Energy consumption and environmental impact assessment of desalination plants and brine disposal strategies

Nowadays, desalination plants are considered as tools to utilize water from different natural resources such as seawater and brackish water. Globally, the number of desalination plants are increasing to achieve the high demand for fresh water to be used for human consumption, industrial activities, and public services. However, the brine discharged will have detrimental effect on the marine environment, and thus the brine should be reused, treated, or discharged properly. The present study aims to give a comprehensive insight into the current development of the desalination process through examining the different technologies available, energy consumption, water production costs of these technologies and the brine water characteristics. Several brine disposal strategies are analysed here and compared to evaluate their effectiveness and drawbacks. The potential usages of brine are also carefully examined. Also, we discuss the zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) method, its benefits, challenges, environmental and operating characteristics, and the current progress of research in this field. Ultimately, the future research and development strategies for the concentrate management are briefly analysed. It was noted that the ZLD process is very significant to the environment in terms of reducing the pollution caused by discharged brine and achieving sustainability. (C) 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Desalination plants are increasingly being used globally to meet the high demand for fresh water. However, the discharge of brine can have detrimental effects on the marine environment, emphasizing the need for proper disposal methods.