Abstract
Abstract China, especially its coastal provinces, is facing water shortage issues, restricting its further development. To tackle the serious imbalance between water resource supply and demand, China has strived to develop alternative water resources to combat the water crisis, among which seawater desalination plays a major role. This paper reviews the current situation of utilization of desalinated seawater in China and includes: (1) a history of seawater desalination classified into three phases; (2) analysis of utilization sectors, geographic distribution and employed technologies of the desalination plants; (3) summaries of the policies, regulations and technological standards governing seawater desalination; (4) proposals for existing problems and some suggested measures regarding the current condition of seawater desalination; and (5) the seawater desalination programs in Tianjin and Zhoushan are presented as two representative examples. China's seawater desalination experience can provide some guidance for other countries facing similar water resource situations.
Highlights
China is facing increasing pressure on fresh water supplies (Yi et al )
The majority of the water resources is concentrated in southern China, leaving the northern and western regions to experience drought (Yi et al ; Lyu et al )
Focusing on China’s seawater desalination, this study presents a systematic review of the development of seawater desalination in China
Summary
China is facing increasing pressure on fresh water supplies (Yi et al ). This is because local authorities in coastal regions are greatly encouraging seawater desalination plants to adopt desalination technology to provide water (Zhu et al ).
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