Use of DPSIR Framework to Analyze Water Resources in Qatar and Overview of Reverse Osmosis as an Environment Friendly Technology

Abstract

Qatar and other countries of Gulf Cooperation Council are among the most water scarce countries in the world and are being characterized as “high‐water risk” countries by Water Resource Institute. Therefore, it is important to implement sustainable water resource management that encompass economic, societal, and environmental aspects. In this review article, the Driver‐Pressure‐State‐Impact‐Response framework was used to analyze the water resource system in Qatar in terms of drivers, pressures, change in state, impacts, and responses. It was noted that both economic and population growth together with unsustainable water consumption are major driving forces that are pressurizing the Qatar's water resources (desalinated seawater and renewable groundwater). Currently, desalination plants using Multi‐Stage Flash (MSF) techniques are predominantly being used to meet the rising water demands. However, widespread use of MSF techniques poses several environmental and economic impacts. Therefore, in addition to other management and corrective measures, reverse osmosis (RO) technique has also been suggested to be utilized in desalination industry as a “response” to mitigate those impacts. Since, the performance of RO is mainly affected by biofouling and mineral scaling, the paper also highlights the recent materials (polymers and nano‐materials) used to tackle these problems. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38:e13081, 2019

Influencing Indicators and Quantitative Assessment of Water Resources Security in Karst Region Based on PSER Model—The Case of Guizhou

“…In the process of increasing influence of human activities, the dynamic equilibrium status of water resources continues to change. When the influence exceeds the resilience threshold of the water resource system, the dynamic equilibrium will be broken, and a new equilibrium status will be formed in the system [37]. This framework provides an analysis tool to eliminate the adverse impact of human activities on water resources and improve water resource management measures because it better describes the water system in a process of dynamic change affected by human activities; specifically, it clearly considers what has happened (pressure), what has changed (status), what is the effect (effect), and the logic of human response (response) (Figure 2).…”

“…In the 2001-2015 period, the amount of fertilizer used in cultivated land rose from 39.71 kg/hm 2 •year to 58.86 kg/hm 2 •year, an increase of 48.22%. The increase in consumption levels and changes in consumption type caused by socioeconomic development has led to the continuously increasing impact of domestic sewage and other factors on water resources [37]. In general, the sustained increase in economic development and pressures of social living standards in the pressure subgroup increased the pressure on water resource security.…”

Study on water resources and water environment in urban agglomeration

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Membrane Processes for Microplastic Removal

“…A growing trend in the application of combined RO-UF plants for desalination at an industrial scale is reported by Ashfaq et al 2019. Some plants are reported here: Tuas, Singapore (Capacity: 318,000 m3/day; Year: 2013), Ashdod, Israel (Capacity: 275,000 m 3 /day; Year: 2013), Ajman, United Arab Emirates (Capacity: 115,000 m 3 /day; Year: 2012), Tangshan, China (Capacity: 110,000 m 3 /day; Year: 2012), Teshi, Ghana (Capacity: 60,000 m 3 /day; Year: 2014), Accra, Ghana (Capacity: 60,000 m 3 /day; Year: 2014), Red Sea Coast—Saudia Arabia (Capacity: 30,000 m 3 /day, Year: 2016), Gwangyang, South Korea (Capacity: 30,000 m 3 /day; Year: 2015) [63].…”