Desalination in Australia operational experience and future prospects

Abstract

To provide high quality fresh water to meet peak demands at times of drought in large population centres and to satisfy the requirements for water standards in industrial processes are perhaps the prime attractions of sea water desalination plants. Australia, the driest of earth's continents, will probably have a need for such water supply supplementation and industrial process application long before desalting is applied generally to agriculture or rural production. As the cost of fossil fuel gradually increases, it would also seem likely that the thermal energy required for desalting will come from nuclear fuels. In this paper the existing fresh water resources of the Australian continent are briefly surveyed. Present costs associated with supplying fresh water for industrial and domestic consumption to selected communities at representative locations of the Australian continent are assessed. The technology and economics of large scale sea water desalination plants operating on thermal cycles are discussed. In particular, the multi-stage flash evaporator principle is reviewed and its potential discussed. Consideration is given to the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear powered heat sources. Proposals are made for the control and conjunctive use of reservoirs and desalination plants. The optimisation of desalination plant size and its integration with reservoir storage schemes in two potential Australian locations is discussed.