Techno-Economic Analysis of Selected PV-BWRO Desalination Plants in the Context of the Water–Energy Nexus for Low–Medium-Income Countries
Jordan was late in adopting seawater and brackish water desalination as a source until the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, ongoing studies are still discussing the technical, economic, and socio-political aspects of brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) desalination plants. In this study, the w...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/22/8657 |
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| author | Ahmed N. Bdour Noor Al-Sadeq Muna Gharaibeh Angeles Mendoza-Sammet Maria D. Kennedy Sergio G. Salinas-Rodriguez |
| author_facet | Ahmed N. Bdour Noor Al-Sadeq Muna Gharaibeh Angeles Mendoza-Sammet Maria D. Kennedy Sergio G. Salinas-Rodriguez |
| author_sort | Ahmed N. Bdour |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Jordan was late in adopting seawater and brackish water desalination as a source until the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, ongoing studies are still discussing the technical, economic, and socio-political aspects of brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) desalination plants. In this study, the water–energy nexus was considered, in order to highlight the main challenges facing BWRO desalination. We discuss the use of photovoltaic (PV) technology, together with BWRO desalination, as an approach to compensate for ecological, financial, and social challenges in Jordan. For this purpose, the performance of nine existing BWRO desalination plants in the agricultural, domestic, and industrial sectors is assessed. The water performance is assessed based on water consumption, safe yield extraction, plant recovery rate (R, %), and compliance to local and international water quality standards; the Specific Energy Consumption (SEC, kWh/m<sup>3</sup>) is taken as the main evaluation criterion to assess the energy performance of the BWRO desalination plants; and economic performance is assessed based on the overall cost of water produced per cubic meter (USD/m<sup>3</sup>). The main environmental component is the brine disposal management practice utilized by each plant. Based on this assessment, the main challenges in BWRO desalination are the unsustainable patterns of water production, mismanaged energy performance, low recovery rates, and improper brine disposal. The challenges in domestic and industrial BWRO desalination, which are completely dependent on the electricity grid, are associated with critical energy and costs losses, as reflected by the high SEC values (in the range of 2.7–5.6 kWh/m<sup>3</sup>) and high water costs per cubic meter (0.60–1.18 USD/m<sup>3</sup>). As such, the use of PV solar panels is suggested, in order to reduce the electricity consumption of the assessed BWRO plants. The installation of PV panels resulted in significantly reduced energy costs (by 69–74%) and total costs (by 50–54%), compared with energy costs from the electricity grid, over the lifetime of the assessed BWRO desalination plants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:21:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-daac58aaef0f456ab91098fb56121516 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:21:59Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-daac58aaef0f456ab91098fb561215162023-11-24T08:16:31ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732022-11-011522865710.3390/en15228657Techno-Economic Analysis of Selected PV-BWRO Desalination Plants in the Context of the Water–Energy Nexus for Low–Medium-Income CountriesAhmed N. Bdour0Noor Al-Sadeq1Muna Gharaibeh2Angeles Mendoza-Sammet3Maria D. Kennedy4Sergio G. Salinas-Rodriguez5Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The Hashemite University, Zarqa 13133, JordanDepartment of Environmental Health, College of Health Sciences, The American University of Beirut, Beirut 1107 2020, LebanonWater Authority of Jordan, Department of Desalination, Amman 11183, JordanDepartment of Land and Water Management, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, 2611 AX Delft, The NetherlandsWater Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, 2611 AX Delft, The NetherlandsWater Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, 2611 AX Delft, The NetherlandsJordan was late in adopting seawater and brackish water desalination as a source until the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, ongoing studies are still discussing the technical, economic, and socio-political aspects of brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) desalination plants. In this study, the water–energy nexus was considered, in order to highlight the main challenges facing BWRO desalination. We discuss the use of photovoltaic (PV) technology, together with BWRO desalination, as an approach to compensate for ecological, financial, and social challenges in Jordan. For this purpose, the performance of nine existing BWRO desalination plants in the agricultural, domestic, and industrial sectors is assessed. The water performance is assessed based on water consumption, safe yield extraction, plant recovery rate (R, %), and compliance to local and international water quality standards; the Specific Energy Consumption (SEC, kWh/m<sup>3</sup>) is taken as the main evaluation criterion to assess the energy performance of the BWRO desalination plants; and economic performance is assessed based on the overall cost of water produced per cubic meter (USD/m<sup>3</sup>). The main environmental component is the brine disposal management practice utilized by each plant. Based on this assessment, the main challenges in BWRO desalination are the unsustainable patterns of water production, mismanaged energy performance, low recovery rates, and improper brine disposal. The challenges in domestic and industrial BWRO desalination, which are completely dependent on the electricity grid, are associated with critical energy and costs losses, as reflected by the high SEC values (in the range of 2.7–5.6 kWh/m<sup>3</sup>) and high water costs per cubic meter (0.60–1.18 USD/m<sup>3</sup>). As such, the use of PV solar panels is suggested, in order to reduce the electricity consumption of the assessed BWRO plants. The installation of PV panels resulted in significantly reduced energy costs (by 69–74%) and total costs (by 50–54%), compared with energy costs from the electricity grid, over the lifetime of the assessed BWRO desalination plants.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/22/8657water–energy nexusbrackish water reverse osmosis desalinationsolar energyphotovoltaic panelsrecovery ratebrine discharge management |
| spellingShingle | Ahmed N. Bdour Noor Al-Sadeq Muna Gharaibeh Angeles Mendoza-Sammet Maria D. Kennedy Sergio G. Salinas-Rodriguez Techno-Economic Analysis of Selected PV-BWRO Desalination Plants in the Context of the Water–Energy Nexus for Low–Medium-Income Countries Energies water–energy nexus brackish water reverse osmosis desalination solar energy photovoltaic panels recovery rate brine discharge management |
| title | Techno-Economic Analysis of Selected PV-BWRO Desalination Plants in the Context of the Water–Energy Nexus for Low–Medium-Income Countries |
| title_full | Techno-Economic Analysis of Selected PV-BWRO Desalination Plants in the Context of the Water–Energy Nexus for Low–Medium-Income Countries |
| title_fullStr | Techno-Economic Analysis of Selected PV-BWRO Desalination Plants in the Context of the Water–Energy Nexus for Low–Medium-Income Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Techno-Economic Analysis of Selected PV-BWRO Desalination Plants in the Context of the Water–Energy Nexus for Low–Medium-Income Countries |
| title_short | Techno-Economic Analysis of Selected PV-BWRO Desalination Plants in the Context of the Water–Energy Nexus for Low–Medium-Income Countries |
| title_sort | techno economic analysis of selected pv bwro desalination plants in the context of the water energy nexus for low medium income countries |
| topic | water–energy nexus brackish water reverse osmosis desalination solar energy photovoltaic panels recovery rate brine discharge management |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/22/8657 |
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