Abstract
The study area, Tlul Al-Baj, suffers from a shortage of fresh water and most people depend on groundwater for different uses (drinking, domestic, irrigation, etc.).
 The present research aims to select the most suitable wells for desalination and production of potable water in Tlul Al-Baj area.
 Twenty-two samples of groundwater were collected to evaluate the hydrochemical properties of groundwater in the shallow aquifer in the area and to determine their suitability for desalination purposes. The study included measuring the physicochemical characteristics of groundwater, such as total hardness (TH), total dissolved solids(TDS), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), sodium ratio (Na%), turbidity (Tur), pH…etc. Chemical analyses for the main components of water samples were also conducted, including cations such as sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca++), and magnesium (Mg++), as well as anions such as chloride (Cl)-, sulfate (SO4=), bicarbonates (HCO3-), and nitrate (NO3-). In addition, concentrations of trace elements such as iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni),cobalt (CO), chromium(Cr) and cadmium (Cd) were determined.
 The results of the physical and chemical analyses for the groundwater of the study area were compared with the international and local standards to determine their suitability for drinking uses and to select the most suitable wells for the production of drinking water by desalination. The results indicated that the most suitable wells for desalination were wells numbered 4, 8, 9, 17, and 19.
Highlights
Water is one of the most important materials for life
Alkaline chlorides, such as table salt exert moderate effects, magnesium sulfates give a bitter taste to water, whereas iron at 0.5ppm makes the taste of water unpalatable [3]
The slight variation indicates the absence of thermal pollution, with the values being within the permissible limits (8.88-33.8 Co). 2. pH: The pH is an important variable in water quality assessment as it influences many biological and chemical processes within a water body and all processes associated with water supply and treatment. pH value typically represents the result of the equation, pH=-Log [H+] [15]
Summary
Water is one of the most important materials for life. No internal biological process in the body of any organism takes place without water, as water represents the most widely distributed fluid in nature and plays a basic role in many of the vital processes in the body of the organisms; for example, water is found in human cells by in a proportion of 50-60% [1]. The major types of technologies that are used around the world for desalination can be broadly classified into either thermal or membrane Both technologies need energy to operate and produce fresh water. RO is the best desalination technology for saline surface and groundwater to provide potable water It is the most wide spread method that consumes less energy than other methods [8].RO is used in the production of80% of the desalinized water worldwide, while thermal methods represent only 20%. When comparing the error percentage of chemical analyses of the water samples (Table 1), it was found to be within the permissible limits for the analyses accuracy, except for the results from two wells (W4, W21), which had an increase by a very small percentage that can be neglected
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
