Provision of Desalinated Irrigation Water by the Desalination of Groundwater Abstracted from a Saline Aquifer
Globally, about 54 million ha of cropland are irrigated with saline water. Globally, the soils associated with about 1 billion ha are affected by salinization. A small decrease in irrigation water salinity (and soil salinity) can result in a disproportionally large increase in crop yield. This study...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Hydrology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/9/7/128 |
| _version_ | 1827629055511363584 |
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| author | David D. J. Antia |
| author_facet | David D. J. Antia |
| author_sort | David D. J. Antia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Globally, about 54 million ha of cropland are irrigated with saline water. Globally, the soils associated with about 1 billion ha are affected by salinization. A small decrease in irrigation water salinity (and soil salinity) can result in a disproportionally large increase in crop yield. This study uses a zero-valent iron desalination reactor to effect surface processing of ground water, obtained from an aquifer, to partially desalinate the water. The product water can be used for irrigation, or it can be reinjected into a saline aquifer, to dilute the aquifer water salinity (as part of an aquifer water quality management program), or it can be injected as low-salinity water into an aquifer to provide a recharge barrier to protect against seawater intrusion. The saline water used in this study is processed in a batch flow, bubble column, static bed, diffusion reactor train (0.24 m<sup>3</sup>), with a processing capacity of 1.7–1.9 m<sup>3</sup> d<sup>−1</sup> and a processing duration of 3 h. The reactor contained 0.4 kg Fe<sup>0</sup>. A total of 70 batches of saline water (average 6.9 g NaCl L<sup>−1</sup>; range: 2.66 to 30.5 g NaCl L<sup>−1</sup>) were processed sequentially using a single Fe<sup>0</sup> charge, without loss of activity. The average desalination was 24.5%. The reactor used a catalytic pressure swing adsorption–desorption process. The trial results were analysed with respect to Na<sup>+</sup> ion removal, Cl<sup>−</sup> ion removal, and the impact of adding trains. The reactor train was then repurposed, using n-Fe<sup>0</sup> and emulsified m-Fe<sup>0</sup>, to establish the impact of reducing particle size on the amount of desalination, and the amount of n-Fe<sup>0</sup> required to achieve a specific desalination level. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:44:19Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2306-5338 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:44:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology |
| spelling | doaj.art-8778103076404eb09446f48af07af2ce2023-11-30T21:02:11ZengMDPI AGHydrology2306-53382022-07-019712810.3390/hydrology9070128Provision of Desalinated Irrigation Water by the Desalination of Groundwater Abstracted from a Saline AquiferDavid D. J. Antia0DCA Consultants Ltd., The Bungalow, Castleton Farm, Falkirk, Stirlingshire FK2 8SD, UKGlobally, about 54 million ha of cropland are irrigated with saline water. Globally, the soils associated with about 1 billion ha are affected by salinization. A small decrease in irrigation water salinity (and soil salinity) can result in a disproportionally large increase in crop yield. This study uses a zero-valent iron desalination reactor to effect surface processing of ground water, obtained from an aquifer, to partially desalinate the water. The product water can be used for irrigation, or it can be reinjected into a saline aquifer, to dilute the aquifer water salinity (as part of an aquifer water quality management program), or it can be injected as low-salinity water into an aquifer to provide a recharge barrier to protect against seawater intrusion. The saline water used in this study is processed in a batch flow, bubble column, static bed, diffusion reactor train (0.24 m<sup>3</sup>), with a processing capacity of 1.7–1.9 m<sup>3</sup> d<sup>−1</sup> and a processing duration of 3 h. The reactor contained 0.4 kg Fe<sup>0</sup>. A total of 70 batches of saline water (average 6.9 g NaCl L<sup>−1</sup>; range: 2.66 to 30.5 g NaCl L<sup>−1</sup>) were processed sequentially using a single Fe<sup>0</sup> charge, without loss of activity. The average desalination was 24.5%. The reactor used a catalytic pressure swing adsorption–desorption process. The trial results were analysed with respect to Na<sup>+</sup> ion removal, Cl<sup>−</sup> ion removal, and the impact of adding trains. The reactor train was then repurposed, using n-Fe<sup>0</sup> and emulsified m-Fe<sup>0</sup>, to establish the impact of reducing particle size on the amount of desalination, and the amount of n-Fe<sup>0</sup> required to achieve a specific desalination level.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/9/7/128catalysischloride ion removalNaClpartial desalinationpressure swing adsorptionsaline irrigation |
| spellingShingle | David D. J. Antia Provision of Desalinated Irrigation Water by the Desalination of Groundwater Abstracted from a Saline Aquifer Hydrology catalysis chloride ion removal NaCl partial desalination pressure swing adsorption saline irrigation |
| title | Provision of Desalinated Irrigation Water by the Desalination of Groundwater Abstracted from a Saline Aquifer |
| title_full | Provision of Desalinated Irrigation Water by the Desalination of Groundwater Abstracted from a Saline Aquifer |
| title_fullStr | Provision of Desalinated Irrigation Water by the Desalination of Groundwater Abstracted from a Saline Aquifer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Provision of Desalinated Irrigation Water by the Desalination of Groundwater Abstracted from a Saline Aquifer |
| title_short | Provision of Desalinated Irrigation Water by the Desalination of Groundwater Abstracted from a Saline Aquifer |
| title_sort | provision of desalinated irrigation water by the desalination of groundwater abstracted from a saline aquifer |
| topic | catalysis chloride ion removal NaCl partial desalination pressure swing adsorption saline irrigation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/9/7/128 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT daviddjantia provisionofdesalinatedirrigationwaterbythedesalinationofgroundwaterabstractedfromasalineaquifer |