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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Leftover
brine threatens future desalination<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>By:<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/author.hazem-badr.html"><span
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>Hazem Badr</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>14/01/19<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/water/news/leftover-brine-threatens-future-desalination-1x.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=SciDevNewsletter&utm_campaign=international%20SciDev.Net%20update%3A%2021%20January%202019"><span
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>https://www.scidev.net/global/water/news/leftover-brine-threatens-future-desalination-1x.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=SciDevNewsletter&utm_campaign=international%20SciDev.Net%20update%3A%2021%20January%202019</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h4 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.25pt;
margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></h4>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.3pt;background:white'><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'>[CAIRO] The increased number of
desalination plants around the world threatens the sustainable use of the
technology, a study warns.<br>
<br>
The UN-backed<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718349167?via%3Dihub#!"><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#E10000'>study</span></a>, published today in the
journal<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><em><span
style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Science of The Total Environment</span></em><span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>online, cautions that the disposal of
leftover brine into the sea is expensive, harms the<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/environment/" target="_blank"><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#E10000'>environment</span></a><span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>and threatens the future use of sea<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/environment/water/" target="_blank"><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#E10000'>water</span></a><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/environment/water/" target="_blank"><span
class=apple-converted-space><span style='color:#E10000;text-decoration:none'> </span></span></a>in
desalination.<br>
<br>
It estimates that globally, nearly 16,000 desalination plants currently produce
95 million cubic meters of fresh water per day. With each litre of fresh water,
1.5 litres of brine is produced </span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";color:black'>‒</span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'> and amounts to brine at around 142
million cubic meters per day, about 50 per cent higher than previous e</span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'>stimates.<br>
<br>
The research team, from the UN University’s Institute for Water,
Environment and Health at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, and the
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea, produced the
new estimates by analysing the latest<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/enterprise/data/" target="_blank"><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#E10000'>data</span></a><span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>to come up with what they say is the
most comprehensive study of leftover brine to date.<br style='box-sizing: border-box'>
<br>
</span><i><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.3pt;background:white'><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'>Manzoor Qadir, a researcher at the United
Nations University Institute, and one of the study’s authors, told<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span><em><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>SciDev.Net</span></em><span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>that he believes the study will raise
awareness about the risks of brine production, and potentially lead to more
effective management to maintain the benefits of desalination. “We see
governments in water-scarce countries mainly look at the supply side of
providing desalinated water,” he says.<br>
<br>
Almost half the world’s current production of desalinised water lies in
the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, at 48 per cent of the global
total. The major producer, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, produces 15.5 per cent,
followed by the United Arab Emirates at 10.1 per cent and then Kuwait at 3.7
per cent.<br>
<br>
The region with the second-largest share of global desalinisation operations is
East Asia and Pacific region, which produces 18.4 per cent, followed by North
America (11.9 per cent), China (7.5 per cent) and the United States (11.2 per
cent).<br>
<br>
These figures correspond to the amount of leftover brine. According to the
study, 55 per cent of the brine produced globally can be found in four
countries: Saudi Arabia (22 per cent), the United Arab Emirates (20.2 per
cent), Kuwait (6.6 per cent) and Qatar (5.8 per cent).<br>
<br>
Four in five desalination plants are located 10 kilometres from the coastline,
and the brine they produce is disposed directly into the marine environment.
This poses a high risk to marine ecosystems, according to the authors, because
brine significantly increases water salinity and pollutes water with toxic
elements such as copper and chlorine.<br>
<br>
Among the suggested solutions is using brine in aquaculture and the irrigation
of plants that tolerate high salinity conditions. One economic opportunity
noted in the study is the recovery of minerals from brine </span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";color:black'>‒</span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'> such as sodium, magnesium, calcium,
potassium, and lithium </span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";
color:black'>‒</span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'> which
can be exploited for agricul</span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'>tural
or industrial use.<br>
<br>
Qadir says there are some good examples of such strategies. The International
Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), for example, has succeeded in using
brine for aquaculture to<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.biosaline.org/ar/news/2018-06-07-6507"><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#E10000'>increase fish biomass by 300 per cent</span></a>.<br>
<br>
Brine has also been successfully used to cultivate Spirulina and irrigate
salt-tolerant shrubs and crops, although this method could not prevent land
salinisation.<br>
<br>
Qadir believes that saline environments and water supplies need continuous
monitoring and management. One example is a project implemented by the U.S.
Salinity Lab, which manages salts and minerals and monitors soil through a
system of sensors.<br>
<br>
Dionysia Angeliki Lyra, an expert from ICBA, says that monitoring the soil is
very important where countries decide to practise biosaline<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/agriculture/" target="_blank"><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#E10000'>agriculture</span></a>. This might
involve maintaining effective drainage systems, regular sampling of soil and
water to monitor salinity levels, and selecting irrigation systems that suit
salt-tolerant plants.<br>
<br>
Lyra noted that in one of ICBA’s projects, using saline water in
aquaculture promoted the growth of the flowering plant Salicornia, which </span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";color:black'>‒</span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'> throug</span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
color:black'>h the increased availability of<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/health/nutrition/" target="_blank"><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#E10000'>nutrients</span></a><span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>from the plants </span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";color:black'>‒</span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'> led to an increase in the weight of
Tilapia</span><span class=apple-converted-space><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
color:black'> </span></span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'><a
href="https://www.scidev.net/global/agriculture/fisheries/" target="_blank"><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#E10000'>fish</span></a><span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>from 50 to 600 grams over a period of
five months, twice as fast the 10 months previously needed.</span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.3pt;background:white'><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.3pt;background:white'><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'>Countries without experience in
desalination, such as Egypt, currently do not consider these solutions,
focusing instead on setting up the technology for fresh water production.<br>
<br>
Mohammed Al-Sayed, a researcher at Egypt’s Desalination Research Center
of Excellence and the Desert Research Center (DRC), told<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span><em><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>SciDev.Net</span></em><span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>that awareness of the problem exists.
“However, we are currently focused on manufacturing desalination
technologies locally. After that, we will definitely give the issue more concern,”
he says.<br>
<br>
The few desalination plants that currently operate in Egypt depend on imported
technologies. Although they discharge brine into the sea, they also disperse
brine into larger areas to avoid significant impacts on marine life.<br>
<br>
Al-Sayed describes this as a temporary solution </span><span style='font-size:
13.5pt;font-family:"Cambria Math","serif";color:black'>‒</span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'> in time, he says, the brine will increase
the salinity of sea water </span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:
"Cambria Math","serif";color:black'>‒</span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
color:black'> so it’s crucial to find a more permanent solution</span><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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