Integrating concentrated solar power with seawater desalination technologies: a multi-regional environmental assessment

Abstract

Using renewable energy to power seawater desalination technologies can reduce the environmental impacts of a process which is essential for global water security. However, the uneven geospatial distribution of renewable energy resources and regions of water scarcity results in unequal environmental benefits which creates uncertainty for global policy making. Hence, this study explores the relation between renewable energy resources, freshwater demand, and associated environmental impacts of desalination plants driven by renewable energy at a global scale using a comparative lifecycle assessment approach. We focus on an optimized solar-driven thermal desalination plant that we developed which can be used in seawater and brackish water treatment. By examining the life-cycle impact of the proposed plant in seven water-stressed cities, we found that the mean value for CO 2 emissions is 4.32 kg CO 2 eq./m 3 of desalted water which is 47% lower than conventional thermal desalination. There is a variation by as much as 80% and 95% in the climate change and water depletion, categories respectively across the selected cities. The multi-city analysis provides energy and water utilities, CSP project developers, and environmental authorities a global assessment of the environmental impact of solar desalination and sheds light on the correlation between solar intensity and seawater conditions on the overall environmental impact of this technology.

Improving Prediction Accuracy of Socio-Human Relationships in a Small-Scale Desalination Plant

“…The deterioration in resources was recorded to be the highest impact at 53%, followed by human health and ecosystem quality at 45% and 2%, respectively. According to Mohamed and Sami [16], the operation phase would be affected significantly, with nearly 100% of the impact observed in the life cycle system, primarily if the system was based on the electrical utilities.…”

“…Some researchers have also used the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, which involves "cradle-to-gate" or "gate-to-gate" approaches to study desalination systems [11][12][13]. Results from these studies reveal short-and long-term effects of pollution due to desalination activities, such as salinity, chemical effluents, heavy metals, membranes, and fuel [14][15][16]. Besides, the growing awareness among society on the advancement of desalination plants through wide dissemination of information could cause issues for the stakeholders.…”

Leveraging life cycle assessment and simplex lattice design in optimizing fossil fuel blends for sustainable desalination

“…Using the LCA to assess renewable energy for desalination, Jijakli et al (2012) compared solar still, photovoltaic, and truck transportation for RO desalination alternatives in off-grid areas. The environmental impact of solar-MED was also assessed in Alhaj and Al-Ghamdi (2019) in seven locations distributed across six continents. Tarpani et al (2019) also conducted LCA on MED distillation for brackish water with high levels of metalloids in isolated locations.…”

“…Due to the socioeconomic implications of desalination, Ibrahim et al (2018) and others have also applied the LCA within the overall sustainability framework (Lior 2017), often using mathematical modeling (Aleisa and Al-Shayji 2018;Antipova et al 2013;Ifaei and Yoo 2019). Another focus area for desalination and LCA was on technologies applied to desalinate seawater intake from the Arabian Gulf (Al-Kaabi and Mackey 2019; Al-Shayji and Aleisa 2018; Aleisa and Al-Shayji 2018;Alhaj and Al-Ghamdi 2019;Jijakli et al 2012;Mannan et al 2019). In Mannan et al (2019), for instance, the LCA was used to quantify environmental burdens using the "Nexus" approach while varying the gain ratio of MSF desalination.…”

Renewable-powered desalination as an optimisation pathway for renewable energy systems: the case of Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin

“…Reverse osmosis (RO) is the leading desalination technology worldwide. With 3-5 kWh m −3 , RO is more energy-efficient than other thermal desalination technologies, which results in lower specific costs of less than $0.75 per m 3 (Bennett 2011) (Alhaj and Al-Ghamdi 2019a). Nevertheless, RO is an energy-, and therefore carbonintensive technology when operated with conventional energy.…”