of 6000 m3/d was used as a case study. Initially, the cost for each option was calculated separately, where it was found that the least cost is to pump the brine to the sea without affecting the seawater and marine life. To support this decision, two methods were used to reach the optimal option for the disposal of brine: Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). In MCA the measurement includes: economic, environmental, technical, political and social aspects, depending on a group of academics and experts in that field to fill in the questionnaire, which is a part of the analysis. As a result of that, the highest percentage among other options goes to pump the brine directly to the sea. On the other hand, the second method, which is Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), used the method of matrices among the different options and linked it with the standards that have been selected in the first method (MCDA). AHP method indicated also the best disposal of brine by pumping the brine to the sea.

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Desalination of brackish water by nanofiltration and reverse osmosis

Existing and the future planned desalination facilities in the Gaza Strip of Palestine and their socio-economic and environmental impact

Multi-criteria sustainability assessment of water desalination and energy systems — Kuwait case

Water scarcity is a global issue that has extreme effects on conflict zones in particular. Therefore, seawater desalination provided a practical solution to reduce the problem. The Gaza Strip suffers from potable water scarcity due to groundwater contamination and the deterioration of the coastal aquifers. Thereby, the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) had constructed three seawater desalination plants (SDP’s) in addition to purchasing potable water from the Israeli company (Mekorot). Due to the importance of the SDP’s, a flexible and comprehensive management system is required to ensure the sustainability of the performance. Thereby, this study aims to assess the potentiality of applying the Integrated Management System (IMS) in seawater desalination plants. This study used data collected from reports, questionnaires, and interviews, which is then analysed statistically, in order to identify the effects and barriers of applying the IMS in seawater desalination plants. The data also was used in SWOT analysis to formulate strategies for applying the IMS. The reports showed that the physicochemical water quality of samples from seawater desalination plants is compatible with PWA and WHO standards. The results from the questionnaire showed that there are positive impacts of applying the IMS on the performance of the desalination plants in terms of the financial, administrative, technical, environmental, and socio-economic aspects. However, the study identified 12 barriers which were analysed through SWOT analysis to formulate strategies to facilitate the implementation of the IMS. The highest priority and most applicable strategy is the formation of a partnership with the UN institutions to obtain international protection and facilitate the entry of the required materials.

Desalination in the gaza strip: drinking water supply and environmental impact

Water quality evaluation of small scale desalination plants in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

A feasibility study of a small-scale photovoltaic-powered reverse osmosis desalination plant for potable water and salt production in Madura Island: A techno-economic evaluation

Desalination can be a cost-effective way to produce fresh water and possibly electricity. The Gaza Strip has had a complex hydro-political situation for many years. Gaza is bordered by the Mediterranean sea in the west, by Israel to the north and east and by Egypt in the south. Water and electricity consumption in the Gaza Strip is expected to increase in the future due to the increasing population. In this paper, a solution for Sinai and the Gaza Strip is suggested involving the building of a joint power and desalination plant, located in Egypt close to the border with Gaza. The suggested joint project would increase drinking water supply by 500,000 m3/d and the power supply by 500 MW, of which two thirds is suggested to be used in Gaza and one third in Sinai. The present lack of electricity and water in Gaza could be erased by such a project. But Egypt will probably gain more: more water and electricity for the future development of Sinai and Gaza; a significant value will be added to the sale of Egyptian natural gas; more employment opportunities for Sinai people; the domestic market for operation and maintenance of desalination plants can be boosted by the suggested project; Egypt may naturally and peacefully increase its cooperation with and presence in Gaza, which should lead to increased security. This type of project could also get international support and can be a role-model for cooperation and trust-building between neighbours.

A spatial multi-criteria analysis approach for planning and management of community-scale desalination plants

Alternative approach for assessment and limitation of environmental impacts from desalination plant water discharges by substitution of the „mixing zone” by a „minimum dilution volume”

The Middle East will face tremendous water scarcity by 2050, which can only be mitigated by large-scale reverse osmosis seawater desalination. However, the coastal land in the region is rare and costly, so outsourcing the desalination facility to artificial islands could become a realistic scenario. This study investigated the ecological and economic challenges and possible advantages of that water supply option by analysing conceptual alternatives for offshore membrane-based desalination plants of up to 600 MCM/y capacity. Key environmental impacts and mitigation strategies were identified, and a detailed economic analysis was conducted to compare the new approach to state-of-the-art. The economic analysis included calculating the cost of water production (WPC) and discussing the differences between offshore alternatives and a conventional onshore desalination plant. In addition, the study investigated the impact of a changing energy mix and potential carbon tax levels on the WPC until 2050. The results indicate that offshore desalination plants have ecological advantages compared to onshore desalination plants. Furthermore, the construction cost for the artificial islands has a much lower effect on the WPC than energy cost. In contrast, the impact of potential carbon tax levels on the WPC is significant. The specific construction cost ranges between 287 $/m2 and 1507 $/m2 depending on the artificial island type and distance to the shoreline, resulting in a WPC between 0.51 $/m3 and 0.59 $/m3. This work is the first to discuss the environmental and economic effects of locating large-scale seawater desalination plants on artificial islands.

Constructal design of distributed energy systems: Solar power and water desalination