Green Options » desalination

U.S. Water Use Declines Despite 30% Population Increase

Tina Casey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:57:28 +0000

The U.S. Department of the Interior reports that overall water consumption in the United States has declined in the past 25 years, even though the population has increased 30% and use by individual American households has increased. The statistics were compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey.

What’s the secret? The 25-year patterns of water consumption revealed in the DOI report provide tantalizing clues about the ability of the U.S. to sustain its legendarily consumer-centric lifestyle while stabilizing and ultimately decreasing its contribution to carbon emissions and other greenhouse gasses.

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U.S. Navy Has the Solution to Rising Sea Levels: Drink It

Tina Casey — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:52:28 +0000

In its search for more fuel efficient ways to provide drinking water for long sea voyages and remote bases, the U.S. Navy has developed a second-generation desalination unit that use 65% less energy than conventional technology. It’s only in the prototype stage but the Navy is already looking beyond seagoing use, and has deployed an earlier version of the technology to provide emergency water supply to disaster areas.

Called the EUWP (Expeditionary Unit Water Purification Program) Gen 2, the new unit also offers a significant secondary benefit that applies to land operations. By providing an on-site source for potable water, it eliminates the need to run convoys of tanker trucks. The generators that power the EUWP units still use conventional fuel, but that could change. If they could be adapted to run cost-effectively on solar power and other sustainable energy, the door is open to desalination on a mass scale.

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ROTEC’s Reverse Osmosis System Desalinates Brackish Groundwater

Amiel Blajchman — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:42:45 +0000

Traditionally, if you are in a water-poor region that has access to desalination technology and seawater, you were in luck. Israeli cleantechnology company ROTEC has developed a reverse osmosis system designed to remove salts from brackish groundwater. In other words, nowhere near the sea.

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Israel and Jordan to Partner with NATO on Inland Water Desalination Plants

Amiel Blajchman — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:47:45 +0000

NATO’s Science for Peace program and the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) have awarded a team of three universities, one Jordanian, one Israeli and one American a grant to set up two parallel water desalination plants at one site each in Jordan and Israel. This grant is meant to promote collaboration across borders and between the two neighbouring countries, in a region not known for its congenial ties between neighbours.

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Stretchable Salt Could Unlock Secrets of Smog

Tina Casey — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:42:20 +0000

It’s “not supposed to do that,” but it is: salt has revealed a previously undiscovered talent for stretching. The startling revelation was made by researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Pittsburgh, using a powerful Interfacial Force Microscope. The discovery of stretchable properties in salt could lead to the development of more efficient desalination technology, and it could also provide more insight into the potential for alternative fuels to contribute to smog formation.

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Jordan to Build Canal Connecting the Dead Sea with the Red Sea

Amiel Blajchman — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:29:56 +0000

In a region known for its deserts, water shortages and tension among neighbours, Jordan announced plans to build an eye-popping $10 billion desalination plant that would provide fresh water for the parched Jordanian population, as well as help replenish the shrinking Dead Sea. Due to up-stream irrigation removal and drinking water consumption from the Jordan River, the Dead Sea has seen its water levels drop by about a metre a year, and at current rates the Dead Sea will have disappeared in the next 50 odd years.

Tourist losses from people not being able to float in the Dead Sea notwithstanding, the Dead Sea forms an important link with humanity’s past, is a significant land form, as well as hosting a unique ecosystem. Saving the Dead Sea has therefore become an important regional initiative. Unfortunately, talks between Israel and Jordan to construct a “Red-Dead” canal linking the Dead Sea with the Red Sea have been fitful. The Red-Dead Canal has also not been without controversy, as environmental groups have raised concern with the dangers inherent to the Dead Sea’s coral life, its unique ecosystem, as well as potentially reducing the buoyancy of its water (to the consternation of multiple nearby resort operators).

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5 Water Solutions That Could Change the World!

Joe Mohr — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:13:42 +0000

Having grown up in the beautiful Chicagoland area in the 80’s my water needs were strictly as follows: Need #1: Water from hose to power clown-face sprinkler, fill water balloons, and hose off muddy dirt-bike/self, Need #2: Water from faucet to occasionally brush teeth and occasionally make Hi-C or Tang, Need #3: Water from shower to occasionally bathe. It was a simpler time, and I was a kid. To me and most other kids (adults?) in the 80’s water was simply there, always on the ready for any and all of the above dalliances.

The days of water-logged frivolity are over. We now live in a time where many parts of the world face water shortages, limited access to safe, clean drinking water, an ever-diminishing groundwater supply, and a growing number of water-related disease and death.

In fact, just last week, motivated by three years of water shortages in California, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency which may be followed by water rationing measures.

As a result of the myriad of water emergencies that the world faces I have put together a short-list of the 5 world-saving water solutions that offer hope for the future of our water, and therefore our existence.

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California Drought Spurs Schwarzenegger to Declare State of Emergency

Timothy B. Hurst — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:56:35 +0000

In light of California’s third consecutive year of drought, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency, falling short of instituting mandatory water rationing - at least for now.

“Even with the recent rainfall, California faces its third consecutive year of drought and we must prepare for the worst - a fourth, fifth or even sixth year of drought,” said Governor Schwarzenegger in a statement.

Calling the situation a crisis as serious as an earthquake or wildfire, Schwarzenegger said: “Last year we experienced the driest spring and summer on record and storage in the state’s reservoir system is near historic lows. This drought is having a devastating impact on our people, our communities, our economy and our environment - making today’s action absolutely necessary.”

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Engineered Osmosis: Revolutionizing Saltwater Desalination

Timothy B. Hurst — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 07:09:34 +0000

A Cambridge, Massachusetts-based desalination start up has closed on a $10 million round of funding to develop its proprietary technology to produce clean, potable water from salt water using one tenth the amount of energy used in traditional desalination plants.

As we reported last month, Yale researchers Rob McGinnis and Dr. Menachem Elimelech have developed a proprietary desalination system called Engineered Osmosis that they say could produce clean drinking water from seawater or other wastewater at half the current cost. Now that their new company— Oasys Water—has secured Series A funding, it can proceed with the development of its potentially revolutionary commercial desalination platform.

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Researchers Harness Power of Osmosis for Water Purification

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:44:51 +0000

As the world approaches peak water, technology to harvest freshwater from non-potable sources becomes increasingly important. Researchers at Yale University have recently developed such desalination technology using the power of osmosis.

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Water Fears Push SoCal Towards Desalination

Cassie Walker — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:01:49 +0000

With the driest year on record still visible in our review mirror (at least for now) it makes sense that people in Los Angeles and Orange Counties are concerned about their water supply. Meant to measure support for a proposed Huntington Beach desalination facility, a recent poll shows just how concerned they are.

Of the 500 Orange County voters surveyed, only 6.8% believe that there is enough water to supply the county’s needs. Compare that to the 41.2% that realize that there is a water shortage, and that officials need to find new sources of water, pronto. 46% replied that OC has enough for now, but will need to tap more sources to meet future needs.

The survey, sponsored by the Orange County Business Council and the LA/Orange County Building Trades Council, goes on to show that:

33% would support seawater desalination as a means of ensuring adequate water supplies
31% would support conservation measures as a means of ensuring adequate water supplies
12% would support recycled or treated “waste” water

That last one is funny, since they already have a water recycling program. It’s not exactly “toilet to tap” as nay-sayers call it, because the water is purified, then pumped back underground to replenish aquifers. Mother Nature purifies it further, at which point it reenters the fresh water supply and is sent to homes. Disgusting, right? Of course not.

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New Indian Desalination Plant Nearing Completion

Joshua S Hill — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:09:00 +0000

Local Indian governmental officials have announced that a new 100-million liter per day desalination plant is nearing completion. Located on India’s southeastern coast, the plant is currently 80% complete, and expected to begin operations January 2009.

The plant will process a hundred million liters per day, the equivalent to 26-million US gallons.

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Australia’s $1.2B Desalination Plant Nears Completion

Joshua S Hill — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:45:38 +0000

One of the major sticking points in Australian politics has often centered on the growing need for desalination plants across the country. Reports are widespread, both nationally and internationally, about the worsening drought conditions in the country. So there’s no surprise that we need to do something, but just what has long been a point of contention.

Nonetheless, there are a few desal plants cropping up, and the latest one, on Australia’s Gold Coast, is nearing completion.

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Teatro del Agua: The Seawater Greenhouse “That Can Change the World”

Joe Mohr — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:55:22 +0000

Seawater Greenhouse inventor Charles Paton teams with the Eden Project and Grimshaw Architects to create the Teatro del Agua.

I last posted on the Seawater Greenhouse in February. After writing that post I felt hopeful that this type of desalination plant would catch on, yet pessimistic that, based on the pictures I saw, it would neither reach the necessary scale to create enough clean water nor attract the type of investors needed to take this plant to the next level.

I’m very happy to find out that I was wrong.

I researched the Seawater Greenhouse again to look for breaking news because I decided back in February that I needed to post on this on a regular basis to spread the word on the technology. By the looks of the Seawater Greenhouse Inventor Charles Paton’s latest project, my effort will not be needed.

Just as the Prius will replace the Hummer on our nation’s roads, the Teatro del Agua shall replace the energy intensive desalination plants of old, worldwide. All the while supplying said world with an endless supply of water and creating an outdoor venue for theatrical performances. Afterall, you can’t spell WATER without A-R-T. (below average pun–my apologies)

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London’s Drinking Water Shortages Spur Mayor to OK Desalination Plant

Nayelli Gonzalez — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:22:43 +0000

The new Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, repealed a legal challenge launched by the city’s former mayor and gave the go-ahead for the construction of a desalination plant last week.

Thames Water Utilities will now be allowed to continue building a plant on the north bank of the Thames River in the London Borough of Newham and begin construction of another plant in Beckton, East London.

“Today’s news is a victory for common sense,” stated Thames Water CEO David Owens in a press release. “The desalination plant is a vital part of our response to this situation, and we are committed to getting it built as quickly as possible, so it is available to provide more safe, clean drinking water to Londoners by 2010.”

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Salt: Gone with the Wind — The Traditional Windmill Tries its Hand at Desalination

Joe Mohr — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 17:09:58 +0000

As populations grow and the amount of clean, fresh water decreases, we are increasingly motivated to find new ways of creating/capturing and using fresh water. Of course, we could all begin by using less water (see footnote). According to the United Nations Development Program in a chart I found on www.data360.org, as of 2006, the average American uses approximately 151 gallons of water/day. That includes, drinking, showering, flushing, cleaning, cooking, irrigating, etc. I propose that if we were each given 25 gallons of water to use per day we’d be OK. But, water isn’t dropped off at your doorstep by the water man, so we are not inclined to think much about our consumption (until something drastic occurs, like the droughts the Atlanta area faced this past summer). Then, how can people get more of what they are all using way too much of without drawing from other overused freshwater sources? An increasingly viable option is to take the salt out of the ocean’s roughly 315 million trillion gallons of saltwater. I posted last month on a low-energy solar desalination plant, so it’d be neglectful of me not to point out this no energy windmill desalination system as well.

In the Netherlands, at the Delft University of Technology, a traditional windmill is being tested to drive seawater through a reverse-osmosis membrane, thus directly producing freshwater from seawater. On their website, www.drinkingwiththewind.nl they share the following:

On the basis of the windmill’s capacity at varying wind speeds, it is estimated that it will produce 5 to 10 m3 (1,321-2,642 U.S. gallons) of fresh water per day: enough drinking water for a small village of 500 inhabitants. A water reservoir will have to ensure that enough water is available for a calm period lasting up to five days.

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Low-Energy Water Desalination From Seawater Greenhouse

Joe Mohr — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:15:22 +0000

Three-hundred twenty-six million trillion! It sounds like a number I would come up with as a kid, say, in reference to the number of things I find disgusting about my sister, or the number of reasons I need a new bike, or the number of mosquito bites I got on a weekend camping trip. But, it turns out, 326 million trillion is a real number. It happens to be (approximately—because who could count them all?) the number of gallons of water on our wonderful planet (Earth). That’s an overwhelming, impressive and — when you learn that 98% of that water is ocean water, and therefore too salty to consume, or use for irrigation — frustrating figure!

In these times where climate chaos has caused more frequent severe droughts, and our population continues to grow (read: consume water) at an awesome rate, people are becoming more and more concerned with water conservation. Humanity finds itself increasingly at a loss for freshwater while roughly 315 million trillion gallons of unusable seawater taunts us from our shores.

Sure, desalination plants are becoming more common. They are very expensive, however, and so energy intensive that they only further contribute to the climate change they are attempting remedy (thereby, joining corn-based ethanol as the two largest non-solutions to our climate problems).

Fear not my fellow water-loving earthlings! There is an even better way to remove the salt from salt water: a Seawater Greenhouse! This UK-based company explains the process as one that:

uses seawater to cool and humidify the air that ventilates the greenhouse and sunlight to distill fresh water from seawater. This enables the year round cultivation of high value crops that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to grow in hot, arid (conditions).

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Energy Takes Water, Water Takes Energy

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:58:18 +0000

How do we meet the world’s future energy demands? Not an easy question, but it gets even more complicated when you factor in another critical need: water.

While water hasn’t always been factored into energy discussions — or vice versa — the two are “inextricably linked,” according to Sandia National Laboratories. That’s why researchers there are working to develop an advanced modeling tool that will help people better understand their energy and water needs in one neat, if complex, package.

It makes lots of sense, once you think about it. Purifying water for drinking, pumping water into homes and fields, and reclaiming water for reuse all require energy. And generating energy takes lots of water, whether indirectly by coal-burning power plants or nuclear reactors or directly by hydropower. According to Sandia Labs, the U.S. uses about 140 billion gallons of water per day to generate its electricity. Even though most of that water can be immediately reused, as opposed to the water used in agriculture, that still amounts to more than 40 percent of all the fresh water used by the nation every day.

As energy demands continue to rise, water shortages around the globe expand and climate change aggravates both, the complicated interplay between energy and water will become more important than ever for us to understand.

Take, for example, the rush to build desalination plants to turn salt water into drinking water as existing fresh water sources dry up. Desalination is energy-intensive; in fact, one study estimated that it takes 10,000 tons of oil a year to put out 1,000 cubic meters of desalinated water per day. Multiply that by the 13,080 desalination plants currently operating around the world, and the energy costs are clear.

Sandia researchers hope their new interactive energy-water model will give decision-makers across the board access to better information on how to plan for the future. The system, now in its second year of development, will eventually help answer questions about regional shortfalls, the tradeoffs involved for different energy and water sources, environmental and economic costs, and potential consequences. It’s a tall order, but one well worth trying to achieve.

“The challenge will be to have enough data to tell a story,” said Peter Kobos, a Sandia researcher handling energy modeling. “We think we do. If not, we’ll identify gaps and address them as the project progresses.”