A New Disruptive Technology for Zero-Brine Discharge: Towards a Paradigm Shift
The desalination of aquifers and seawaters is a viable choice to meet primarily domestic and industrial global water requirements. It removes salts from seawater to obtain freshwater with sufficient quality for different purposes, as well as a highly salt-concentrated waste stream known as brine. Th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/24/13092 |
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| author | Estefanía Bonnail Sebastián Vera T. Ángel DelValls |
| author_facet | Estefanía Bonnail Sebastián Vera T. Ángel DelValls |
| author_sort | Estefanía Bonnail |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The desalination of aquifers and seawaters is a viable choice to meet primarily domestic and industrial global water requirements. It removes salts from seawater to obtain freshwater with sufficient quality for different purposes, as well as a highly salt-concentrated waste stream known as brine. This residue is usually returned to the ocean, provoking, among other impacts, changes in temperature, salinity and oxygen and overall local aquatic ecosystem stress, as well as social rejection. Desalination in inland aquifers is more complicated because brine disposal is complicated or impossible. The current study presents a new zero-brine discharge technology able to achieve ecological liquid purification through distillation for the separation of the dissolved solids as crystallized salts (Adiabatic Sonic Evaporation and Crystallization, ASE&C). This new technology was used with seawater and three types of brine to test how it would work when coupled with reverse osmosis desalination plants. Analysis of the byproducts after treatment of the seawater and the different brines are presented here. A basic economic approach to calculating potential revenues is also presented. The results of the analyses revealed a complete depuration of water as distilled water, and crystallized solids with highly concentrated commercial salts (with different composition depending on their origin). The estimated economic value of annual revenue (taking into account only seven element recoveries and treatment of a volume of 1000 m<sup>3</sup>/d) for three types of brines ranged between 1 and 11 million euros, compared to between 3.6 and 9.3 million euros when ASE&C is employed with seawater. The treatment of greater volumes for seawater desalination would increase these numbers significantly. ASE&C supposes a solution coupled (or not) to desalination plants to reduce the ecological impacts associated with brine discharges to zero, obtaining two significant commercial byproducts: (seawater: freshwater and commercial elements Br, Ca, Cs, Cl, NaOH, Mg, N, K, Rb, Na, Sr, Li, U, B, Sr, Ga, etc.; aquifers: a larger list than for saltwater, depending on the nature of the water body). It can solve environmental issues associated with brine discharge, with null CO<sub>2</sub> emissions (renewable energy) and profitable (i.e., with no costly pretreatment) technology. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:01:51Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:01:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
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| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac598c09e78e44faae9d3dcb6d095d3c2023-12-22T13:51:11ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-12-0113241309210.3390/app132413092A New Disruptive Technology for Zero-Brine Discharge: Towards a Paradigm ShiftEstefanía Bonnail0Sebastián Vera1T. Ángel DelValls2Centro de Investigaciones Costeras, Universidad de Atacama (CIC-UDA), Avenida Copayapu 485, Copiapó 1530000, ChileWater Challenge S.L., Avda. Papa Negro, 63, 28043 Madrid, SpainWater Challenge S.L., Avda. Papa Negro, 63, 28043 Madrid, SpainThe desalination of aquifers and seawaters is a viable choice to meet primarily domestic and industrial global water requirements. It removes salts from seawater to obtain freshwater with sufficient quality for different purposes, as well as a highly salt-concentrated waste stream known as brine. This residue is usually returned to the ocean, provoking, among other impacts, changes in temperature, salinity and oxygen and overall local aquatic ecosystem stress, as well as social rejection. Desalination in inland aquifers is more complicated because brine disposal is complicated or impossible. The current study presents a new zero-brine discharge technology able to achieve ecological liquid purification through distillation for the separation of the dissolved solids as crystallized salts (Adiabatic Sonic Evaporation and Crystallization, ASE&C). This new technology was used with seawater and three types of brine to test how it would work when coupled with reverse osmosis desalination plants. Analysis of the byproducts after treatment of the seawater and the different brines are presented here. A basic economic approach to calculating potential revenues is also presented. The results of the analyses revealed a complete depuration of water as distilled water, and crystallized solids with highly concentrated commercial salts (with different composition depending on their origin). The estimated economic value of annual revenue (taking into account only seven element recoveries and treatment of a volume of 1000 m<sup>3</sup>/d) for three types of brines ranged between 1 and 11 million euros, compared to between 3.6 and 9.3 million euros when ASE&C is employed with seawater. The treatment of greater volumes for seawater desalination would increase these numbers significantly. ASE&C supposes a solution coupled (or not) to desalination plants to reduce the ecological impacts associated with brine discharges to zero, obtaining two significant commercial byproducts: (seawater: freshwater and commercial elements Br, Ca, Cs, Cl, NaOH, Mg, N, K, Rb, Na, Sr, Li, U, B, Sr, Ga, etc.; aquifers: a larger list than for saltwater, depending on the nature of the water body). It can solve environmental issues associated with brine discharge, with null CO<sub>2</sub> emissions (renewable energy) and profitable (i.e., with no costly pretreatment) technology.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/24/13092desalinationseawater treatmentaquifer desalinationASE&Cbrine mining optimizationcircular economy |
| spellingShingle | Estefanía Bonnail Sebastián Vera T. Ángel DelValls A New Disruptive Technology for Zero-Brine Discharge: Towards a Paradigm Shift Applied Sciences desalination seawater treatment aquifer desalination ASE&C brine mining optimization circular economy |
| title | A New Disruptive Technology for Zero-Brine Discharge: Towards a Paradigm Shift |
| title_full | A New Disruptive Technology for Zero-Brine Discharge: Towards a Paradigm Shift |
| title_fullStr | A New Disruptive Technology for Zero-Brine Discharge: Towards a Paradigm Shift |
| title_full_unstemmed | A New Disruptive Technology for Zero-Brine Discharge: Towards a Paradigm Shift |
| title_short | A New Disruptive Technology for Zero-Brine Discharge: Towards a Paradigm Shift |
| title_sort | new disruptive technology for zero brine discharge towards a paradigm shift |
| topic | desalination seawater treatment aquifer desalination ASE&C brine mining optimization circular economy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/24/13092 |
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