Published in NPT procestechnologie, Waterbehandeling, 2002
Desalination will become an important option for relieving water scarcity in coastal areas, because of growing populations along the many coastal regions of the world. Another reason are the breakthroughs in the reduced energy requirement and investment costs for desalination processes.
By 2025 mega cities in the coastal areas may very well be home to some 5 billion people. Providing this population with desalinated seawater would avoid putting undue pressure on the amount of water available for agriculture and for the minimal water needs of ecosystems, all of which is a subject of great concern at world water seminars. There are major breakthroughs in the reduced energy requirement and investment costs for desalination processes, resulting in cost levels of US $0.40 to $0.80/m3 before distribution. This is much lower than its level of 10 years ago of approximately $3.00 to $5.00, and of $1.50 to $2.50/m3 only 3 to 5 years ago. At the same time, the real costs of traditional water supplies are on the increase, and in many cases have already surpassed the present cost figures of $0.40 to $0.80.
Read the full article from Op zoek here in pdf.
Desalination, a neglected option for the sweet water supply