Sea Level Rise Mitigation by Global Sea Water Desalination Using Renewable-Energy-Powered Plants

Abstract

This work suggests a solution for preventing/eliminating the predicted Sea Level Rise (SLR) by seawater desalination and storage through a large number of desalination plants distributed worldwide; it also comprises that the desalinated seawater can resolve the global water scarcity by complete coverage for global water demand. Sea level rise can be prevented by desalinating the additional water accumulated into oceans annually for human consumption, while the excess amount of water can be stored in dams and lakes. It is predicted that SLR can be prevented by desalination plants. The chosen desalination plants for the study were Multi-Effect Desalination (MED) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants that are powered by renewable energy using wind and solar technologies. It is observed that the two main goals of the study are fulfilled when preventing an SLR between 1.0 m and 1.3 m by 2100 through seawater desalination, as the amount of desalinated water within that range can cover the global water demand while being economically viable.

Renewable energy powered membrane desalination — review of recent development

“…Thermal energy has been historically used for desalination. Thermal desalination is still in use even in current desalination processes as thermal vapor compression (TVC), multi-stage flash (MSF) technology with a 17.6% share and multipleeffect distillation (MED) with a share of 6.9% (Hindiyeh et al, 2021). It exists mainly in petroleum-enriched areas such as the Middle East.…”

“…This vast amount of energy needed for desalination has serious consequences on the environment and results in high cost of freshwater. A recent study (Hindiyeh et al 2021) is expecting the fossil fuels that we use to provide our energy to run out in the current century. They anticipate oil to deplete by 2052, gas to deplete by 2060 and coal to deplete by 2090.…”

“…Global coal demand accounted for 0.7% in 2018. Coal's share of total electricity generation totalled 10,116 TWh, as it commanded 38% of total generation around the world (Hindiyeh et al 2021). The most effective way to mitigate the energy-associated impacts of desalination technologies is to supply the energy needs of the process (either in whole or partially) from clean renewable energy sources, for example solar energy (Alhaj et al 2017).…”

Water Energy Food Nexus to Tackle Future Arab Countries Water Scarcity

“…It also harms social, cultural, and religious rituals, such as baptism in the Jordan River or the preservation of Kurdish cultural heritage in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Hindiyeh, Albatayneh, Altarawneh, et al, 2021), as well as environmental aspects, such as water and sewage pollution and climate change’s impacts, including a rise in sea-levels and reduced rainfall (Hindiyeh, Albatayneh, Altarawneh, et al, 2021). Furthermore, negative behavior by the population that depends on the high use of water supplies resulted in a reduction in water availability per capita, which according to Facing Water Challenges in the Middle East, will be reduced by 50% by 2050 (EuroMeSCo, 2020; Hindiyeh, Albatayneh, Altarawneh, et al, 2021).…”

Economic feasibility of solar-powered reverse osmosis water desalination: a comparative systemic review

“…Table 1 shows the details of the selected articles. is becoming more popular (Hindiyeh et al, 2021). The traditional desalination method, which often involves fossil fuels, requires a large amount of energy, making the process costly (Semiat, 2008).…”