...DESALINATION OF SEAWATER IN THE UAE 1. Desalination: What is it? Desalination is the process through which excess salts and other minerals are removed from seawater so that it can be used safely as drinking water both for human and animal consumption. This water can also be used for irrigation or in industries. The need for desalination? Desalination is needed where there is a shortage of natural drinking water due to a lack of water that comes about through rainfall. This is especially so in the Middle East which lies in one of the driest regions of the world. These places with low or no rainfall need to rely on other forms of water provision. It is for this reason that seawater is used to provide the water that is necessary for drinking, irrigation and industries in the Arab World, and especially so in the UAE (Al Serkal, 2007). 2.Desalination in the UAE: Methods/Processes of desalination There are many methods in which desalination can come about. One of these methods is the multistage flash (MSF) process. Despite the high cost it has a high production output. This MSF plant can also be coupled to a heat source and so produce power as well (Al-Sheyji, 1998;Hamed, 2004). The MSF process (in use for more than 40 years) because of its simplicity, reliability and huge output capacity, is used the most in the region and the UAE (Hamed, 2004). Distillation and the reverse osmosis (RO) processes are main features of the MSF method of desalination. During this process...
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...Vicente Zarate Professor Foster English 100 November 21, 2013 “Desalination of Seawater” Water is extremely essential to every human in this world. The scarcity of water has increased in the past decades due to the overpopulation of humans. Today, we found ourselves in a critical stage where most people have not realized the consequences for the future generations. The government is investing economic resources to find innovative methods to produce fresh water. The process that removes salt from sea waters is the desalination of sea waters to breed freshwater. This process of converting seawater to clean water has caused an answer too many countries. Countries from the Middle East where there is a massive crisis of clean water, they are recurring to this cost-effective process to the solution of the water crisis. Humans cannot drink salty water, but saline water can be made into freshwater, which people need every day to live. The process is called desalination, and as the lack of fresh water grow more countries will use it to provide drinking water. Fresh water will be in short supply in some part of the United States and the world. As the population continues to grow, the lack of fresh water will appear more frequently. In many desert regions of the world including United States, the drought of fresh water resources has been critical, and it will be increasingly influential in the future. The water problem needs to be considered seriously as fossil energy resources...
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...Environmental Assessment – Part 1 Project Description and Environmental Setting For the Poseidon Ventures Desalination Plant Located in Carlsbad, California Assignment 1: Project Description and Environmental Setting Students will prepare a 4-5 page double spaced Project Description of and Environmental Setting describing the Poseidon Ventures Desalination Plant and the environment that will be affected by the project. The Project/Description objectively describes the desalination technology involved. How much water does the plant supply to the county water supply system and how does it connect to the water supply system. Answer it will connect through pipelines. The type of habitat the pipelines passes through should be part of the Environmental Setting. The PD DOES NOT ADDRESS impacts or negative affects on the environment. The Environmental Setting describes the physical and biological resources that exist in the area where the project is located. Before you can determine impacts you must know what resources are present. The Environmental Setting should cover both aquatic and terrestrial environments where appropriate. The Environmental Setting describes the habitats presents, the flora and fauna occupying that habitat and the climatic and geological conditions when appropriate. The environmental setting must objectively describe the affected physical environment and biological resources. Describe the physical environment in terms of depth/elevation...
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...Syria Syria’s Desalination Investment Syria is a country located in the Middle East between Lebanon and Turkey which boarders the Mediterranean Sea. It is a nation slightly larger than the size of North Dakota and has become the source of investment for Haddock and Siska Incorporated (H&S Inc.) H&S Inc. has obtained a contract from Capital Investor’s Group to invest $50 million in Syria. In view of the fact that the goal of the contract is to spread western ways to the Middle East, H&S has decided to invest in a $34.5 million water distillery plant. This plant will benefit the people of Syria and their economy by purifying and distill rating 5 million gallons of water a day . This purification process will continue to help boost Syria’s agricultural sector which has already contributed to the country’s economic growth. In addition, the World Factbook identifies Syria as having problems with water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes. The country also has inadequate potable water. Within the next 20 years, it is said that Syria will be in a crisis for water. In light of this information, there is a growing need to develop water desalination technology. The need for this technology has led Syria to form the Scientific National Commission for Water Desalination. H&S hopes that their investment will offset the water problems. In order for this investment to take place a throughout investigation of the country’s economic, political, and social...
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...conservation a very complex issue. Although there is no problem-free solution, the desalination plant is an effective and reliable process which can provide purified water in a sustainable, economical and environmental way. ("12 Biggest Pros And Cons Of Desalination")(California Academy of Sciences) The desalination plant uses sea water to create drinkable water for everyone to access. The process of the desalination plan can be approached in two ways. The first is reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis is when the sea water is forced to go through a filter so that it can separate the salt from the water. Additionally,...
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...THE SUCCESS OF THE ADELAIDE DESALINATION PROJECT Abstract The PMI Project of the Year for 2013 was won by the South Australia Water Corporation for the Adelaide Desalination Project. This project was performed to raise Adelaide out of its worst droughts. It was also completed ahead of schedule and within budget. Though the project ran into some uncertainties even before its start, due to some exceptional management practices followed by the Project Director and his team, the project was a resounding success. This report studies some of the key aspects that led to the success of this project and it eventually winning the coveted PMI Project of the Year Award. THE SUCCESS OF THE ADELAIDE DESALINATION PROJECT The Project that won the Project Management Institute’s Award for the year 2013 was the Adelaide Desalination Project Adelaide, Australia by the SA Water Corporation. South Australia, as the "driest state in the driest inhabited continent", experienced severe water shortages during periods of drought. As drought conditions worsened during 2006-2007, reduced inflow into the River Murray lead to the introduction of harsher water restrictions. The need for climate-independent sources of drinking water was clear to government leaders and residents. The South Australian Water Corporation (SA Water) responded with a plan to build an AU$1.8 billion desalination plant in Adelaide. Launched in February of 2008, the project originally aimed to construct a 50-gigaliter...
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...Desalination is used all across the world. Desalination gives people access to clean, drinkable water. There are three methods of desalination: electrical, thermal, and pressure. The cons of desalination are that it is very expensive to build and maintain the machine. However, desalination is the best cost-effective solution for the world’s water crises. It is essential for us to take care of a basic need: water. The world's population will continue to expand; water supplies will become more insufficient as time goes by. The world is made up of 70% of water; shortage of clean water should not be a global problem. Desalination is the best cost-effective solution for the world’s water crises. Desalination removes salt, producing fresh water...
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...Sustainablity Though the sustainability of RO desalination is dependent on many factors, the most decisive is probably the environmental impacts. The process has the ability to impact the environment through pollution of marine ecosystems and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Future Directions International, desalination plants taking in massive amounts of water from marine ecosystems can kill small fish and other organisms when they get caught in the filter . The Australian and U.S. desalination plants have been designed to allow the fish to swim away using a slow intake rate . The bigger environmental issue deals with the waste of RO. The salt concentrated waste of the process is usually disposed back into the ocean, which causes an increase in salt levels in the oceans . To limit the effects on marine ecosystems, strict environmental laws are being passed to restrict the amount of waste allowed...
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...Use of renewable energy technologies for desalination Wang Shuxian z3452701 Abstract Only about 0.25% of total fresh water, which is only 3% of total water in global world, could directly supply for the most needs of human beings and animals. Another significant impact is due to rapid population growth, causing severe fresh water scarcity. Other factors include rapid industrial growth, industrial wastes and sewage discharged and climate change. It would be feasible to overcome the water scarcity through seawater desalination; however, if seawater containing high salinity is converted to fresh water by desalination, it consumes large amounts of energy. Therefore, it is important to find suitable alternative energy resources for the desalination technology due to conventional fossil fuels crisis and environmental pollution. Renewable energy is commonly alternative energy sources considered for desalination, including solar thermal energy, solar photovoltaics, wind energy, hybrid solar PV-wind energy and geothermal. Renewable energy can power the desalination systems comprising comprise the phase change processes, which include the multistage flash, multiple effect boiling and vapour compression and membrane processes, which include reverse osmosis and electrodialysis. Finally, the paper will discuss the best renewable energy powered desalination systems. Keywords: Desalination; Renewable energy; Solar thermal energy; Solar PV energy; Wind energy; Geothermal energy 1. Introduce...
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...Seawater desalination for sustainable water supply Contents I. Introduction 2 II. Seawater desalination and its advantages and disadvantages 2 III. Environmental impacts 3 IV. Policy for desalination plant 3 V. Conclusion 4 Student ID: z5084901 Student name: Boheng Zhu School of Chemical Engineering The University of New South Wales April 2016 Introduction Australia has uncertain rainfall and most parts of it have droughts, and has increasing population in large cities in recent years (Legislative Council Secretariat 2015). These conditions pose a threat to water supply. In addition, it is more and more limited and improper to build water pipes to draw water from dams and reservoirs. Due to these facts, seawater desalination plants have been constructed to ensure the water supply in Australia’s large population urban centers. Seawater desalination mainly uses membrane process to desalinate seawater rather than thermal process, because reverse-osmosis (RO) in membrane process consumes less energy, and in the RO desalination, seawater is divided into two streams: one with very high dissolved salts and the other one with less salts (Gary Crisp, E.A. (Bob) Swinton and Neil Palmer* 2010). However, seawater desalination has its drawbacks: energy intensive, generation of greenhouse gases, impacts of desalination discharge on marine environment and its high operating costs. These issues are associated with Australia’s environment and economy (Reza Dashtpour...
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...Introduction Water is a basic human necessity. It is an essential natural resource for all aspects of human existence. Unfortunately in many countries water is scarce or contaminated. It was reported that shortage of water is one of the two most worrying problems of this century. This lack of access to safe water increases outbreak of waterborne diseases. To control these diseases a sufficient amount of safe drinking water is important. This implies not only improve the design and planning of water supplies, but also sanitation and hygiene behaviour. This report aims to compare different methods in which safe water can be supplied and access in a local community and it is divided into several sections, firstly options and requirements are going to be presented, followed by comparison of those options or requirement, next the best possible solution for the water supply project is going to be recommended and finally give a conclusion. Background Somalia is among the five least developed of 170 countries listed in the 2012, Human development index. The country was created in 1960 from an Italian colony in combination with British protectorate. It went into anarchy following the overthrown of the military regime of President Siad barre in 1991 (BBC, 2016). According to United Nations, 2012 Somalia has a population of 9.8 million in an area of 637,657sq km. There are substantial challenges in the country including water scarcity. Located in a very advantageous region bordering...
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...meanwhile climate change predictions indicate the pressure of water lack will be increasingly serious (Howe et.al 2005). This problem is not just for Melbourne, Australia and many other parts of the world also face to the water shortage problem. Since there is a grave water shortage in Melbourne, the policy of sustainable water management is becoming very important. In order to prevent further deterioration of water shortage in the future, the Victorian Government made a series of countermeasures. There are several projects to solve the scarcity of water problem in the future and work out Melbourne’s future water supply needs, such as water restriction in Melbourne; spending nearly 2 billion dollars to build one of the world’s biggest water desalination plants at South Melbourne; building catchment to collect and feed rain into eight of Melbourne’s reservoirs and protecting the water catchment area; establishing two large sewage treatment plants in east and west Melbourne. The other countries also did a lot to protect water resource such as Singapore used nearly half of the national area to build water reservoir; Moscow had developed high technology for Sewage treatment system. The Victorian Government dedicated in long-term water management to protect water security and in responding to Victoria's population growth and economic development; the government is confident in the face of drought and climate change challenges to reduce the influence of water shortage in the future. The...
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...Background 3 3. Presentation of options 4 3.1 Desalination 4 3.2 Natural Water Resources 4 4. Requirements 4 4.1 Cost 4 4.2 Social effects 4 4.3 Environment effects 5 5. Compare of two options 5 5.1 Water Desalination 5 5.2 Natural Water Resources 8 6. Conclusions 9 7. Recommendations 9 8. References 10 1. Introduction Clean drinking water and sanitation were recognized as indispensable human right in United Nations General Assembly (2010, retrieved March, 2013). According to Robert Zoellick (2011), President of The World Bank, water is at the center of almost any poverty in the world so clean water is always the heart of sustainable development plan in any country. As a result of increasing pollution and inadequate distribution of natural resources, many countries in the Middle East are now facing serious water crisis (Hamad Bu-rahamah, 2005) According to the United Nation (retrieved March 2013), if there are not any significant improvements, by the year 2025, Jordan and other countries in the Middle East will confront ‘water war’ due to absolute water scarcity In this rough situation, the Jordanian government pointed out that using natural water resource and water desalination are the only solutions for water crisis now (BBC News, 2009). Specifically, by going along with the Jordan River and the Dead Sea on the West, and also borders with the Red Sea in the South, desalination seems to be a possible solution for water scarcity...
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...Research and read an article on recent recipients of the project management institute’s project of the year award (2013 PMI winners – Adelaide Desalination Project). Summarize how the project manager or team exhibited exceptional and ethical project management practices. Discuss the role of the project manager or team, the organizational setting, the recipient’s approach to project integration management, and obstacles that had the potential of adversely impacting the triple constraints Ugbe Maurice Ugbe Stratford University (Falls Church, Virginia) Abstract The Adelaide Desalination Project involves the construction of a 100 GL per annum desalination plant, including the seawater intake and outfall tunnels and structures, and associated infrastructure including the transfer pipeline, power supply works and interconnection and upgrade works at Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant. Research and read an article on recent recipients of the project management institute’s project of the year award (2013 PMI winners – Adelaide Desalination Project). Summarize how the project manager or team exhibited exceptional and ethical project management practices. Discuss the role of the project manager or team, the organizational setting, the recipient’s approach to project integration management, and obstacles that had the potential of adversely impacting the triple constraints. Introduction Traditionally, South Australia has always relied on the River Murray...
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...------------------------------------------------- Water in the UAE ------------------------------------------------- Impact Achievements and Ways Forward Introduction Water is the resource that sustains all life on earth and is a key element of sustainable development. It is essential if human beings are to enjoy healthy and safe lives or realize social and economic development. Ecosystems are also inextricably linked with water. Water sustains humans’ health, food production, and economic development. But only 3 percent of Earth’s water is salt-free, or fresh water. Moreover, nearly 70 percent of fresh water is locked in glaciers and icebergs, and is not available for human use. The fresh water that is available comes from rain or from rivers, lakes, springs, and some groundwater reserves, such as aquifers. With the increasing demand on water for all aspects of sustainable development, water is becoming very scares all around the world! * Around 700 million people in 43 countries suffer today from water scarcity. * By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world's population could be living under water stressed conditions. * With the existing climate change scenario, almost half the world's population will be living in areas of high water stress by 2030, including between 75 million and 250 million people in Africa. In addition, water scarcity in some arid and semi-arid places...
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