The process of desalination in the UAE
title of the research:
“Study the process of desalination in the UAE”
•Identify the location and name of the desalination plants in the UAE
•Research the working of a desalination plant in general.
Include the following points:
•How does it work? How much does it cost?
•Advantages/disadvantages of desalination
• add references!
Solution
Introduction
Desalination refers to the process of removing mineral or salt components from saline
water. The term may also refer to the removal of salt from soil to make it suitable for agricultural
purposes. Salty water is desalinized to make it suitable for irrigation or human consumption. In
the modern society desalination of water is considered to be a cost effective technique of
purifying water for human consumption (Warsinger, Swaminathan, Guillen-Burrieza, & Arafat,
2015). Desalination of water is associated with high energy consumption hence desalinized water
is more costly than the fresh water obtained from ground or surface water. Currently,
approximately 1% of total world’s population is dependent on the desalinized water to meet their
daily domestic needs. However, the united nation projects that approximately 14% of the world
population will suffer from water scarcity by the year 2025.The UAE government implements
long term programs directed towards solving problems associated with water supply. Currently,
the UAE has established several desalination plants. The problem fresh water scarcity in the
UAE is highly relevant considering that desalination of sea water consumes significantly high
amount of electrical and fossil fuels energy (Warsinger, et al., 2015).
Desalinization plants in the UAE
The Jebel Ali AWRO is a Seawater Reverse Osmosis desalinization plant located in
Dubai. It has a capacity of 182,000 m3/d (Acciona, 2018).Fujairah 2 is another reverse osmosis
water desalination plant located in Fujairah. It has a capacity of 591,000 m3 per day of drinking
water. The plant combines two technologies, the Reverse Osmosis and the Multiple Effect
Distillation technologies(Veolia, 2018). Other water desalinization plants in the UAE include;
Belleli Energy SRL in Dubai, Weir Techna Middle East in Dubai, ShuweihatCms Intl Power
THE PROCESS OF DESALINATION IN THE UAE
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plant in Abu Dhabi, the Al Kawther Desalinization plant is Fujairah, and ZamZam Sweet water
plant in Ras Al Khaimah among others(UAE Results, 2018). In January 2018, the Abu Dhabi
Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) announced that it would launch the largest
desalinization plant that would produce approximately 200 million gallon of desalinized water
daily through the reverse osmosis technology (Sebugwaawo,2018).
How the desalination plants work and its cost in general
How the desalination plants work depends on various factors such as the location, water
source, and the size and treatment process of the desalination plant. Construction of a
desalination plant for desalinizing brackish water costs less compared to that of sea water.
Brackish water has less dissolved salts. Depending on the design capacity of the desalination
plant, it costs approximately $32 million to construct a 2.5 million gallon water per/day plant and
it costs approximately $658 million to construct a 100 million gallon water per/day plant.
Desalination plants commonly use the reverse osmosis technology. Saline water is passed on one
side of a semi-permeable membrane that is subjected to pressure. This causes fresh water to
diffuse through the semi-permeable membrane hence separating the fresh water from a
concentrate stream that consists of dissolved minerals or salts that needs to be disposed of safely.
The concentrate may be disposed through a deep well injection either on land or it may be
directed back to the sea in a well-controlled process that minimizes detrimental impacts to
marine life or the general environment. In some cases, the concentrate may be used for industrial
processes. The desalinized water may be piped to customers through pipelines.
Advantages/disadvantages of desalination
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The use of renewable sources in the desalinization plants facilitate for implementation of
environmentally responsive and advanced technologies. A good example is the desalination
plants that are operated on solar power. These projects are designed to promote fresh water
production in an economically feasible manner as well as minimal emission of carbon dioxide
during the desalination process. The main advantage of the reverse-osmosis desalination plants is
that they are associated with zero emission of harmful component into the atmosphere while
providing the population with safe and drinkable water. Desalination of sea water also helps in
reducing stress and overconsumption on the existing ground water and surface water supply
sources. Through pipelines, the desalinized water can benefit hundreds of water consumers both
near and far from the coast line (Warsinger, et al, 2015).
However, water desalination also has its disadvantages. The technology used is expensive
and required skilled workforce to run. Desalination is also associated with health concerns
because the technology used is not perfected technology hence the desalinized water can be
harmful to human health .The chemicals applied in the desalination process can contaminate the
purified water hence endanger the health of the people who consume it. Desalinated water can be
acidic hence can corrode human digestive systems and the lining of pipes (Terry, 2018).
Conclusion
Despite desalinized water being more costly than the fresh water obtained from ground or
surface water, the water is beneficial in reducing overuse of inland water sources such as dams,
ponds and rivers. However, installation of the desalination technology requires high financial
investment. This technology is highly useful in increasing water availability for populations that
live in dry areas such as the UAE region.
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References
Acciona, (2018).JEBEL ALI SWRO. Retrieved from, https://www.acciona-agua.com/areas-of-
activity/projects/dc-water-treatment-plants/swro/jebel-ali/.
Sebugwaawo I., (2018). Khaleej Times.Largest desalination plant in Abu Dhabi soon.Retrieved
from, https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/largest-desalination-plant-in-abu-dhabi-soon.
Terry, C., (2018). The Disadvantages of Desalination. Retrieved from,
https://sciencing.com/disadvantages-desalination-5961767.html.
UAE Results, (2018).Desalination Plants. The best 10 Desalination Plants 2018.Retrieved from,
https://www.uaeresults.com/Desalination_Plants/.
Veolia, (2018). Fujairah 2 reverse osmosis desalination plant, United Arab Emirates.The Largest
Hybrid Desalination Plant in the world. Retrieved from,
https://www.veolia.com/middleeast/our-services/achievements/municipalities/creative-
solutions/fujairah-2-united-arab-emirates.
Warsinger, D. M., Swaminathan, J., Guillen-Burrieza, E., & Arafat, H. A. (2015). Scaling and
fouling in membrane distillation for desalination applications: a
review. Desalination, 356, 294-313.
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